Obuu,
Thank you for the suggestion. I had been working with the files in Illustrator, because while it's less than ideal, but at least it allowed me to keep working. That wouldn't have been possible with larger files (books), like in your case. I had also tried saving as an IDML file and like you found it not to work. I will try the export as IDML and reopen in an older version of InDesign.
I can say that I reinstalled the MAC OS (Mountain Lion) and then reinstalled (or tried to) the Adobe Suite. Several installs and/or updates failed, including Ilustrator, Adobe Extension Manager, Bridge and Dreamweaver. InDesign seemed to be working better for a few minutes but after making a few edits, it closed suddenly and has continued to be a problem. I'm glad to know there's an alternative through IDMLs. Thanks!
