There are 100 classic books already in it (listed
here), your dad will love them.
Yes, you need to create an acount to purchase books from Chapter or
kobobooks websites, and sync it into your Kobo using the Kobo's desktop application;
also, you can download books (in *.epub format) from the internet, and add the books with the 3rd party application "
Calibre - E-book Management".