love notes

So here is what I’ve spent the afternoon imagining: J.D. Salinger has a change of heart and comes out with a new novel, but releases it on a website he has created. The book is downloadable as a searchable .pdf for a month in advance of it’s hardcover release date. There’s a feature that let’s you bookmark in the last sentence you read and jump back to it between taking your dog for a walk. The novel is downloaded and e-mailed around like crazy. Broke college kids give it to their parents for the holidays. Suddenly, book news makes the front page of the newspaper. Kindle sales go through the roof, and within three months, Apple, Microsoft, and Google all develop their own e-readers. The quality of e-readers goes through the roof. By this time, Salinger has made a small fortune from hardback sales, without having to advertise–enough that he pays the entire world to not bother him ever again. People use their check from Salinger to buy the next generation of e-reader. Suddenly, there’s a market for downloadable novels and hardbacks. Publishing is reinvigorated; there’s money to take chances again. The Dow recovers. Libraries check out e-readers loaded with entire sections–automotive repair manuals for the entire history of cars, every yearbook, ever. People fall in love at voluminous rates.

Please, Mr. Salinger?