A Game of Thrones: Enhanced Edition available exclusively on iBooks. Courtesy Apple
A Game of Thrones: Enhanced Edition available exclusively on iBooks. Courtesy Apple

The National

Book review: A new way to explore Westeros

Ben East

06 October, 2016

Few e-books outside of the children’s market have really taken advantage of the potential of the format to offer readers more than just a digital copy of the print version. But if there’s one book that might start to change all that, it’s George R R Martin’s Game of Thrones Enhanced Edition, which is exclusive to Apple’s iBooks service. Launched at the end of last week, it includes clickable maps, additional biographical information about the characters, detailed annotations, illustrations, family trees and audio clips. Basically, it makes the complex world of Westeros and the huge cast of characters who populate it much more accessible – and with the added bonus of an exclusive extract from the long-awaited sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter, it’s no surprise it’s already riding high in the digital charts. Enhanced versions of the other volumes are also planned. You can watch a trailer for the enhanced edition and an interview with Martin about it on YouTube.

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A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books 

How will Gen Alpha invest?

Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.

“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.

Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.

He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.

Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”