Does font/typeface matter to you?

[RandomAnthony]

I'm reading Moby Dick right now, an eight hundred page (in this edition) book, and I wanted to make sure I got a good edition because if I tried to read one of those tiny public domain editions I knew I was going to be totally screwed. So I looked up different editions and ordered one with clean, bold typeface from the library. If I'm going to read an 800 page book (and I'm digging it) I want to read one that's easy to handle both physically and to my eyes. I have another MD edition that's ok but I like the one I got from the library better.

Do you pay attention to font/typeface? Are most ok to you? What do you think?

[Jim]

I don't really when I'm picking up a book, but there are times I wish I had. Easy font size and readability makes a big difference in the enjoyment.

[RandomAnthony]

I accidentally checked out a large print book once and the print gave me a headache. I'm not sure why.

[Jim]

You may be used to holding a book a certain distance, and your eyes had to try to adjust to larger print.

[Jan]

The answer is Kindle. You choose your typeface.

[Kevin]

i don't think about it until i read a book where to typeface and styles are really different and then i realize how much this actually does matter

[Dan]

Kevin "El Liso Grande" wrote: "i don't think about it until i read a book where to typeface and styles are really different and then i realize how much this actually does matter"

Like Kevin, I only notice the typeface and style when it's bad. I bought an edition of Sabatini's Captain Blood last year that I could barely read because of the odd font and the blank line between each paragraph. Self-published books are particularly bad for this.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Yes, font matters. I prefer a font with serifs when I'm reading a book. Too small isn't good, I like to feel like I'm making progress through a book, and a bigger font means you get to turn the page more often.

I am very fond of Garamond.

[Jim]

I like to feel I'm making progress too, I don't like small fonts or large fonts, I like fonts that are just right!

[Kevin]

if a book is written in comic sans i just can't take it seriously

[Phoenix]

Kevin "El Liso Grande" wrote: "if a book is written in comic sans i just can't take it seriously"

But it is easier on the eyes...IMO

[Jim]

Wilma wrote: "Barney sounds somewhat like Goldylocks right now."

Identity crisis?

[RandomAnthony]

I prefer a font with serifs when I'm reading a book.

Am I the only one who doesn't know what a serif is?

[Jim]

RandomAnthony wrote: "I prefer a font with serifs when I'm reading a book.

Am I the only one who doesn't know what a serif is?"

Yes, and you will just have to live with it :-)

[Phoenix]

I have no idea either RA.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

[Jim]

Alecia wrote: "I have no idea either RA."

Me either, but I was muscling up the big man in the paint.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

A serif is that little thing - here:

[Jonathan]

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Hahahahahahahaha!!! We're all so helpful!

[Jim]

Wow, Jonathon and Jackie are thinking alike.

[Jonathan]

Oh heck, in the time it took me to find the image, two other serif aficionados posted the same thing. Drat!

[Phoenix]

Thanks for clearing that up for us Jackie and LG :)

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

And Jonathan, Alecia. He can't help it if he's slow with the Googling. ;)

[Jonathan]

Or a little slow in general...

[Kevin]

did you guys never take art?

[Phoenix]

Yes, thanks to you too Jonathan! ::whispers::slow poke...

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

I'm with Jackie. When reading a book I totally want a serif. Which is not to say I always do; sometimes in signage, e.g., sans serif is preferable. My favorite font for making lists is Gill Sans, which is a sans serif.



Typeface is hugely important to me when reading a book. I pay attention to it, it makes a difference to my eyes, I look at the copyright page to see if they mention what font it is and I appreciate it if they do. An ugly font puts me in a bad mood.

I prefer a less bulbous font. Garamond is good, Bembo is good, Goudy Old Style. I agree w/Kevin - some fonts you can't take seriously, like Comic Sans.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

I think San Serif is a town in Spain.

[Kevin]

so is Verdana

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

I have to be in the right mood for Verdana.

[Félix]

Lorem Ipsum indeed.

[Jonathan]

Lobstergirl wrote: "I think San Serif is a town in Spain."

Sounds Catalonian.

[Félix]

My current fave is Calibri.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Calibri is nice. A semi-adequate substitute for Gill Sans, although really there can be no substitute.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Jonathan wrote: "Lobstergirl wrote: "I think San Serif is a town in Spain."

Sounds Catalonian."

I think it's right across the border from Sans Serif.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Kevin "El Liso Grande" wrote: "did you guys never take art?"

Sure, in 4th grade.

[Jim]

There really is nothing like a Gill Sans with a nice Cabernet.

[Félix]

Barney's a lush, I'm thinking.

[Jonathan]

Lobstergirl wrote: "I think it's right across the border from Sans Serif."

Yes, Sans Serif is on the French coast near Sans Doute.

But San Serif turns out to be in the Basque country.

[Félix]

I've been to Bayonne and it doesn't look (or smell) anything like Spain or France.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Jonathan wrote: "Lobstergirl wrote: "I think it's right across the border from Sans Serif."

Yes, Sans Serif is on the French coast near Sans Doute.

But San Serif turns out to be in the Basque country.

"

Well I'll be ding donged.

[Jonathan]

Yes, I think J. L. Borges wrote a guidebook to the town.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

BunWat wrote: "Did you know that a font designer won one of the MacArthur genius grants this year? The guy has designed 60 font families, including Verdana.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/......"

He also designed Georgia and Tahoma. I'm not crazy about either of them.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Lobstergirl wrote: "BunWat wrote: "Did you know that a font designer won one of the MacArthur genius grants this year? The guy has designed 60 font families, including Verdana.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/..."

I agree, Lobstergirl. I like the names more than the typefaces.

[[deleted user]]

Ah Barb, Calibri is the new default font for all microsoft programmes.

[Jonathan]

For email, Calibri seems to work pretty well. For some reason, though, I don't think I would want to read a book in that typeface. Books seem to look nicest in the traditional (avec) serif fonts. I agree with Jackie that Garamond is very easy on the eyes.

For my own writing, in ms-word, I always use Courier, which looks like an old typewriter typeface. It works well if you're printing out your text and editing on paper.

[Kevin]

i want a paper called wicked local

[Jim]

I think we may have a beer called Wicked Local.

[janine]

i like to use calibri for footnotes.