An Indie Argentinian publishing house has come up with an innovative concept, using disappearing ink that simply fades away in two months time.

Dubbed “El Libro que No Puede Esperar” (The Book That Can’t Wait), this interesting format was pioneered by independent Argentinian publishing house Eterna Cadencia, as a way to promote young authors, who “if people don’t read their first books, never make it to a second.” The intriguing books come sealed in a plastic wrapper, and once that is removed and the books cracked for the first time, the ink begins to age and in 60 days time readers are left with nothing but the covers and a bunch of blank pages. So if you want to get your money’s worth, you really can’t put one of these books down too often, after you’ve bought it.

But in a world of Kindles, Nooks and other e-readers, can a concept like disappearing books survive? Well, judging by the statistics of Eterna Cadencia’s first disappearing ink printing, definitely! The small publisher sold its entire batch of disappearing books in a single day, proving there’s still life in the printed word, even if it’s a short one. “This time we had the guarantee that our new authors were read,” Eterna Cadencia explains in a video they made for their unique idea. Impressed with the success of their concept, the Argentinian publisher plans to use disappearing ink for other future releases.

via LA Times