My Ebook Dilemma

I haven’t entirely made up my mind about ebooks. I buy them regularly. However, I do not have an ebook reader. I generally buy ebooks as PDFs and keep them on my computer – usually a laptop. I store them in my gmail account which works fairly well – with lots and lots of storage. I don’t particularly mind reading books on my computer, but will admit that it is not easy to curl up with a laptop on the couch to enjoy a good read. There is something missing from the experience for me. I still ultimately prefer a paper book with a colorful cover that is nice to look at. I also love the ritual of turning pages. I think that I feel more connected to the story when I am reading a physical book – and I have a much better idea of how much of the story I have read. Whether I would take to an ebook reader is an unknown. I would like to get one – especially in order to have a central repository for the files. I do have several hundred ebooks. But, I am not ready to buy one yet. I worry about formats, DRM, incompatibility and data loss.

My current problem is that I am now facing the ebook-which-may-or-may-not-be-published-in-paper-format dilemma. As with all books, there are many ebooks that have become my favorites with multiple re-readings. Several of these ebooks, I have purchased again once they were published in paper. This, especially in today’s economic climate, is a serious waste of money. This comes to mind today because of the recent release of Lorelei James’ Rough, Raw, and Ready. I am a fan of this series and own all previous books in both ebook and paper format. The print version of Rough, Raw, and Readyis scheduled to be released in late February of 2009. I am having a difficult time not buying the ebook. I WANT to read this story NOW!!!!!! I want to know what happens to Chassie, Trevor and Edgard. I hate having to wait. Yet, I am trying to be responsible in my spending, realizing that I would probably buy the paper copy even if I bought the ebook today. I suppose that in this I should count myself lucky – I mean I know this book is scheduled to be released in print. I didn’t know that the previous ones would make it into print.

So the larger problem with ebooks is that there is no guarantee that they will eventually be published in print. I assume that part of this is demand. Authors can get ebooks published and then develop a group of loyal readers. If the author’s works become more popular, there is probably a better chance that a book will be printer. Of course, this is just speculation. I have no idea. But, I do know that this is frustrating. I do not want to have buy the same item twice.

Realistically, the best way to handle this is to break down and get an ebook reader – I could ask for one for a Christmas present. Yet, I do not want to get stuck with a ebook files in incompatible formats – DRM drives me bonkers on my iPod. ARGH!!!!!!! So, at this point, Rough, Raw, and Ready remains on my Amazon Wish List – and I will try to refrain from purchasing the ebook. I don’t expect it to be easy.