The publishing industry will be celebrating 40 years of the e-book starting this Sunday with a big birthday celebration. Click here for an overview of the e-book and how it has transformed since its birth.

Dr. Vook, Ph.D—our resident genius who just starred in his first Vook, “American History 101: The TextVook,” with many more on the way—just stopped by the office for an exclusive interview with me.

I was so delighted to finally have the pleasure of meeting him in person over some San Pellegrino, and boy, he sure can throw them back.

Q. Where did you attend university for your Ph.D?
A. I attended a very, very private school in Switzerland that only awards Ph.Ds to doctoral candidates who have IQs that exceed 140. It is an invitation-only program, and the school guards its institutional privacy very tightly. The right people in government, the great universities and the private sector know of it, of course.

Q. How many different countries have you visited?
A. I have visited all the countries of the world—each and every one of the 194 countries recognized by the U.S. State Department. I do not mean to be parochial by mentioning the U.S. because I am a universal citizen, but considering the U.S. is seemingly involved in every part of the world it is the best source of information for such facts.

Q. Can you share some of your favorite adventures and encounters with us that you have experienced during your travels?
A. When I was a young man, I traveled with a Professor Jones to the Middle East. I love archeology, though why the Professor insisted on being called after a state of his country’s middle West I could not imagine.

I liked Howard Hughes; he was a genius as well. He invented all kinds of important things. Did you know that he invented the modern hospital bed when he was hospitalized after crashing his SF-11 aircraft? During his recovery he designed what we now know as the modern hospital bed, equipped with hot and cold running water and operated by 30 electric motors, with push button adjustments.

I also love to travel with Richard Branson and Warren Buffet; they have nice planes, are very smart and are credible citizens of the world.

Q. What do you consider to be your main areas of expertise?
A. I pride myself on carrying all of the facts and wisdom of the world inside my brain: current, historic, scientific and everything that matters, wherever, whenever and throughout time.

Q. What is your favorite period in world history?
A. I avoid such traps in my thinking. It clutters the brain to be emotional, nostalgic or attached to ideas, events or ideologies from the past. Plus, I practice yoga each day. It keeps me present. I do like the present, like this interview with you, Jules.

Q. How old are you?
A. Older than some and younger than others.

Q. Have you written any other material besides TextVooks? Have you tried your hand at some literature, perhaps?
A. Fiction is a little bit of a bore for me. Digesting, interpreting and understanding reality is enough of an undertaking.

Q. What do you like to do for fun?
A. I date a different woman every day.

Thanks, Dr. Vook Ph.D. I look forward to our next chat.

You can now follow our resident genius on Twitter @drvookphd as he Tweets about his TextVook projects.

The success of our Video Guides demonstrated that readers were hungry (or thirsty, considering the speed “Cocktails” flies off the digital shelf) for original Vook material. So we’re excited to announce the launch of our next imprint of all new titles: TextVook.

This new imprint features the worldly teachings of Dr. Vook Ph.D as he takes readers on an animated journey through history, science, philosophy—the entire world of learning. His first TextVook, “American History 101: The TextVook,” was released Friday and is available in the iTunes App Store for the iPad and iPhone for only $6.99. It’s also available in the iBookstore. The app contains 8 animations and chapters about America’s economic system, American federalism and key issues in the country’s history.

Readers can expect many more titles from Vook’s resident genius throughout the year, including upcoming adventures with the Civil War and Western Civilization, as well as economics, law and social sciences.

Stay tuned to our blog for an exclusive interview with the man himself.

Can you stay healthy and get fit using only an iPhone? Vogue says: “Yes!” and mentions Vook’s very own pilates star, Alycea Ungaro, and her Vook, 15 Minute Everyday Pilates – Day by Day. In the March 2011 edition of the famed magazine, Jancee Dunn calls Alycea’s Vook “bright and simple” and made it a part of her morning routine.

