Forma I will use whatever the default font face is set for a book. Here's why.

[droopy]

Whatever a book's default font face is (labelled as Publisher Default in the dropdown list in Kobo's settings), I won't change it.

You know why? Because if you change it to Kobo Ember or Calibri or whatever, then you lose the variety of fonts that come with "Publisher Default".

For instance, I was reading a book last night whose chapter headings were sans-serif and block-like and whose main text was svelte and serif. If I go with something other than "Publisher Default", I get a boring, homogeneous look. Yes, the content is priority, but I now appreciate appearance/presentation more than I did years ago.

Who's with me?

UPDATE: I've uploaded a picture of the "blocklike chapter headings" and the svelte and serif body text.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by droopy

Who's with me?

Include me out. I've read too many ebooks that reminded of the not so good old days when many Macintosh users were enthused about seeing how many fonts they could used in a single page letter (see ransom note effect).

[Ripplinger]

I could live with it if: 1) it was tastefully done, but as DNSB pointed out, many turn their book into a bloated eyesore; and 2) if I didn't have such crappy eyesight, which means the fancy fonts others choose are too thin and light for me to read comfortably, even after increasing the font size.

So I'll never use publisher's specified fonts.

[Sirtel]

Nope. Can't live without my custom fonts and added weight.

[MGlitch]

One of the reasons I opted for Kobo was the ability to load my own fonts. Publisher default takes that away and honestly doesn’t add to the story. I don’t care if chapter names are the same as the rest of the book. And there are better ways to emphasize text within the narrative than to change out the typeface, like bolding, or italicization.

Also I believe, but could be wrong, that it also affects the rest of your options in terms of line spacing, etc.

Either way I’ll pass.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by droopy

Who's with me?

Maybe, if I'm allowed to strangle all of the people who make books using a sans serif face for the body text (in a fiction book).

[DevonHess]

Honestly, I couldn't disagree more. One of the big benefits of an eReader for me is being able to control the font. The homogeneous look lets me focus on the content.

I can understand that fonts might be part of the art form for you, but authors probably don't get to make those decisions 99% of the time anyway.

Ultimately, if I love a book, maybe I'll get a beautiful bound version with nice fonts and art to put on a bookshelf.
On my Kobo, I want as little CSS crap as possible.

[Quoth]

It depends on the book, I think. The big plus compared to paper is being able to change it.
However if the book is too degraded by using a selected Kindle font, and too annoying on the Publisher font/CSS, then I'll edit the CSS/HTML and maybe even embed fresh fonts. Especially common on texts from Gutenberg.

[Deskisamess]

I'll see what the Publisher Font is, but many times change it. IMO, homogenous is good when reading fiction. I'm not a fan of sans-serif in books.

[Byrdie]

I never use Publisher's Default, though I have tried to because I've seen some beautifully done books that I'd like to read that way but can't; even at their most weighted, the fonts used are just too thin and I get eyestrain after a page or so. If I'm lucky -- most times the eyestrain kicks in around the second paragraph. So far Bookerly Bold works best for me, anything else is just a no-go, regardless of how nice and artistic the publisher's layout may be.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by hobnail

Maybe, if I'm allowed to strangle all of the people who make books using a sans serif face for the body text (in a fiction book).

I was thinking more about "something humorous, but lingering, with either boiling oil or melted lead".

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by droopy

Whatever a book's default font face is (labelled as Publisher Default in the dropdown list in Kobo's settings), I won't change it.

You know why? Because if you change it to Kobo Ember or Calibri or whatever, then you lose the variety of fonts that come with "Publisher Default".

For instance, I was reading a book last night whose chapter headings were sans-serif and block-like and whose main text was svelte and serif. If I go with something other than "Publisher Default", I get a boring, homogeneous look. Yes, the content is priority, but I now appreciate appearance/presentation more than I did years ago.

Who's with me?

Svelte is one heck of an ugly font to use for the body font. One thing I find is that most embedded body fonts don't work. They are too light and the wrong font. Sometimes fonts used for the header work well.

If I like any of the fonts embedded, I'll keep them. I've not yet kept a font for the body in a rather long time. I don't need to set to Publisher Default as the font(s) embedded will show up and I can still use my choice of body font. This is something you cannot do with a Kindle. You either set it to Publisher Default or you see no embedded fonts.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by hobnail

Maybe, if I'm allowed to strangle all of the people who make books using a sans serif face for the body text (in a fiction book).

While your at it, please strangle everyone who embeds fonts that are too light for eInk in trying to duplicate the font(s) used in the pBook version. And strangle Penguin Random House for embedding stupid fonts for a single stupid page at the end of ALL of the Penguin eBooks.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

It depends on the book, I think. The big plus compared to paper is being able to change it.
However if the book is too degraded by using a selected Kindle font, and too annoying on the Publisher font/CSS, then I'll edit the CSS/HTML and maybe even embed fresh fonts. Especially common on texts from Gutenberg.

Why would you embed fonts instead of just removing the embedded fonts from the eBook and just selecting your own. New enough Kindles an Kobos allow you to side load your choice of font and to use that without the need to embed.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

I'll see what the Publisher Font is, but many times change it. IMO, homogenous is good when reading fiction. I'm not a fan of sans-serif in books.

I've seen sans-serif used in eBooks for some of the body text. But if it's the main font, it has to be fixed.