Books that are More than Books

I should not be the only person who thinks a book is more than just a collection of surfaces on which text and shapes are printed on. Even a flat piece of paper has more uses and modes of presenting information than plain print.

Sectors
Addiators

Books with Movable Parts

It's a shame that interactable books like pop-up books are now mostly limited to children's books and toys like dress-up doll books. These are great ways to present information, and can even be a built-in tool that comes with the reference material.

Slides

See: Linear slide rule

Volvelle

A rotating part.

Useful for: astronomical and astrological calculations, shift cipher, probably math as well, color wheels, semaphore signals, time-telling, representations of cycles, CALCULATOR??, unit conversion, calendar, musical wheels (scales, arpeggios), phonetics, gestation cycles, fortune telling, verb conjugation, navigation

Astrolabe
Planisphere
Circular slide rule

https://archive.org/details/reinventingwheel0000helf/page/n6/mode/1up
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pDuxSX_Q0dg

Flap Ups

Parts that fold away from the page to reveal an inner layer.

Useful for: before and after removal/addition illustrations, medical / anatomical illustrations, hiding answers for quizzes

See Also

Books with Holes

Not as versatile as books with moving parts, as far as I can tell, but they have their use cases. Think of stencils, or those math window cards.

Sensory Books

There are things not easily conveyed through pictures and words.

Tactile Books

Think something like quiet books for toddlers. Could be useful for storing fibers and material, and showcasing properties such as texture, hardness, and reflectivity.

Scratch-and-sniff Books

They won't last long, though.

Ergodic Literature

Literature that requires nontrivial effort to go through the text.

Calligrams, visual poetry, concrete poetry
Choose Your Own Adventure books

Journal29

Pale Fire
House of Leaves
Horrorstor
Tree of Codes
Cain's Jawbone
Multiple choice

Doug Dorst & JJ Abrams - S.

Unflattening