I want to read Legacy of the Force. I really do. I want to get it on this new addition to Star Wars literature while it's still new to everyone else to.

But I can't. I am, quite simply, unable to buy Betrayal.

No, it's not because I have yet to read the New Jedi Order. That put me off for a while, but I have the New Essential Chronology, I have Wookiepedia, and I've already know enough to get by.

So why can't I buy Betrayal? Because they haven't released it in paperback yet. I cannot buy a hardback novel. I refuse. I simply can't bring myself to buy a book for more than three times the price that I agree is reasonable. I can't do it.

Not to mention that I personally think paperback is superior for reading. Let's see: It's smaller (I can fit it in a good pocket), lighter, flexible, less awkward to hold... Not that I dislike hardcovers, the difference is really minimal.

So why should I pay an exorbitant increase in price for what I perceive as a slightly decreased value? I can't! Even if paperbacks were the overpriced ones, I wouldn't be willing to pay three times their value for the nominal increase in convenience.

It's funny, everywhere I look I see the rest of the series in paperback. But no, they can't release the first book for cheap, or else they might not get enough money. Well played, book publishing industry, but you ain't getting this guy! I'm won't do it! I won't buy a hardback novel!

But what does that mean for me? I have to wait until late June for Darth Bane:Path of Destruction (which I really want to read). Last year I had a similar problem with Dark Lord. I have to wait another month before I can start on the Legacy of the Force. I don't even know how long I'll have to wait if I decide I want to pick up Allegiance.

But wait! Amazon sells these hardback books for as low as $16! Gee, that's only a little more than TWICE as much as I'm willing to pay. What a bargain!

Am I the only one who is physically unable to burn money in this manner? Am I just a little too jewish to be able to stay hip with today's sci-fi literature? All I know is that buying a hardcover version of a novel, no matter how long it takes for the paperback to come out, and no matter how much I want to read the book, there is simply no way that I could ever bring myself to pay for hardcover.