Franzen seems the type of bibliophile who values the book as an object as much as the words it contains. He needn't worry; just as there'll always be vinyl records, physical books will always exist for people like him (and me). Ebooks, though, represent the core of literary democracy and the best parts of capitalism: if you have an idea, put it out there and the people will decide if it's as great as you think it is. Ebooks take the power out of the hands of a select few editors and put it in the hands of readers.

I spent years shopping my novel to publishers and agents; after reaching the end of my patience I dumped the book into the Kindle Bookstore expecting only my mother to buy it.