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Over the weekend I sent a colleague this post on Charlie Stross’ blog. My colleague is quite involved with eBooks and I thought the report of MobiPocket having problems with their DRM server would be of interest to him.As an aside in my e-mail, I mentioned that I had read and enjoyed Stross’ Accelrando which I had started reading as an eBook but then purchased as a paperback because it was more convenient. I included the comment both because Accelerando is worth recommending and because the way I had come to read it (Stross made it available for free) was mildly interesting in context.As I thought about it more, though, it occurred to me that the “more convenient” argument for the switch wasn’t entirely accurate. As it happens, I have any number of devices in my home with which I can read eBooks. I have used them all to read quite a number of works as eBooks. I look forward each year to Fictionwise’s habit of making the Hugo and Nebula nominees for best short story available and read them all electronically without complaint. So I’m not an eBook Luddite by any means.But.After a few chapters of the book though, I stopped at my local bookstore and picked up a copy in paperback. I kept the book on my bedside and finished reading it (even though it meant that I had to wear clunky reading glasses — no font adjustment — and stop reading when my wife wanted to go to sleep — no back light). The book just worked better for me.I’m not talking about the ineffable smell of the the book (I collect vintage Doc Savage paperbacks and the smell can most charitably be described as “musty”) or any other tactile aspect of the book. Nor am I complaining about display quality (as noted above it’s better in some very practical ways).But.When I pick the book, I take out the bookmark and start reading. When I’m done, I put the bookmark back and put the book down. There’s no chance that the batteries will be low. There’s no chance the DRM server will be down. There’s no chance that there’ll be dead pixel bloom on the display. In fact it’s dead certain that as long as I find my reading glasses, I’ll be able to read and relax.None of the technical problems that could occur would be insurmountable. I’ve got extra batteries. The DRM server will probably come back up soon. But you know what? I just don’t want to deal with it. I spend my day dealing with technology and by the time I want to pick up a book to read for pleasure, I’m just not in the mood for any of it.In other words, dead certain reliability (not something our industry is known for) is the technology that I’m waiting for before I’ll entirely give up the ineffable feel of a paperback book. This is in contrast to the conventional wisdom that lighter/cheaper/better eBook readers are the path to eBook nirvana. In effect I want technology that has the mental footprint of a 4 function calculator.I am aware of irony of this attitude as applied to a book in which the characters upload themselves into a spacecraft the size of a walnut which travels to distant parts of the universe. Ah well.