a tiny reader for a voracious reader

I’m a voracious reader, and that’s hardly news to anyone who knows me. Reading gives me a kind of pleasure I rarely find anywhere else; it’s my private refuge from this bizarre world. I spent seven years just reading — nothing but reading — but that’s a story for another time.

In 2016, I bought my first Kindle. And honestly, I barely paid attention to it. Amazon’s idea seemed fantastic while I was looking at the device through a computer screen, but once it arrived, it just didn’t grab me. Still, I decided to give it another shot.

When the Paperwhite came along, I got excited again and bought my second Kindle. Strangely enough, I soon found myself more interested in its firmware than in what the device was actually supposed to do. The Kindle did its job well enough, but it always felt a bit too locked down. It never really gave me the feeling of reading an actual book. Even so, I stuck with it — and eventually got used to it.

Then, last year — or maybe the year before — I saw the announcement for the Kindle Colorsoft and thought, “Well, maybe now.” I was excited by the idea of finally being able to read my graphic novels on a Kindle. But while digging around on Reddit, something else caught my attention: the possibility of jailbreaking a Kindle. And not just any Kindle — my very first one, the old guy.

I didn’t waste any time. I went through the process, installed KOReader, and that old Kindle seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. I’m not sure whether I felt good because I had pulled off the jailbreak, or because that Kindle suddenly had new life and new features. Probably both.

After that, I decided to get the Colorsoft Signature, and I gave my first Kindle away to someone else.

Since I’m always rushing from one place to another, usually late, I like having the same things in different places. So I kept the other two Kindles: one at the office and one at home. And in my spare time, I did what I knew how to do best: I read.

Damn consumerism.

In early 2026, I heard about the Xteink X3. I read about it and immediately fell for the idea. The first batch, released at the beginning of the year, had already sold out. So I ordered one from the second batch and waited three or four months for it to arrive.

Today, it finally did. And I have to say: I’m genuinely impressed.

In terms of speed, nothing still beats Amazon’s devices. But the Xteink X3’s size is phenomenal. It’s small enough to attach to the back of a phone, which makes it absurdly practical. The mobility is fantastic, and even though it’s tiny, the reading experience doesn’t feel uncomfortable.

It’s a strange little device, specific and almost stubborn in its purpose. But maybe that’s exactly why it won me over.