For those readers who are already familiar with Alycea’s Pilates Day By Day Vook, there are THREE additional apps to try – including:

• Pilates from the Top Down – which guides you through a full upper body workout. You’ll learn how to work your “powerhouse” while sculpting your upper body with “Pilates pushups.”
• Pilates Up, Up, and Away – which guides you through a full-body workout, beginning on the mat and ending upright, with classic Pilates moves.
• Pilates from the Bottom Up – which combines a lower body and abdominal workout. Learn how to do “Pilates Side Kicks” and the signature Pilates move known as “The Teaser”.

If these sounds challenging, keep in mind that Alycea’s Vooks only require 15 minutes of dedication to your body every day. With the summer season just around the corner, know is the time to get started! The links above lead to the Apple iTunes store; the Vooks are also available for the iPad and Amazon Kindle reader.

You can read more about keeping fit with only an iPhone in Vogue’s March 2011 issue.

Dr. Vook, Ph.D was a boy genius, born and raised in Brussels. Struck by a strange bolt of orange-ray lightning at the age of six, he recovered to find he understood all the information in the world.

Vook had an insightful and informative time today at Tools Of Change. We met and reconnected with key players in publishing, both digital and traditional — such as Bowker, Oxford University Press and Sterling Publishing. New firms, such as Aquafas and the fresh face on traditional companies such as Macmillan’s MPS, underlined how quickly this market is expanding. We counted upwards of 8 ventures that could make solid contributions in the enhanced publishing space.

If you haven’t already stopped by, please do, because we have a very special surprise to give you at our table. We have more love to give, even after Valentine’s Day!

And if you haven’t already heard, we are licensing our MotherVook technology for publishers to use. Hay House already has a head start on you, so visit table 404 for more information on how you can license our technology engine to create your very own enhanced e-books and apps from existing assets.

Here is a snapshot of today’s scene:

Busy exhibiting area at Tools Of Change

Author Margaret Atwood signing books. Vook totally has her back …

Lots of mixing and mingling

Stop on by!

Head of Acquisitions Matthew Cavnar is ready to answer any Vook questions.

Vook is pleased to announce a new deal with the publisher Hay House that will allow Hay House to produce hundreds of enhanced e-books across multiple platforms with Vook’s MotherVook technology engine.

MotherVook has enabled Vook to create more than 150 of its own titles, which it is now extending to other publishers, allowing them to scale enhanced e-book creation.

A digital publishing platform, MotherVook converts disparate and varied file formats; combines text, video and images; manages the content and distributes it to multiple platforms, including the iPhone, iPad, iBookstore, Amazon Kindle Application and Android marketplaces.

Long a leading force in the world of personal improvement, Hay House is now the first publisher in the marketplace to utilize the innovative Vook technology platform. With more than 56 million books sold in North America and more than 250 million books sold worldwide, Hay House is the leading global publisher of inspirational self-help titles, working with authors such as Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and Jorge Cruise, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller the “Belly Fat Cure.”

Please stop by table 404 at Tools Of Change today and tomorrow to pick up an information sheet answering questions about MotherVook and to see Vook’s enhanced e-books in action! If you’re unable to join us, you can e-mail your questions about this exciting technology opportunity to Head of Acquisitions Matt Cavnar at matthew@vook.com.

Consumer response to our early titles was an immediate indicator that short form-useful content hit the sweet spot with mobile readers. Now we’re seeing that point of view reflected in the national media—check out this article from The New York Times that sports a Vook mention near the end. The writer says it’s been hard to gauge our traction, but we did have a recent rave article in The New York Times Magazine that highlights our success. We’ve had sales hits with our Pilates and JFK titles, and our goal to release a 1,000 titles this year means we’re feeling rosy about the future.

The jist of the article is that once the reporter downloads an e-book, she generally doesn’t make it past the first chapter. This conflicts with our personal experience of e-reading—one of us read Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom entirely on his iPhone—but it’s definitely true that short form—what the industry calls “content snacking”—has a broad appeal on mobiles. If you look closely at our titles, you’ll see the efforts of a company constantly striving to master that space.

