Sunday, February 22, 2015

How Fonts Affect Readability on E-Readers

Zero2Cool_DE CC BY-NC-ND via Flickr

I most often read on my Kindle Paperwhite. This is my preferred reading device for several reasons I've spoken about recently (and do not feel the need to reiterate, since this post isn't about the reasons I like the Kindle so much).

Recently I've run into a problem of fonts. The Kindle allows the reader to change the font of a book in order to make it easier to read, but this appears to be dependent on the formatting the book received from its author. 

I've been reading Crybaby Bridge, by J. Weinhardt and though I've very much been enjoying the book, the serif font is terrible on my eyes. I downloaded this novel quite some time ago, and so imagine that there has been an update since I first obtained it, but since I cannot get an update from Amazon, I'm forced to read the book with an unbearable font or to stop reading it altogether.

Since I'm enjoying the book and find the story more compelling even than I'd originally hoped, I'd rather not have to stop reading in order to relieve myself of the horrific formatting. This is a tremendous problem for me as a completionist. 

My advice to indie authors is to check your formatting before you upload. I find that a sans-serif font is easier for me to read, and that I prefer justified edges to my text. (In fact, the left-alignment on Hubpages drives me up a wall when I read it!) Obviously everyone is different and individual preferences will vary, but it's safe to say that Courier New and similar fonts aren't the best choices for books.

If all continues as it is right now, however, I plan to rate this book on its content rather than on its formatting (since I believe that is fair to the author) and as of right now it's shaping up to be a 4 or 5 star book. My many thanks to the author for allowing the book to be downloaded for free in the first place! There's no room to complain.

You can purchase your Kindle Paperwhite on Amazon.

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