Shortcut to reading

This weekend I picked up a copy of Seth Godin's latest book Meatball Sundae. I started reading throught the first few pages prior to the table of contents and saw the following.

You can read this book in ten minutes. Or you can take two hours or even a few days. Up to you. If you want to know what it's about, just read the executive summary. If you want the high points, jump from one boxed item to another. Or, if you want to dive in deep, grab a pen, scribble in the margins, and start right here.

You know what? I think Godin knows people are in a hurry. He knows what kind of people are going to read his books. I even bet there are a lot of people who will read the book, dive deep, and end up doling out the executive summaries to their their teams at the office.

I for one like picking up on all the details, but just what if...what if books started including a type of "Cliff Notes" or a detailed executive summary with each chapter? Would it then allow people to read through books a lot like they read through web pages? Do people get bored entirely to easy when it comes to reading? Do we really just want the ten minute version and move on?