Seems like a lot of the issues with Chromebooks that concern users here can be solved by installing ubuntu via crouton on the chromebook. For those who don't know what that means, it basically means you can very easily install Ubuntu, a fuly-fledged linux operating system, alongside Chrome OS and can even switch to it without rebooting the chromebook. By doing this, I am able to have a chromebook 90% of the time, but can run Calibre and other such programs, print from USB, and connect my Sony Reader all at the drop of a hat. With Wine installed on ubuntu (intel-based chromebooks only), I can even run windows programs with varying degrees of success.
It's definitely worth bearing this in mind for everyone, since it really is easy to install ubuntu this way...
Instructions