The flip side of this is that without the Kindle, it would have been "I may go pick up a copy from the public library, if I find myself visiting it soon and remember this thread when I'm there."
He's a lot more likely to actually get around to reading it when it's instantly and freely available. Hurrah for the public domain.
I think that sentence sort of encapsulates what you are saying in your article. It certainly pulled me up sharp.