Thomas Pynchon's Novels to be Released as Ebooks via Penguin: Good for Readers, Dangerous for E-readers?

In college I had a class in Absurdist Literature and we read Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49. The day we discussed it, one of my classmates related the story of how—as he was reading it while a passenger in a car—he became so frustrated with the book's byzantine and opaque conspiracies, he threw it out window. I wonder, now that Pynchon has allowed his work to cross the digital divide, as per the L.A. Times Jacket Copy blog, whether having it as an ebook would decrease the likelihood of this type of thing happening, or if Pynchon will lead to a modest increase in ereader sales (to replace those that have been defenestrated), or at least shorten the cycle of obsolescence.

Quoth The New York Times' Julie Bosman:

Thomas Pynchon was one of the last great holdouts: the rare writer who had refused to allow his work to be sold in e-book format.

Now he’s changed his mind.

Mr. Pynchon, the author of “The Crying of Lot 49,” “Gravity’s Rainbow” and “V.,” has struck a deal with the Penguin Press to publish his entire backlist in digital form.

Full stories in the L.A. Times and the Grey Lady.

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