will dispense free one, three and five-minute stories
April 4, 2019 10:11 AM Subscribe
I don't know if it's a permanent installation, but when we went to the Cultural Survival Bazaar in the Prudential Center in Boston a couple years ago, there was one of these. It was pretty cool! We each got one and read ours to the others.
(Also if you are ever in Boston in December, go check out the Cultural Survival Bazaar, it's great.)
posted by solotoro at 10:25 AM on April 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
(Also if you are ever in Boston in December, go check out the Cultural Survival Bazaar, it's great.)
posted by solotoro at 10:25 AM on April 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
In 2011 and 2015 we partnered with local libraries to put book vending machines in a few of our stations--I don't know if the machines are still there, this has made me curious to check on them...
posted by agatha_magatha at 10:35 AM on April 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by agatha_magatha at 10:35 AM on April 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
I love this idea! It looks like they are printing on receipt or boarding pass type paper. I suppose they could make it multipurpose and print them on toilet paper.
>The airport in my city has one of these machines. It's a fun little idea, but I do wonder how much paper waste is created, since most people will simply toss the story once they're read it.
Is it any different than selling "express" versions of newspapers - which also generate lots of paper waste? But, I suppose, those are more substantial and will stand up to re-use to pick up a left-behind one on the metro.
posted by bluefly at 10:38 AM on April 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
>The airport in my city has one of these machines. It's a fun little idea, but I do wonder how much paper waste is created, since most people will simply toss the story once they're read it.
Is it any different than selling "express" versions of newspapers - which also generate lots of paper waste? But, I suppose, those are more substantial and will stand up to re-use to pick up a left-behind one on the metro.
posted by bluefly at 10:38 AM on April 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
This is unquestionably neat and good! Engaging with random artwork in public is fantastic.
Though, there aren't many <5 minute stories I can name or remember, and it's pretty rare I take a bus or train for less than 30 minutes. I get annoyed when I accidentally download an audio book that's only three hours long. I love the concept. I'm not entirely sure I'd actually love the artwork. But, it's hard to tell for sure. This seems like a different experience from "get[ting] lost in a good book." That doesn't mean it's not an interesting and worthwhile experience for other reasons. It really depends on the curation.
posted by eotvos at 10:59 AM on April 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
Though, there aren't many <5 minute stories I can name or remember, and it's pretty rare I take a bus or train for less than 30 minutes. I get annoyed when I accidentally download an audio book that's only three hours long. I love the concept. I'm not entirely sure I'd actually love the artwork. But, it's hard to tell for sure. This seems like a different experience from "get[ting] lost in a good book." That doesn't mean it's not an interesting and worthwhile experience for other reasons. It really depends on the curation.
posted by eotvos at 10:59 AM on April 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
The Short Story Dispenser website says "Printed on an eco-friendly paper which is certified FSC and BPA free. Thanks to innovative printing on demand, there is no waste, no ink and no cartridge."
Thermal printing, maybe?
posted by readinghippo at 11:19 AM on April 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Thermal printing, maybe?
posted by readinghippo at 11:19 AM on April 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
I found the answer! "as it is thermal printing, no ink nor cartridges are used." at American Library Association Short Story Dispenser Initiative FAQ.
posted by readinghippo at 11:22 AM on April 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by readinghippo at 11:22 AM on April 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
I looked up the Penguincubator in the original article. There's probably a serious market for normal book vending machines in places like airports and large transit centers. Buying a book without waiting in line is likely to be very popular.
Fill it with cheap short novels/novellas (less than 150 pages, maybe less than 100) for $5, have a selection of magazines for the same price. Also have a slot of pens for $1, for doing crosswords and taking quizzes.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:28 AM on April 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
Fill it with cheap short novels/novellas (less than 150 pages, maybe less than 100) for $5, have a selection of magazines for the same price. Also have a slot of pens for $1, for doing crosswords and taking quizzes.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:28 AM on April 4, 2019 [1 favorite]
My brain keeps reading this headline as "short story: vending machine to transport London commuters"
posted by bleep at 11:42 AM on April 4, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by bleep at 11:42 AM on April 4, 2019 [6 favorites]
They're still in Copley/the Pru! My 3-minute story was pretty saccharine, but it was a cute concept.
posted by ChuraChura at 12:11 PM on April 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 12:11 PM on April 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
This idea feels charmingly mid 00's to me, like when every city park would have a hipster with a typewriter selling $5 poems.
posted by Think_Long at 1:06 PM on April 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Think_Long at 1:06 PM on April 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
Is it any different than selling "express" versions of newspapers - which also generate lots of paper waste? But, I suppose, those are more substantial and will stand up to re-use to pick up a left-behind one on the metro.
I think so, both because those papers often get multiple readers (we have a commuter paper here, that's free and basically sounds like what you're describing) and I think they're more likely to be recycled, either at the office or when the train is cleaned at the end of the day.
The slips the stories are printing on seem much more likely to be destined for a trash bin than a recycling bin, unfortunately. I'm probably overestimating how many people are actually printing stories on these machines, though.
posted by asnider at 10:45 AM on April 5, 2019
I think so, both because those papers often get multiple readers (we have a commuter paper here, that's free and basically sounds like what you're describing) and I think they're more likely to be recycled, either at the office or when the train is cleaned at the end of the day.
The slips the stories are printing on seem much more likely to be destined for a trash bin than a recycling bin, unfortunately. I'm probably overestimating how many people are actually printing stories on these machines, though.
posted by asnider at 10:45 AM on April 5, 2019
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posted by asnider at 10:23 AM on April 4, 2019 [2 favorites]