Add in the awesome success stories of self-published authors who are finding major success in the e-book circuit when normal publishers wouldn't give them the time of day, and I think the e-book is one of the best inventions we've made in a long time.
Creston
Yeah, the way self-publishing has become so accessible is a huge upside to e-readers. Another upside is the ridiculous amount of books you can get for free or very little. I mean, if you are a "reader" type...and you don't let Oprah or the USA Today determine your book list...owning an e-reader feels like you got a gaming console that plays every game ever made AND gives you new games for free. Seriously, I think out of my 600+ books, I might have paid more then 3 bucks for 5 of them. I also dig them for magazine subscriptions, which of late have become really good at taking advantage of the multimedia benefits of e-readers and tablets over a printed mag.