Reading Small Print

[Alan, Founding Moderator and Author]

READING SMALL PRINT IN PAPER BOOKS: THE SOLUTION

This post is for the benefit of those who, like me, have difficulty reading small print in paper books, especially books published by academic presses. I have had this problem for several years, probably as a result of my advancing age (I am currently in my mid-70s). Corrective lenses do not solve this problem for me. My default option has been to buy only Kindle ebooks when they are available (most current Kindle editions allow readers to highlight, annotate, and adjust the font size). However, Kindle did not begin until late 2007 and only became available for many books during the years thereafter. Although physical books published before 2008 are now often available on Kindle, some (especially many academic books) are not. There are quite a few paperback or hardcover books in my personal library that predated Kindle and have never been published in ebook format. Even some books published after 2007 do not have Kindle editions.

I have finally found a solution to this problem. I have purchased a magnifier floor lamp (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004AM75CA?...) on Amazon.com. Although it is a bit clunky to use, I find that it enables me to read physical books having small print with relative ease. For example, I am currently rereading a hardcover book on political philosophy (not available on Kindle) that I have had in my personal library for over fifty years. In calling attention to this technical device, my purpose is only to help those with vision problems. I do not get any sales kickback. Moreover, this should not be seen as an invitation to engage in general marketing in the present Goodreads group. Although authors are welcome to mention or discuss their books insofar as they are directly relevant to the subject matter of this group, general marketing is not permitted except when, as here, it may be of assistance to people with particular needs relating to reading.

Alan E. Johnson
Founding Moderator of the “Political Philosophy and Ethics” Goodreads discussion group

[Ian]

Alan wrote: "READING SMALL PRINT IN PAPER BOOKS: THE SOLUTION

This post is for the benefit of those who, like me, have difficulty reading small print in paper books, especially books published by academic pres..."

Thanks you very much for posting this.

My eyes are also aging. I am seriously considering this, especially for use with the Compact Oxford English Dictionary (which was designed to be read with a magnifying glass), but of course with minute footnotes and end notes in a lot of my books. (Including cases where a used copy is much cheaper than a Kindle version.)

I have been reading all of them with one or another magnifying glass, some of which have a lot of distortion, besides needing a higher level of direct light than my desk lamps provide.

[Alan, Founding Moderator and Author]

Yes, it occurred to me that my discovery might be of use to others as well, which is why I decided to post my comment. In addition to us old folks, there are some younger people who have similar vision problems.

This particular lamp does provide a good amount of "natural" light as well as the magnification.

[Feliks]

Alan, might I ask what fonts you use in your publications? Do you have different font families dependent upon whether the user chooses to print, or chooses to read in an e-format?

[Alan, Founding Moderator and Author]

Feliks wrote: "Alan, might I ask what fonts you use in your publications? Do you have different font families dependent upon whether the user chooses to print, or chooses to read in an e-format?"

In my recent books, I use Times New Roman 13 in the body of the books, Times New Roman 12 in the epigraphs, Times New Roman 11.5 in the endnotes, and Times New Roman 11 in the bibliographies. This is how it appears in the paperback editions. Readers of the Kindle ebooks can adjust the font size as they wish.

In my most recent papers/essays (not including books) on Academia.edu (mostly PDFs, though a few Word documents) I often use Times New Roman 13 except for footnotes/endnotes and bibliographies, which are in a smaller font (often Times New Roman 12). When printed, the fonts will be the same as they appear in the PDF or Word document. Of course, readers of the PDF or Word documents can expand the font to suit their needs when they are looking at the document online or (after downloading) on their computers.