What Football Will Look Like in the Future: 17776

By Jon Bois


I’m not really sure what to call this. It isn’t an article, as the link would lead you to believe. It isn’t quite an e-book, and it isn’t entirely video; it’s sort of closer to a play(?) because it’s mostly dialog, but it has access to the visual aspect of text, so it plays with diction, punctuation, and typography in a way that is simply impossible via oral presentation. This might be what literature is evolving towards. I hope so.

What I’m sure of is this: it’s beautifully written, both stylistically and content-wise. It plays with huge concepts in little ways with simple words, all through the lens of a playful sci-fi story. Whatever medium this is, it’s navigated flawlessly, advancing the mood and tone of the story from literally between the lines as the reader enjoys the mingling of characters and narrative arcs across the 25 “chapters.” Today, this has claimed the #2 spot on my Favorite Literature list, beating out The Tale of Two Cities.

You can experience this story for free, but be warned, you’re going to lose a couple of hours after you start. Don’t open this when you need to be productive.