Did I mention that my kindle is also equipped with an Oxford English Dictionary and has the capacity to google unfamiliar references?  

I can imagine all sorts of things happening as the result of kindles and other e-readers gaining popularity. I know for me a few other ways it has revolutionized the way I work are the following:

1. I can read my manuscript, make changes and reload it, read again and continue in this way, seeing it more or less as a “finished product” as many times as I need to. I can make comments but it is inconvenient to tinker too much in there so I save the line editing for computer time. When I read on the kindle I keep my eye on the big picture issues instead of miring down in the little things I want to fix.
2. I read for others in much more pleasant surroundings than ever before. I still remember reading a manuscript for the agent I worked for on a plane back east. The battery only lasted two hours on the computer so that was all the reading and editing I got done on a six hour flight. Later I stayed awake while the family went to sleep hunched over the computer, trying to hide the glow of the screen.
3. No more bookcases?  Maybe just one more…I put a question mark there because I am still buying the books that are too expensive on the kindle or I feel the need to actually write in them. That will likely never change. Some books need to be interacted with at a tactile level.
4.  I love the feature on kindle where I can highlight passages and post them on Facebook. I’ve gotten some good discussions going that way, discussions I never would have at home with my husband who has only read five books in his entire life. And I don’t have to drive to a book group. It has helped me not only advertise good books, but communicate about them with others who have already read the ones I am posting about.
5. It’s the great equalizer! See blog post by Katie Flanagan.

Is my view too rosy and optimistic? I haven’t pulled my head out of this novel long enough to sort through the latest news in the world of publishing. How does it look from where you’re sitting?