I don’t mean to distribute, but to scan for myself to read digitally, am I allowed to do that legally and ethically when I buy a physical book or would that be totally unethical and illegal?
Not a lawyer, and I don’t recommend asking for legal advice on a random forum. From an ethical standpoint, I see it as perfectly ethical as long as it’s for personal use and you don’t give anyone access to it. With that said, if you ever sell the physical copy of the book, I think ethically you’ll have to delete all the copies you’ve made.