I've nearly finished Moby Dick, but I don't know why, it's dreadful, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I guess it's historically interesting.

Possibly you guys are not losing the will or energy to read, you're merely discovering that the things you think you ought to read are terrible. Try only reading what you like. So what if it's short? Maybe your preference is right.

I think it's super important to make reading a habit so one must identify what doesn't work for them and try something else. You lose so much if you don't read.

I got a Kobo recently and I don't like it much. It's much duller than my last one, which is either due to the color screen having less contrast or me misremembering.

Kobo's main selling point was that it's not botnet, but I couldn't even turn the thing on without making an online account...

I actually prefer lower contrast, it gives me less eye fatigue and I've specifically chosen low-contrast themes on my computer for as long as I can remember.

I think there is a way to not create the account if you really don't want to. I put KOReader on mine straight away and never use the built-in software. That also incidentally has an option to adjust the contrast.