You might be interested in Why Books Don't Work by Andy Matuschak
Also I'm thinking about The Little Schemer format and how it includes that engagement in the dialog and the frequent small opportunities to test your thinking.
How cool would it be to subscribe to a "book" and to get the next chapter I have to type out a brief reflection of what I've read so far? It would be up to me to decide how involved to make my "reflection" but it would be really cool to have that prompt.
I suppose blogs work in a similar way for people who read them as they come out and leave comments.
Definitely a lot to think about. This is fun! :)