The author goes on to highlight some of the new digital ventures that have appeared this year, such as The Atavist, Push Pop Press and Cursor—all new players in the space who’ve definitely impressed us. The opportunity to enhance content, tell stories in new and interesting ways and reach new audiences is so clear and so present with the new tablet devices that we’re surprised that aren’t more enterprising startups jumping into the space.

We’re making the most of it, of course. We’re releasing a lot of shorter e-books this year, especially how-to guides with a focus on lifestyle content, and our TextVooks, which will present a short form educational experience. We encourage you to sign up for our e-mail list and follow us on Twitter (@vooktv) to stay aware of all of our new releases!

Feel free to share your input about what the kinds of digital content you enjoy reading by e-mailing me at jules@vook.com to see how we can integrate you better with your digital reading experience.

Vook had a fantastic time at Book Camp 2: The Return of Book Camp yesterday! We enjoyed a lot of discussions about open platforms, design for enhanced e-books in the editorial stages, and work flow management for digital products. We couldn’t walk anywhere without hearing about apps, digital product development, e-book marketing and technology advancements. And we apologize for eating some of the gobstoppers, we didn’t realize those were probably not Book Camp intended.

We also enjoyed connecting with a lot of notable figures in the publishing space, such as Sharon Cordesse (sales manager for conferences) from O’Reilly Media, Brett Sandusky (director of production innovation) from Kaplan Publishing , and Matt Schwartz (director of digital strategy and business development) from Random House.

As usual, it was a pleasure to see Ami Greko keeping the pieces in place and to hear Guy Gonzales drop some knowledge on how to build a sustainable social community.

Make sure you come visit us this week at Tools Of Change and say, “hi!”

Have a Vook week!

Vook fans have spoken! We are very happy to announce that “Yoga in Bed” has been nominated as one of the Reader’s Choice Award Winners for About.com’s Best Mind/Body Apple iPhone App.

“Yoga has transformed my life, and I am deeply grateful that I cannot only do yoga, but also that I am able to share yoga with everyone through this book and now the creation of the Vook,” author Naomi Sophia Call said about her award.

We sat down with author Naomi for a couple of questions:

Q. What inspired your “Yoga In Bed” Vook?
A. I was inspired to create “Yoga In Bed” by comments from my students. I have taught yoga for more than 15 years and for years students would make comments like, “Once I get out of bed, I’m on the go and I don’t have time.” I also noticed how much I enjoy lingering in the soft warmth of my bed for a few extra moments and that conscious movement simply enhances my natural awakening. As a single parent, I felt a huge difference to my whole day when I began by first taking myself before everyone else. I am simply happier!

Q. What are your favorite yoga exercises?
A. Choosing a favorite yoga exercise is a tough question! The reason that I gravitated so deeply to Kripalu Yoga and became certified there was because I experienced their training as the most spiritual, and the style that enabled me to be in the moment in my body. What I would call experiencing the essence of yoga, or the true union of myself. Many other styles of yoga have very structured routines. I love listening to my body and in that moment doing the pose that comes to mind. Having said that, if I had to choose one from my Yoga In Bed Book it would be the single knee twist.

Q. How were you introduced to yoga?
A. I had vaguely heard about yoga for some time and finally decided to try it. I had no idea what to expect. I was living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the time and was a brand new mom searching for peace! I was able to get away to a class, the only class that was available at the time, in a church basement and I strongly disliked it! I had been so excited and was hugely disappointed. I went back a few more times and felt the same.

It wasn’t until I moved to New York, still desperately seeking, that I found a new style existed and I tried that. From that day forward I found myself able to fit in even 15 minutes a day and I was elated! I always encourage my new students to experience many styles, by dropping into as many classes as they can to really feel how different the different styles of yoga are. We are very blessed now to have so many choices. Decades ago it wasn’t like this!

You can read the full About.com article here and also watch a snippet. Remember to vote for us for the top spot, and happy “yoga-ing!”