New fave font: Bookerly

Joques · 06-12-2016, 01:01 PM

I use it exclusively now, for everything I read. It occupies the perfect middle ground between traditional proportional fonts like Time New Roman and Georgia and almost-monospace fonts like Caecilia and Kobo Nickel.

I can't read with regular proportional fonts anymore - my eye simply gets too distracted by the busyness of a stroke that constantly changes its width that much. For a while I read exclusively with the almost-monospace fonts on my Kobo: Caecilia, Kobo Nickel and Amasis. But now that my eye has gotten used to Bookerly, they also distract my eye too much, this time by being too heavy, too stodgy. Bookerly is to my eye the perfect happy medium.

Why not Literata? It is almost as good, but with its overdone embellishments at the end of letters like "r" or "f" it too distracts my eye a bit more than Bookerly. Also, Literata's italics are too weird and overdone. Bookerly is almost like a perfect cipher for my eyes: it imparts nothing of its own, just the meaning of what is written.

Well. I realize most people don't care about fonts; only the meaning of what is written. But I for one welcome my new font overlord.

rcentros · 06-12-2016, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joques

Well. I realize most people don't care about fonts; only the meaning of what is written. But I for one welcome my new font overlord.

I guess I should try Bookerly on the Glo -- I don't particularly like it on my Kindle Basic (New Touch). Too spidery. On that device I'm using Palatino, but it's not that impressive either. My favorite font -- on both my Kindle Touch and Glo -- is Constantia.

EDIT: Okay, I'll take it back. I installed Bookerly on the Glo and it looks great. In my opinion the fonts on the Glo tend to be too "bold" -- Bookerly's fine lines work extremely well in this case. Thanks for posting. I think you've made my Glo a much nicer reader.

s4nder · 06-12-2016, 03:31 PM

Is it available for free and is there a guide on this forum for installing fonts? I currently read in Caecilia but Bookerly would likely be an upgrade, I'd like to try it out.

rcentros · 06-12-2016, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s4nder

Is it available for free and is there a guide on this forum for installing fonts? I currently read in Caecilia but Bookerly would likely be an upgrade, I'd like to try it out.

I found it by doing this Google search ...

bookerly for kobo?

it was the 3rd result -- "How to install Bookerly, Ember ..." If you follow the link there is another link to download the fonts. (The link I followed was not GoodReader.) You'll also find installation instructions.

I would give this link but I'm not sure if it's allowed on MobileRead.

koboy · 06-12-2016, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

I found it by doing this Google search ...

bookerly for kobo?

it was the 3rd result -- "How to install Bookerly, Ember ..." If you follow the link there is another link to download the fonts. (The link I followed was not GoodReader.) You'll also find installation instructions.

I would give this link but I'm not sure if it's allowed on MobileRead.

Thanks, Ember gets my vote.

best wishes koboy

sapphiresilver · 06-12-2016, 09:41 PM

I use Bookerly as well. I had to use FontForge to fix the metadata because I kept getting bold italic instead of regular italic on kepubs. Ember is my second favourite font.

Joques · 06-13-2016, 04:48 AM

I must have been lucky; in the version I found, the italics work properly.

s4nder · 06-18-2016, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

I found it by doing this Google search ...

bookerly for kobo?

it was the 3rd result -- "How to install Bookerly, Ember ..." If you follow the link there is another link to download the fonts. (The link I followed was not GoodReader.) You'll also find installation instructions.

I would give this link but I'm not sure if it's allowed on MobileRead.

Thanks, I got it to work and after using it for a few days, do prefer it to Caecilia. It even has ligatures. Can't tell about kerning, if it's there it's not as noticeable as with some other fonts.

pickyaxe · 06-18-2016, 06:21 AM

I have to agree. Once I got used to Bookerly, I can no longer use any other font. Except Literata, but it has excessive line spacing so I have to play with the line spacing slider whenever I switch to that font.

MacEachaidh · 07-06-2016, 10:21 PM

My go-to font has become Caecilia, but not the one in the firmware of my Aura HD. I have the Linotype version as an OTF font, and embed that in my books. For whatever reason, it renders more cleanly than the firmware's version.

I use that for non-fiction books, but for fiction I tend to use Droid Serif. I like the default proportions, leading and word spacing.

