Author Clock tells time with quotes from novels

What time is it? You probably glanced at the clock on your watch, computer or smartphone. Checking the time is a reflex that we do many times daily, often unconsciously as we try to get a sense of the passage of time and where we are in the day.

Author Clock is a way of making this reflex a more mindful action. It is whimsical. A novel (sorry I couldn’t resist) way of telling time.

Assuming you can read fast enough, the quote should still be accurate when you finish.

For those who don’t enjoy reading a chunk of text, I doubt you would be here looking for more information about Author Clock.If you are interested in being more mindful about how you tell time and embrace using an unintuitive way to find out what time it is, read on.

What is it

Instead of a clock face or having the hour and minute, Author Clock displays a quote from a novel. The clock pulls from a pool of quotes from a diverse collection of books that includes a phrase telling the time. The creators are expanding the pool by allowing users to submit quotes they come across.

For example, it is eighteen to nine. Instead of just showing you that, the Author Clock displays a quote that has “eighteen to nine” in it.

Having to read the quote not only lets you exercise your brain, but it also inspires authors. The different scenes and settings of the quotes thrusts you in very different situations that might just be the inspiration you need for the project you’re working on.

Who is it for

I recall having a calendar that had a daily quote. Author Clock is similar, only it had a quote for every minute. That’s 720 quotes per day.

Of course, we won’t be staring at the clock to look at all the quotes in a day. It just helps us to slow down and be more mindful when we tell the time.

If you are easily distracted from the task at hand, you might want to give Author Clock a miss.

We have analog and digital clocks. The former comes with the hour and minute hands to point at twelve numbers to tell the time. The later, on another uh, hand, shows you the exact hour and minute. They do the same job but tells time in a slightly different way.

Analog clocks give you a general sense of the time at first glance. You need a closer at the minute hand to know the exact time. Digital clocks lets you know the exact time in a glance. It is down to your preference and whether you need to know the exact time right away.

With Author Clock, you need to read the time it tells, even if you read only the bolded text that states the time.

Given its name, the Author Clock’s target audience is writers. And we know authors tend to be very particular about the font they read with. So it is not surprising that it allows you to customise the fonts used.

Is it innovative

It is a very novel way of telling time. Oops, I did it again.

Yes, it is a very fancy approach to something that is a reflex action. But people who appreciate the benefits will utterly love this quaint way of telling the time.

The product practically screams it s appeal to bookworms by using e-ink. Does that make you want to reach out for your e-ink ebook device?

The creators of Author Clock takes it a step further with their environment commitment. They pledge to plant a tree for every Author Clock purchased. This is to replace the wood used for the housing for the Author Clock. It is also a nod to saving trees by using e-ink readers instead of buying physical books.

Is it worth it

The small Author Clock retails at $149, while the large version costs $349.

They are, of course, much more expensive than regular clocks. But it’ll be unfair to compare them with the typical clocks.

A better comparison would be something like this Nixie tube clock, a handcrafted clock with cool visual effects. It costs $229 on Amazon.

Meanwhile, decorative clocks go for up to thousands fo dollars.

For the amount of work done to collect the quotes and display them at the right times, the Author Clock is well worth the money.

What are the alternatives

There’s nothing like the Author Clock in the market yet.

As I mentioned earlier, Nixie tube clocks are popular clocks that look cool. There are also specialty clocks you can check out if you’re looking for something different from your typical clock. These might be conversation starters, but the Author Clock keeps the conversation going with the new quotes it brings up every minute.

Perhaps, with the popularity of Author Clock, judging from the success of the Kickstarter campaign, there might be more storytelling clocks in the market. We might even see something different that was inspired by the Author Clock.

Conclusion 

Mechanical Design Labs strive to make products that inspires the users. With the Author Clock, they hope to inspire bookworms and writers.

To be honest, if I had an Author Clock on the wall or on my desk, I would still check my phone or watch if I need to quickly tell the time. The Author Clock is more of a display piece rather than a timepiece. I would stop to look at it when I need a break and let my mind wander.

It’s like the coffee table book. It is there to take your mind off things and to inspire you.

The bonus is, whether you’re an avid reader or new to many books, the quotes on the Author Clock might make you want to pick up the book a quote is from.

Hi, I’m Big Cat.

I’m a young lion that identifies as a bear. Not a brave lion. No cat jokes.