I've been eyeing the Xteink devices for a while now. They fit all the boxes - small, cheap, physical buttons - a basic reading utility. However, since there's no support for DRM, I'm worried either I won't be able to find books I want to read (what if I want the latest from my favourite author?), or I'll eventually run out.

Might be a tiny tinsy bit of purchase-anxiety as well - it'll be my first e-ink device after all, but what do I know...

Liberate your e-books, my friend: https://github.com/Satsuoni/DeDRM_tools/discussions

You can get free ebooks from the same place Meta got them.