Why not 1em for standard text?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Sarmat89

Large books are usually set in smaller type, as it makes it easier to page through them.

No. Just no.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Sarmat89

Large books are usually set in smaller type, as it makes it easier to page through them.

I must admit that in all my decades of reading, I have never noticed large books being set in smaller type. I just checked half a dozen large books I own and I can't seen any real difference in the body font size between those and several short books (dead tree versions). An ebook with it's variable font size makes this a non-issue.

Edit: Correction: I dug my old paperback of Lord of the Rings in one volume. That was set between 8 and 9 pt. according to my trusty em ruler. It was not that easy to read 45 years ago.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

No. Just no.

What?

NOOOOOOooooo. Nope, no, no. Nix, nein, nope, not even.

The ONLY reason that "big books" are ever set in small type is to keep printing costs down. It's damn sure not for the reader.

Anyone wanting proof of that, buy the paperback of David Simon's "The Corner" and try to read it, if you have reading glasses. Lotsa luck. I had to buy the Kindle version, because I got motion sickness from moving my head around so much (I have transitional lenses) to try to read the 9pt font.

Hitch

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I must admit that in all my decades of reading, I have never noticed large books being set in smaller type.

Bibles are perhaps the most commonly-encountered example of it. Many of the "pocket size" ones are typeset in microscopic print!

[pdurrant]

Why all this talk about print books? This thread is about the font size to use in ebooks. Using a smaller body font size in a big ebook "so it's easier to page through" is just crazy.

Of course some print books use small fonts to reduce print costs and/or make the book more portable. But doing the same in ebooks? No, Just no.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Why all this talk about print books? This thread is about the font size to use in ebooks. Using a smaller body font size in a big ebook "so it's easier to page through" is just crazy.

Of course some print books use small fonts to reduce print costs and/or make the book more portable. But doing the same in ebooks? No, Just no.

Because someone brought it up, asserting that it was "easier to page through them," and this being a forum about eBooks and eReaders which is populated by READERS, we all had to comment??????

Hitch