Thanks for the answer!
Not sure if I have the courage to do that tbh! Was about to jailbreak this device like a week ago but procrastinated and now this new firmware is out... FML
How likely do you think the trick you proposed (which sounds quite clever!) is to work? Maybe I should just wait this out, not registering the device and converting epubs with Calibre to sideload them until a coder comes in with some magic!