The Kobo Libra e-reader is the best piece of technology I have bought in years

I’m not usually an evangelist for electronic devices. I can wax lyrical about comics or games, but I’ll never talk about my new iPad or whatever. But if someone casually mentions that they’re thinking about getting an e-reader and aren’t sure which one, I break through the wall like the Kool-Aid man and ask if they’ve accepted the gospel of Kobo into their heart.

For years I thought an e-reader was an unnecessary luxury. I didn’t need to read digital books, I could real Books. There is a library three blocks from my apartment and on the way there are two independent bookstores! And even if I did If I had a digital book, I could read it on my phone – or on the giant iPad Pro I read comics on. But now that I have a beautiful e-reader, the Kobo Libra, I know what an instant improvement to my quality of life it is.

Take library books, for example. A good e-reader can search for, reserve, and borrow e-books from your local library right from the device (Kobo’s Overdrive/Libby integration is a little wonky, but it works). You haven’t experienced joy until you’ve realized you want to read a book, pressed a few buttons on your e-reader, and immediately grabbed the entire book from the library, knowing it will automatically be returned on the return date. And we haven’t even mentioned the satisfaction you get from supporting your local library by frequently using their catalog.

The other basic task of an e-reader, which my Kobo is great at, is reading comics. Not the digitally colored, magazine-style books that are standard in American comics—you really need a color tablet for that. Even color E-Ink displays aren’t yet vibrant enough to show color comics the way they really look. But an e-reader screen reproduces the smaller, black-and-white paperback format of manga with great accuracy. With my Kobo and a good library card, I was able to Tasty in the Dungeon, Mermaid Sagaand much more, without stuffing my one-room apartment to the brim with books or even pulling out my wallet.

These are both things I expect from any e-reader, but the Kobo excels in other ways. First, it is a well-made book reader from a company that not have been exerting monopolistic pressure on the publishing industry for decades. And this may not be a universal interest, but for me and many other friends and colleagues, it is the Kobo’s built-in Pocket integration that really amazes.

We’re constantly online, constantly finding articles, links, and websites we want to read but don’t have time for right now. For some of us, who will remain anonymous, that translates into hundreds of open browser tabs. Or folders full of bookmarks. Or, at least for me, links sent to the Pocket app – another graveyard of great reading. We swear we’ll read them before the universe dies its heat death, and then we never do.

But what if the things I throw into Pocket automatically show up on the object I pick up specifically when I want to read something? That is, I actually read them. While Pocket integration is possible with e-readers like the Kindle, it’s not without some hurdles and third-party solutions. Here, it’s a feature out of the box. And that’s the magic that a Kobo has brought into my life.

My actual desktop and portable computers can do a million different things, as can my iPad. My phone? Don’t even get me started on how many distracting, attention-seeking, and necessary things are on my phone. My PlayStation is for gaming And Movies because it’s the only disc player I own. Even my TV has apps!

This is what makes me look at my Kobo Libra as lovingly as I would my favorite pet, as it rests on my nightstand or nestles quietly in my bag. Having a device that’s designed to do just one thing means it can be designed to do that one thing very carefully.

Take the Libra’s recycled faux leather case, for example, which – although sold separately – I think is absolutely integral to its appeal. The case has this clever magnetic origami fold that turns it into a kickstand that works at any angle (while the screen can be rotated as needed and locked in place via a switch on each open side). I’ve also found that the fold in the case makes for a good grip when holding it with one hand, like a built-in PopSocket (and that’s saying something, because my hands are so small I buy kid-sized gloves). But most importantly, the case’s kickstand allows for hands-free reading while lying on your side in bed – every reader’s bedtime dream.

These benefits may not be as compelling if you are already locked into another e-reader’s ecosystem and would lose out on many purchases that do not transfer from the Kindle store, for example. And if you are someone who buys If you have a lot of ebooks, you might decide to keep your Kindle and continue to have access to the Prime Day discounts. But if you’re just getting into the world of reading books on a device and have access to a good library or library system, I highly recommend a Kobo.

My little Kobo Libra does a few simple, necessary things. And it does them very well, and when I open it, it’s only to read and never do anything else. I have this kind of relationship with almost no other computing device I own, and I enthusiastically encourage you to develop this kind of bond with your own friendly little book reader.