It might be due to an interaction with the firmware, since I'm using the 2.1.2 fast boot, but I'm glad it's fixed! Also: the larger archive also shows the pages without an increasing delay
As I see it, the status bar shows the date, time and battery level, of which the time is the most relevant. I don't need the status bar, and therefore it's lost screen real estate, but I could get if someone would like to keep it.
But in both cases, I'd see it as a preference for all books, and not a per-book setting.