Hasn't the tanking of the music industry taught Publishing to keep its products un-digitized? Call me a cynic, but I've concluded that if you give my generation free stuff, they'll come to take it for granted...and then as their god-given entitlement! Hope I'm wrong, though. Does anyone know if all those free 'first chapter' samples online have done anything to drum up business?

There is nothing as magnificent as crawling into bed with a good book on a rainy afternoon. Who wants to crawl into bed with a computer? Download shmownload, give me a page-turner any day.

Ahhh..those blasted internets. Hopefully Publishing knows what the music industry missed: There is plenty of pie to go around. Keep slicing. I'd rather dip the tip of my fork in grandma's rhubarb than chow down on a semi-circle from the grocery store. Offering more choices (including free ones) only raises the quality of product which increases sales. The interwebs are here to stay, now folks get to understand how they work.

The thing that's got the music biz circling the drain is massive mediocrity overload; for all the shady book deals that go down for the sake of a party invite to the Hamptons, there's a much larger percentage of great stuff floating around on bookshelves...However I agree that there's nothing I'd think more depressing that curling up on a cold winter night with a e-book..

What was the last line? The quote from her daughter's phone call?