Nate the great · 07-06-2016, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickyaxe

I have to agree. Once I got used to Bookerly, I can no longer use any other font. Except Literata, but it has excessive line spacing so I have to play with the line spacing slider whenever I switch to that font.

I didn't like it at first, but it grew on my. It is now my preferred font.

Josieb1 · 07-07-2016, 02:57 AM

Bookerly is the only font I use on my two Kobos. I have the patches installed so I can add more weight. Nothing else looks right anymore.

JSWolf · 07-07-2016, 04:54 AM

Bookerly is not bad. It is better than really awful Caecilia.

Number9 · 07-09-2016, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Bookerly is the only font I use on my two Kobos. I have the patches installed so I can add more weight. Nothing else looks right anymore.

I feel the same way!

the.Mtn.Man · 07-11-2016, 09:31 AM

I used Bookerly for a few hours, and while I can see why some people like it, I went back to good old Rockwell.

06-12-2016, 01:01 PM	#1
Joques Addict Posts: 294 Karma: 107414 Join Date: May 2013 Device: Kobo Glo	New fave font: Bookerly I use it exclusively now, for everything I read. It occupies the perfect middle ground between traditional proportional fonts like Time New Roman and Georgia and almost-monospace fonts like Caecilia and Kobo Nickel. I can't read with regular proportional fonts anymore - my eye simply gets too distracted by the busyness of a stroke that constantly changes its width that much. For a while I read exclusively with the almost-monospace fonts on my Kobo: Caecilia, Kobo Nickel and Amasis. But now that my eye has gotten used to Bookerly, they also distract my eye too much, this time by being too heavy, too stodgy. Bookerly is to my eye the perfect happy medium. Why not Literata? It is almost as good, but with its overdone embellishments at the end of letters like "r" or "f" it too distracts my eye a bit more than Bookerly. Also, Literata's italics are too weird and overdone. Bookerly is almost like a perfect cipher for my eyes: it imparts nothing of its own, just the meaning of what is written. Well. I realize most people don't care about fonts; only the meaning of what is written. But I for one welcome my new font overlord.

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06-12-2016, 03:31 PM	#3
s4nder Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 546874 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Aura One	Is it available for free and is there a guide on this forum for installing fonts? I currently read in Caecilia but Bookerly would likely be an upgrade, I'd like to try it out.

06-12-2016, 09:41 PM	#6
sapphiresilver Connoisseur Posts: 51 Karma: 5368 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Australia Device: Amazon Oasis 2, Kobo Clara HD, iPad Pro	I use Bookerly as well. I had to use FontForge to fix the metadata because I kept getting bold italic instead of regular italic on kepubs. Ember is my second favourite font.

06-13-2016, 04:48 AM	#7
Joques Addict Posts: 294 Karma: 107414 Join Date: May 2013 Device: Kobo Glo	I must have been lucky; in the version I found, the italics work properly.

06-18-2016, 06:21 AM	#9
pickyaxe Addict Posts: 285 Karma: 3762916 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: none	I have to agree. Once I got used to Bookerly, I can no longer use any other font. Except Literata, but it has excessive line spacing so I have to play with the line spacing slider whenever I switch to that font.

07-06-2016, 10:21 PM	#10
MacEachaidh Browser Posts: 745 Karma: 578294 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura HD	My go-to font has become Caecilia, but not the one in the firmware of my Aura HD. I have the Linotype version as an OTF font, and embed that in my books. For whatever reason, it renders more cleanly than the firmware's version. I use that for non-fiction books, but for fiction I tend to use Droid Serif. I like the default proportions, leading and word spacing.

07-07-2016, 02:57 AM	#12
Josieb1 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,027 Karma: 18018738 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Device: Kindle Scribe, PW SE & Kindle 2022, Kobo Libra 2	Bookerly is the only font I use on my two Kobos. I have the patches installed so I can add more weight. Nothing else looks right anymore.

07-07-2016, 04:54 AM	#13
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 74,484 Karma: 129668758 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Bookerly is not bad. It is better than really awful Caecilia.

07-11-2016, 09:31 AM	#15
the.Mtn.Man Guru Posts: 711 Karma: 2483502 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: Kobo Aura	I used Bookerly for a few hours, and while I can see why some people like it, I went back to good old Rockwell.

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