How Sci-Fi, blockchain, and a Wicklow author are redefining books

From the swagger of Star Wars to the philosophy of Star Trek, sci-fi has fired our imaginations for generations. In recent years, The Martian saw Matt Damon stranded on the Red Planet, surviving on potatoes and sheer grit.

But while the future played out on our screens, something quieter was happening in the world of books.

Most of us now read on Kindle or Audible, or other apps. It’s easy, convenient, and great for travel. But we don’t actually own those digital books. We just license them. Technically, Amazon could remove them from your library at any time, and there’s no way to resell a book once you’re finished.

Enter Web3, a fancy name for the next version of the internet that uses blockchain (the same tech behind Bitcoin) to do something surprisingly human: give people back ownership. With books, that’s exactly what new platforms like Book.io are doing.

When you buy a book on Book.io, you actually own it. You can read it at your leisure, then resell it in a digital second-hand marketplace. Even better, the author still gets paid when it’s resold, with writers getting royalties on every sale, not just the first one.

Local Arklow journalist Jillian Godsil is putting this new model into action in Daria’s Delightful Dancing Emporium, a quirky, heart-warming sci-fi tale set in a Martian outpost where dance becomes resistance, memory, and magic. It’s got Plutonians, Poitín, mystery barks, and a whole lot of soul.

“Web3 isn’t just for coders and crypto bros – it’s quietly rebuilding old ideas, like owning a book, like paying authors fairly, in a brand-new way,” Jillian said.

The book is live now on Book.io. Readers can purchase using ADA, a popular cryptocurrency, or just use a regular credit or debit card in USD. No crypto knowledge needed.

And for the traditionalists, yes, it’s available on Amazon too – but remember, that’s a license, not ownership. You can’t lend it, sell it, or guarantee it’ll always be there.

Thanks to authors like Jillian, you don’t need a spaceship to join the adventure. Just a curious mind and maybe a rhythm or two.

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