the physicality of the e-book and the PhD as a book

I need to be writing; but my procrastination took me to skype instead...where a friend reminded me of my writing... and of her lining up mentors for the post doc stage. I would like a mentor, but i have reservations. Critique i can admire...but really my skin is not that tough.
So i want a mentor softer than ones she suggested. My writing is odd...its apparently more in the genre of Yoda meets Jennifer Turner-Hospital. My phd was 'layered'. definitions evolved rather than being upfront, and findings grew organically, they werent expressed upfront either. I like the story to unfold, a genre unsuited to typical academic writing...so was looking for different approaches.
My friend introduced me to: Publishing pedagogies for the doctorate and beyond by Aitchison, Claire; Kamler, Barbara; Lee, Alison
2010

So I go looking for it... I locate it online in my uni library online.
I download the ebook, forgetting i have choices for how long, so am limited to one days reading...
except when i try to open the download ebook i get

So back through the library - I'm told i have it for 23 hours and 5 mins...but i cant use it...so try to download as a pdf, but it tells me "waiting"...not sure who for or why....close it down come back in another browser...nope...still waiting....have a shower come back, and decide to sneak up on the beast differently... A successful capture!
I had not envisaged going on a bear hunt.
I open it to read online, cool... read four pages, looking interesting, seems to have tolerance being expressed for the post doc experience, and perhaps, I hope of different ways to write...so i made a cup of tea, came back and nooooooo
Im back to it being unavailable.

Bring on the physicality of the book.
One I can stub my toe on, hold, know where it is when I put it down...

Nonetheless the promise of immediacy, anywhere anytime without driving to uni...

So back online...and it opened again, now where was I up to ...searching...this sucks...try the download again, this time as pdf..yes download done...
dumb...forgot to change the 24 hr default...still...
and still cant open it. sigh.

And with my PhD submission, a page the library required needed to be included. But in the fear of the Mac to PC and from word to pdf my option seems to be tears or outsourcing. So outsourcing it is.
It stuffs up the TOC, fortunately not the figures as they began after the section break for the first pages in Roman Numerals, but yes, a gremlin in the system does mean the pdf conversion stuffs up all formatting of tables with photos embedded with writing superimposed on the photos.... well worth the time to have the formatting guy fix this....but then another formatting stuff up as inexplicably two other pictures jump out of alignment. I am so over this, but eventually, it is done. Nothing is as easy as the University librarian would have me believe in just inserting a page.

And then just when i thought it was safe to go back into the water, metaphorically...i attempt to download a trashy fiction novel. But then there's the recall of a password that I cannot manage, and the resetting of the digital password, followed by the reset required of the Visa card details, and then the ipad refusing to know it has been associated with until it is powered down and restarted.

Am seriously beginning to appreciate the ease of scrolls and wondering why humankind ever moved away from such functionality!

An hour later, too tired to read, i have my kindle download...an hour please note that i might have spent reading....guess i didnt have to drive to the shop or to the library, so an hour that would nonetheless not have been any more productive had i made my choices otherwise.
At least now i can read it in bed with its backlighting turned up, and its font size on large :)