Ergodic literature is literature that requires special effort to comprehend or read, perhaps due to a "non linear" structure. The term is derived from the Greek words ergon, meaning "work" and hodos, meaning "path". Ergodic literature demands an active role of the reader, such that they become "users" who may need to perform complex semiotic operations to construct the reading. Old book bindings at the Merton College library. ... In the arts, the word nonlinear is used to describe events portrayed in a non-chronological manner. ...

For example, ergodic literature may require following a very unconventional page layout in order to understand a novel, or in the case of ebooks, readers may need to constantly use hyperlinks to follow the narrative, or use menus to continue reading in a new location. By comparison, conventional "nonergodic" literature simply requires the reader to turn pages and follow the text in sequential order. An eBook (also: e-book, ebook) is an electronic (or digital) version of a book. ... A hyperlink, or simply a link, is a reference in a hypertext document to another document or other resource. ... In a restaurant, a menu is the list of options for a diner to select. ...

The term was coined by Espen Aarseth in his book Cybertext--Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. Although it may be supposed that this kind of literature was born in the second half of the 20th century, at the same time as the first appearance of computers, critics of the ergodic literature have often mentioned the I Ching as the first example of genre. The text dates from the time of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1122-770 B.C.), and comprises sixty-four hexagram symbols which are binary combinations of six whole or broken changing lines (which also give the text its other name, the "Book of Changes"). A hexagram has a main text and six others, smaller than the main text, with one for each line. A neologism is a word, term, or phrase which has been recently created (coined) — often to apply to new concepts, or to reshape older terms in newer language form. ... Espen J. Aarseth is a major figure in the emerging field of video game studies. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... A Lego RCX Computer is an example of an embedded computer used to control mechanical devices. ... Alternative meaning: I Ching (monk) The I Ching (Traditional Chinese: 易經, pinyin y jīng; Cantonese IPA: jɪk6gɪŋ1; Cantonese Jyutping: jik6ging1; alternative romanizations include I Jing, Yi Ching, Yi King) is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. ... Alternative meaning: Zhou Dynasty (690 CE - 705 CE) The Zhou Dynasty (周朝; Wade-Giles: Chou Dynasty) (late 10th century BC to late 9th century BC - 256 BC) followed the Shang (Yin) Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China. ... The Common Era (CE or C.E.), sometimes known as the Current Era or Christian Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 (the traditional birthdate of Jesus) to the present. ... A hexagram (also known as sexagram or a magicians/sorcerers star) is a six-pointed star, a type of complex star polygon. ...

Other examples

• On Lionel Kearns by Jim Andrews implicitly compares reading with wreading
• Naked Lunch, The Soft Machine, Nova Express and The Ticket That Exploded by William S. Burroughs, to greater or lesser extent composed using the cut-up technique
• "The Night (Alone) by Richard Meltzer is a relatively unknown work of brilliance
• Composition No.1, a novel on cards written by Marc Saporta in 1961
• Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel and Landscape Painted With Tea by Milorad Pavic
• Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
• House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
• Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
• Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
• Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
• Rayuela by Julio Cortazar
• 253, both the print and online versions, by Geoff Ryman
• The Dionaea House by Eric Heisserer
• The Unfortunates by B. S. Johnson
• Other Electricities by Ander Monson
• Ibid: A Life by Mark Dunn
• Riddley Walker
• City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer
• Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
• The Bible
• The Qur'an

Naked Lunch (alternately titled The Naked Lunch in some editions) is a novel by William S. Burroughs. ... The Soft Machine is the title of a novel by William S. Burroughs, first published in 1961 and was Burroughs first novel after the grandbreaking publication of Naked Lunch. ... Nova Express is a 1964 novel by William Burroughs, whose plot cannot easily be described. ... The Ticket That Exploded is a novel by William S. Burroughs published in 1962. ... William Seward Burroughs II (pronounced ) (February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer. ... The cut-up technique is a literary form or method in which a text is cut up at random and rearranged to create a new text. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Dictionary Of The Khazars: A Lexicon Novel is the first novel by Milorad Pavich (Milorad Pavić). ... Milorad Pavić (Милорад Павић) is a noted Serbian poet, prose writer, translator, and literary historian. ... Gravitys Rainbow book cover. ... Thomas Pynchon in 1957 Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. ... The cover of House of Leaves reflects the books subject matter both in its depiction of a dark labyrinth and in being smaller in size than its pages, but by 1/2 inch instead of the 1/4 inch that would reflect the house. ... Mark Z. Danielewski (born 1966) is an American author best known for his bestselling 2000 book, House of Leaves. ... Dhalgren is a science fiction novel by Samuel R. Delany. ... Samuel Ray Chip Delany, Jr. ... Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by New York writer Jonathan Safran Foer is a novel published in 2005, and is notable for being one of the first to deal with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. ... Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer (born 1977) is an American writer best known for his 2002 novel Everything Is Illuminated. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (Irish name Séamas Seoighe; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an expatriate Irish writer and poet, widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. ... Penguin Classics edition of Pale Fire Pale Fire (1962) is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, his fourteenth in total and fifth in English. ... Vladimir Nabokov This page is about the novelist. ... Rayuela (translated into English as Hopscotch) is the most famous novel by Argentine writer Julio Cortázar. ... Julio Cortázar (August 26, 1914 - February 12, 1984) was an Argentine intellectual and author of several experimental novels and many short stories. ... 253, or Tube Theatre is a novel by Geoff Ryman, originally created as a website in 1996 ( http://www. ... Geoffrey Charles Ryman (born 1951) is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and slipstream fiction. ... The Dionaea House is a work by Eric Heisserer, originating in a series of linked internet pages. ... Eric Heisserer is a screenwriter currently living in West Hollywood, California. ... B. S. Johnson (Bryan Stanley Johnson) (5 February 1933 - 13 November 1973) was an English experimental novelist, poet, literary critic and film-maker. ... Mark Dunn is an American author and playwright. ... Riddley Walker is a novel by Russell Hoban, first published in 1980. ... Cover of the 2001 Cosmos Books edition. ... Jeffrey Scott VanderMeer (July 7, 1968—) is an American writer, although he has pursued careers in editing and publishing. ... Infinite Jest (1996) is a critically acclaimed novel written by David Foster Wallace. ... David Foster Wallace is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. ... The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... The Quran [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also called The Noble Quran; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran, Turkish Kuran), is the central religious text of Islam. ...

See also

• Digital poetry
• Fighting Fantasy Game Books

Digital poetry refers to a wide range of approaches to poetry that all have in common prominent and crucial use of computers. ... Fighting Fantasy is a series of single-player role-playing gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, originally published by Puffin and now by Wizard Books. ...

External links

• Sample chapter from Cybertext--Perspectives on Ergodic Literature

Examples of ergodic literature online:

• 253
• The Company Therapist
• lies
• My body & a Wunderkammer
• Arteroids
• Blue Hyacinth
• Red Moon
• somewords.com
• Art and Technology