A New Hope (where Hope == e-reader)
Since I like reading and shelf space is precious where I live I own an ebook reader. I've had this one for a few years now and bought it used back in the day but by now it has accumulated a sufficient amount of quirks that I needed a replacemnt.
Another recent development is that I started to get more serious about ebook management (I lost quite a few over the years because I never backed them up) and now run a booklore server. It does more than I need but it's a cool piece of software, I think (and very pretty!).
I had made up my mind very quickly that I was going to install KOReader on my new reader, an open-source document reader for E Ink devices which has all the features I need. I had been using it on my Android phone for a while to test it out and, while the UI is notoriously convoluted and somewhat unintuitive, it has all the features I want (and then some).
If you're like me, making a purchasing decision for any moderately pricy and long-lived product comes with a lot of research and often decision paralysis. There's just too much choice out there. In this case something marvellous happened: Once I was done thinking about my requirements and doing the necessary research, there was one brand that suggested itself much more than the competition. From these there was one recent model that ticked all my boxes and clearly suited my needs best so I just bought it.
I now own a Kobo Clara BW ebook reader. There is one fly in the ointment, namely that you are forced to register a Kobo account during the setup process. I did that once and then put the reader in sideload mode which resulted in the device resetting itself (I think that's not supposed to happen and it was probably my fault) and not being connceted to Kobo anymore. This prevents me from buying books from their online shop but I didn't intend to do that anyway.
The KOReader installation process is refreshingly simple: you just download the relevant assets, connect the reader to your computer, run an installation script, wait for the reader to reboot and you're done. It's really that simple. Then came the new device setup phase, an experience I typically enjoy a great deal, during which I explored all the options, changed the settings to my liking, downloaded a few dictionaries, connected the reader to my booklore server, set up progress syncing, defined gestures, all that good stuff.
And then I downloaded books to it (I bought quite a few in these past weeks) and... read them! Just like that! Unbelievable, I know, but I did actually get around to using this device for its intended purpose. It has a nice form factor so I can easily put it in my pocket and take it with me (I did actually take it to a concert and finished a book while there), it is responsive, I can easily configure the interface according to the current circumstances (light intensity and color, font size, line spacing and all that), it's a pleasure to use.
I decided to keep the wifi off and only fire it up if I want to sync progress or download another book which benefits the battery life, I think.
I've owned it for a couple of weeks now (I think) and the shine has worn off a little bit (the one in my head, that is) but I still enjoy it a lot. I also spend less time on my phone or rather I have a dedicated reading device now so I can't get as easily distracted by other things on the same machine.
Long story short: I am very happy with how this turned out and would recommend it to others as well. The only thing that still annoys me is how many books come with DRM and how stripping it is a bit hit or miss, to my chagrin, so every once in a while I have to resort to asking my good friend Anna for a book. But that is a tale for another day and another problem to solve.