Author and New York Times tech columnist David Pogue wrote about his controversial decision to download an eBook from a BitTorrent site.

While searching for a digital copy of The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, Pogue posed a hypothetical question for publishers: “How about worrying about the thousands of dollars a month you’ve been leaving on the table by not offering the books to the public who’s willing to buy it?” He ended up going to a popular site with pirate copies of eBooks.

Check it out: “Eventually, I did what I’m sure thousands of frustrated Ludlum fans wind up doing: I downloaded the book from a BitTorrent site. I know this is wrong. I sure wish I could have paid for it. So I sent the publisher a check for $9.99 for the e-book.”

What do you think about his choice? If you are an author or publisher struggling with pirates, check out our three posts about dealing with piracy: How To Fight Book Pirates and Why People Pirate Books and How Writers Engage with eBook Pirates.

(Via Sara J. Henry and Sarah Weinman)