In this article we share Simmer (2019), an entirely handmade two-sided artist book and MR (mixed reality) application created in collaboration with composer Brendan Padgett, and excerpts from our related scholarship on movable books, active readership, digital media, and design. Simmer explores and expands John Cheever’s classic short story, “The Swimmer” (1964), and won the Excellence in Innovation jury award at the International Conference for Interactive Digital Storytelling (ICIDS) Art Exhibition inSalt Lake City, Utah in November 2019. While Cheever’s landmark story crafts an expert portrayal of its narcissistic protagonist Ned Merrill, Ned’s wife (Lucinda) and four unnamed daughters are left unexplored. This untold fe- male side of the story was the focus of Simmer, where we bring to life a host of underdeveloped characters and engage the reader through both interactive paper and digital structures that work in combination to tell a new side of the story.