eReader Stuff

e-Reader Blog Entry

I’ve been slacking on utilizing this space for some time, then it occurred to me that I don’t have to write about anything serious, I can just post about my interests. So here is some stuff about e-readers!

I’ve been a fan of e-readers for nearly 17 years since I was working at Barnes & Noble when they - released the first round of the Nook. Over time I’ve switched to other brands (never Kindles! More on than shortly), however I have consistently used some sort of e-ink device as a primary reading tool this entire time. Early on I also developed an interest in finding ways to “get under the hood” of the devices, ranging from clever work-around hacks all the way to installing entirely new operating systems on them to get even more use from them. So here is my pitch on why it’s worth considering an e-reader, and some basic insights to get started.

Why Do I Want An e-Reader?

If you are someone who devours books in the classic codex format and considers reading an entire book on a screen (of any type) to be an anathema, let me simply say; Bless You. I admire your resolve much in the same way I admire people who abstain from certain sources of protein due to religious conviction. Thank you for adding a click to the count of this blog and I will not be offended if you skip the rest.

For everyone else, there are a couple reasons to consider an e-reader:

1. An e-reader is easier to carry with you compared to most books, especially as you will no longer find a mass market paperback outside a used store.

2. As we all now carry a constant video stream in our pocket which is remapping our brains and throwing entire societies into turmoil, it seems ever more urgent to break off parts of how we use The Phone and make them exclusive to a different device that does not have convenient video or scrolling. I’ve found this physical divide so helpful in staving off the worst of phone compulsion that I have even taken the step of reverting to a distinct device for all my personal audio enjoyment.

These two factors combined have greatly helped me to maintain some attention span for simple reading over the past decade and a half of The Phone’s assimilation campaign.

Glossary

Let’s cover a couple terms:

e-reader – Kind of a loose term that can apply to anything from a common tablet to the dedicated e-ink devices.

e-ink - The type of black & white (or grey-ish) screen meant to emulate printed paper.

e-book – The digital file which contains the book text. The most common format is .epub however there are a number of other regularly used file formats you will encounter.

DRM (Digital Rights Management) – This is the crap which is attached to most mainstream e-book files which keeps the book locked into an exclusive ecosystem.

Calibre – A program you download to your laptop to organize and load books onto a pretty wide range of e-readers. It is rumored that you could add certain plug-ins to this program which would allow someone to strip the DRM from the e-book file, which would now allow the e-book to be accessible without being limited to devices or apps tied to the originating digital ecosystem.

Which e-Reader Should (or Shouldn’t) I Consider?

KINDLE – Let’s get the big question out of the way— “Why should I avoid getting a Kindle?” If it were only a question of whether you want to give money to the biggest corporate shark in the tank, then it would simply be a discussion of how much our consumer choices do or do not affect larger economic forces. Instead I am going to appeal to you as a consumer and a reader. Amazon has consistently shown itself to be the most ruthless with locking consumers into their digital ecosystem, most willing to restrict consumers’ access to books and devices for which they have paid, and absolutely flood you with advertisements well beyond any sizable e-book seller. This does not make Amazon unique; most e-book sellers do some of the bad things Amazon does. However Amazon’s size, lack of similar scale competition, and the erosion of consumer protections in the United States creates perverse incentives for Amazon to mess with their consumers beyond the still-not-good norm. All of the front end convenience of the Amazon system comes back to haunt the customer the minute they want to do much of anything outside the Kindle gated community. In the realm of books and other media, Amazon is the vanguard of the ominous prediction that “In the future you will own nothing, and be happy.” I however want to actual own the media I purchase, even if it is in the form of a digital file.

So what should you consider in an e-reader? My survey of the terrain in the first half of 2026 is that there are three brands worth considering”

KOBO – If reading the above paragraph made you ask “But Anders, is there any possible way to enjoy the advantages of a robust integrated e-reader/e-book ecosystem while avoiding the worst of Amazon’s shenanigans?” then the best answer is Kobo. I am now on my second Kobo device, the first one lasted the better part of the decade and I only felt compelled to get a new one after the rubber power button of the older model finally disintegrated (newer models have changed this design for the better). My new model, a Kobo Clara Colour (company is Canadian), is of a similar size range as paperback, and my wife can confirm that there are few nights when I am not reading a little something (or a lot) on this before going to sleep. All current models have a built in illuminated screen which is quite pleasant for reading in a dark setting without disturbing anyone nearby. I think the vast majority of people considering an e-reader will and probably should gravitate to the Kobo line of products. Even with my new fun device (see next entry) I still get a lot of daily use from my Kobo.

Pros:

Kobo Store has pretty much any e-book item put out by a mainstream publisher.

There are a range of device options with several different size and feature options you may find appealing.

