KOBO: a review

For some people who spend a lot of time with books, the idea of an e-reader can make you a little queasy.
It's one more step down this road we're on of converting media objects into intangibles. Movies, music, literature, once demanded entire pieces of furniture to store. Our things are still there, but they're no longer THERE.
I really wasn't sure how I was going to react to reading a book off a six-inch screen, but I think it's safe to say I might be a convert. If my e-reading experience has taught me anything thus far, it's that the 'soul' of a book doesn't need a physical form to be every bit as real to you. It's all in your head. I still love books in print, though I expect the next time I move house I'll be making some decisions about dumping a big chunk of the library.
I had a bit of a rocky start with my Kobo, a Christmas gift. After three days its screen was all jumbled up — they sent me a new one with no hassles and it's worked perfectly ever since.

Pros
-Although it could use a bit more contrast between the base and the text, the screen reads wonderfully and its very easy on the eyes. I can't begin to describe how important it is to me to read from a non-backlit surface like this. For those who care (and they are out there) you can change fonts between two basic serif and sans-serif choices as well as increase font size. Did you know that Colin hates serif fonts so much that he makes his office colleagues email him in a specific sans-serif font. Truefacts.

-Comfort. After wrestling with the last print book I read — an unbalanced 950 page softcover monster with a tiny typeface — the Kobo just seems civilized and effortless. This might sound retarded, but the quilted rubber surface on the back of the Kobo is such a sensory delight on your fingertips, that it's almost distracting. Plainly stated, it's nicer to hold than a book.

-Simplicity and ergonomics. With the exception of the page-flip pad, they've very wisely kept all the buttons off the front and back surfaces of the unit giving you lots of room to hold it comfortably in a variety of positions. This matters more than you might think as you spend hours upon hours with it in your hand. Tiny rubber studs on the page-flip pad allow you to operate the thing almost by braille. You don't have to break off eye contact with the text to flip the page which helps you get a flow going. There's a lot of little things that you come to appreciate in the design.
Where other e-readers like the Kindle have full keyboards, I don't really understand why a keyboard would matter (unless perhaps you were a book editor) If you bought the machine to read with, then it's only going to get in the way.

Cons
-As a bit of an impulsive reader who enjoys two-to-five minute bursts of reading when he's voiding his bowels, during commercial breaks of Jersey Shore, or those rare moments when his mischievous infant isn't doing something dangerous, the Kobo has a bit of an annoyingly slow startup. There's a 35-40 second boot-up before you have to navigate through one menu back to your page. This is a pain as I'm usually half done my business by the time I get readin', dang it!. Perhaps I need to make better use of a 'Sleep Mode' that takes you instantaneously back to your page, though I'd have to charge the unit more often. So far I've only charged the unit once in a month's time — not bad.

-I'm scared as hell to take this thing out of my house. My first Kobo 'shit the bed' after I put it in my pocket and went outside in minus-20 degree celsius weather, an average day in these parts this time of year. Protective cases are quite expensive — around $40.

-While it's a sweet gesture, perusing the 100 preloaded classic works of literature on the Kobo is a ridiculous exercise. I see it as something akin to the clowns who buy all these real books so that they can put them on a shelf with no intentions of reading them, just to impress people looking at their bookshelves. I feel as though I've unwittingly become one of those clowns.
Why just the other day, I read three pages of The Importance of Being Earnest, whilst I shat. It was terrible!
It would come in really handy in the event of a nuclear war, provided I could charge the damn thing.