On November 1, a new FAA regulation went into effect that allows passengers to keep their personal electronic devices on when cabin doors are closed and the plane is under 10,000 feet.

Hmmm. Can’t tell you how many times I disobeyed those flight attendants and merely hid my electronic reading device instead of shutting it down. Yes. Shame on me. And look, never did my plane crash. I was only busted once, and even then the attendant looked more embarrassed than me. Like, yeah I know this is all bullshit, but humor me will you, and please don’t pull a Baldwin, okay?

Of course, I think the new rules are great, and will make nervous flyers more comfortable with a plethora of digital devices to distract them en route. And yay, for those endless tarmac waits. now, we can call home and bitch out loud to someone who really cares. Or just start blogging about it, posting in real time, with photos.

I wondered if less people will be boarding plane without their physical books with the recent changes, and if the airport book stores might suffer. Then I read this recent article in Publisher’s Weekly about the efforts of airport bookstores to stay relevant.  Right here in my town, they are thinking BIGGER.

( from the article by Judith Rosen, Nov 11, 2013)  “Airport bookstores have also looked to sidelines and have expanded online to boost sales. The latest New York Times Bookstore opened by Paradies in April at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was paired with a local Atlanta deli, Goldberg’s Café. The bookstore has a small but carefully culled selection of books, just over 50 titles, with a strong local flavor as well, including a strong section on African-American literature and on Atlanta culture and history to celebrate the new National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, which opens in spring 2014.”

Awesomeness.

So, with my recent discovery that at least four mini liquor bottles will fit in the liquid quart baggie you are allowed to carry on, and be accepted by TSA with a smirk and wink, you can now load up the Kindle and sip and read your way to the tropics.