Every device allows you to rent e-books from your local library.

It is pretty easy to sideload non-DRM e-books onto the device and enjoy them alongside Kobo Store purchased items.

If you also want to read news articles, the Instapaper app is part of all their devices.

Cons:

Kobo e-books do have DRM. This means when you purchase your copy of The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party (Michael F. Holt, 2003) you will only be able to open the file on a Kobo device or a Kobo app. That said, I have heard Kobo e-books are the easiest to remove the DRM.

XTEINK – I stumbled onto these weirdos randomly on Reddit, was immediately enamored and soon secured one. My X4 has a surface area slightly larger than a credit card, and depth a third of my most slim phone battery bank. On top of the minimalist size, it is a true bare bones device—an e-ink screen, a couple navigation buttons, an SD card slot, and a wifi connection…and that’s it! Even the factory firmware is pretty rough, and may be defaulted to Chinese characters. However a robust online community has developed in the last couple months which has adopted these devices as a fun and useful project. Getting enjoyment out of this line of devices will almost certainly require that you “get under the hood”. You will likely want to flash a different custom firmware to run the device. You will need to use any of the newly minted companion apps or desktop browser plug-ins to send news articles to the device. You will almost certainly want to become versed in the Calibre desktop program to organize and load books onto the device (and maybe some other file related things). If all that sounds intriguing to you, then take a look at the XTEINK line of products and hit me up to chat about how to get started! If none of that sounds appealing, I totally understand and refer you back to the Kobo entry above. I now constantly carry my X4 with me and have added a lot of enjoyment by being able to make progress on a book whenever I have a few minutes to spare, while still avoiding being on The Phone.

Pros:

Cheap! A little variation in price depending on where you buy it online, but at most you’re paying the same as a nice dinner out for two.

Transportable! The size, the weight, and the magnet on the back to stick to your phone, all make this a breeze to carry around.

Physical buttons—I legit find that physical buttons to navigate and turn pages creates a different enough relationship to the device to help feel a further distance from The Phone.

Battery life—I usually need to charge my Kobo every other week, however my X4 seems to have at least twice that battery life even though lately I’ve been using it more than the Kobo.

Cons:

No backlight (though there are upcoming models from the company that appear to have backlights).

No library book access. There are workarounds for most other things you can get on a Kobo, however this is the one exception.

BOOX – In all honesty, I have never even seen one of these in the flesh (the plastic?). That said, I think they are intriguing and worth mentioning. There is a growing market for what are effectively “e-ink tablets” and the BOOX brand is the one that I see the most chatter around. Simply picture a device that is in the usual size range of a phone or a tablet using some sort of Android operating system, however it is an e-ink screen. So you can download any app that would be available to an Android phone or tablet, the text and images on the app will look like printed paper, yet video will be largely unusable. Specifically for reading use, this means you could just install all the book apps (Kobo, Kindle, Nook, etc) along with anything you might use to read articles, and completely work around any sort of ecosystem barrier.

Again, take all of this section with some salt as I am only basing this on what I’ve seen online.

Pros:

Any Android app for reading is usable on one of these.

The e-ink makes it completely anti-tempting to watch YouTube or TikTok or any video.

Cons:

Price tag for these types of devices is enough to buy a couple Kobos or a handful of XTEINKs.

Even though video is unappealing, you could still probably scroll more text-focused social media, so that temptation still lurks.

Many online comments state that using e-ink with a smartphone level OS (like Android) really eats up the battery.

Unorthodox Calibre Functions

One last topic is some of the things I have alluded to throughout this piece; workarounds to the DRM.

First the disclaimer: I AM NOT A LAWYER AND NONE OF THIS IS LEGAL ADVICE. I am simply regurgitating some stuff I’ve read elsewhere.

Many people have set-up Calibre on their computer, then found a compatible plug-in from a third party which allows Calibre to remove the DRM part of an e-book file, allowing the book to be accessible on a wider range of devices. For anyone old enough to remember the early years of using iTunes to rip and burn CDs, this would be similar. I leave it to the individual to decide how much to research this topic, and whether it is within their personal skill set.

The question of legality is tough to parse. Lots of new legislation has rolled out in the many years since the original iTunes and FBI warnings at the start of the VHS. And the increase of media being distributed only in digital format has made it easier for corporations to notice when someone is tinkering with a file. Also I’ve seen references to legal cases stating that you are allowed to do some stuff to a file you purchased, up to a point. So my only solid observation is that if someone is doing something legally unclear, and then makes a big public facing deal about it, then they are more likely to be noticed by an entity willing to take legal action.

Conclusion

I hope some of this was helpful and interesting. Maybe someday I will update this post or do a new version. Happy to chat more!