I got a reply from Kobo to my comments/thoughts on the new style homescreen - the emoticons are my response!
Thank you for suggesting a new feature!

We are sorry to hear that you are experiencing a problem.

We’re always looking for ways to improve our service and products so we truly value your feedback.
Your suggestion will be forwarded to our innovation-minded Dev Team for review.

To recognize the inconvenience caused by this issue and to thank you for your loyalty to Kobo, please accept this £3 store credit offer*
If you continue to experience problems trying to update the eReader, please contact us.