New Kobo, What should I do first?

[anacreon]

This concerns more than books.

Talk with artists, collectors, framers, gallerists, curators: a frame/no frame/what frame, how wide a space between the work and the frame, how wide a space between the work and nearby works, which works nearby, the color of the wall behind, the lighting, all influence how the work is received and appreciated. Ginourmous works (contemporary art, 19th painters wanting to be visible among wall to wall paintings) need relatively narrower space than small works.

A book on a reader looks very much like a picture in a frame to me: I discovered early that white ereaders are not appropriate frames - better a dark one. And I like the reading matter to be separated from the frame by a wide enough space, to "breathe" as we say for artworks. A wider space gives more importance to the work too. Poetry for one is mostly defined by the way it occupies the space of the book page, but whatever the text, I prefer a well set and well presented book, with appropriate typography. This is the reason I prefer Kobos to Kindles, kepubs to epubs, a choice of light level/color I can adjust according to ambient light.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by davidfor

You have a new ereader, the first thing you should do is put a book on it and read it.

Then start thinking about what you don't like and want to change. You might be surprised and find that you were wrong about what you don't like.

This is the best advice. As you can already tell from this thread, everyone has their own preference.

Once you figure out your preferences for font, spacing, etc., you might take a look at GeoffR's Metazoa patch and what it can change for you.

I prefer epubs (don't like the wasted space at the top of every page but I do want to see the page number), using a cover (there are some very nice slim covers that don't add much to the reader at all, but still offer protection), and a lot of other quirks I'm able to set to my liking using GeoffR's patch.

[Terisa de morgan]

But, in the end, the better look is a personal preference, and saying someone is wrong because he doesn't share your likings... sorry, that's wrong for me.

And for the OP, my recommendation is already... read a book, learn the device and, after that, feel what YOU would like better and search the forum or ask if it can be done.

[ZodWallop]

empyrking, once you do make some changes, I'd be curious to know what they are.

I convert my ePub to kepub when sideloading, switched search to default to device rather than store, sideloaded a few fonts and activated advanced font control for them and ultimately turned off the header and footer. I wish I could have kept the footer and just dropped the header, but it looks like it's an all or nothing proposition.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I wish I could have kept the footer and just dropped the header, but it looks like it's an all or nothing proposition.

Not now, there's a thread in the developer forum (I cannot remember now) where there's a patch for this.

[BearMountainBooks]

Just read! (And find the kobo thread for coupons on MobileRead if you aren't already subscribed!)

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by robko

Live bravely. Take it out and enjoy. There are lots of us who enjoy reading on our devices with no cover (whether you are reading naked or not I'll leave for you to decide ).

Be careful where you take your ereader outside naked. Some places frown on that and you might get charged with indecent exposure. .