LOL, I swear JS you have the darkest clouds I've ever seen on anyone. It seem like everything that could possibly go wrong on you does.
I don't get the character issues, but then again i don't have the pronunciations on the dictionary of my choice. The only dictionary that does have the pronunciations is the kindle appand that like fine.
Yes i agree Moon's text selection is not as good as the kindle. In fact it's not as good as some of the other tools like repligo and ezPDF, but it's one of the few ePUB readers that had this option. The developer is also very active and does respond to user feedback.
I don't know why your battery life is so bad. It seems like you are only getting 4-5hrs on a full charge. I usually get about 6hrs with WiFi and bright screen on. One difference is that I do run with an overclocked kernel, which does improve the performance and supposedly battery life. Very easy to install, but with your history I'm not sure I'd recommend it.
the screen is what kills the juice the most turn it down as much as you can.
Personally I feel you're expectation is to high, if you want a finished product feel, buy a finished product. Look into the tab, flyer, or streak.
The nook is far from perfect, it was never destined as a tablet, and the screen response had some issues. But for me the price is great and the few unpolished features do not bother me especially because it delivers the important features I'm looking for in a tablet.
Anyhow if the issues you are having are so much, toy might want to toss out you're nook and come back later this great when the choices for android tablets will be much better.