Sent in by a faithful non-reader, to whom anonymity has been promised:
Okay, so, um, I checked out a large print book because it happened to be the only copy available from the library for the particular book I want to read. I found it extremely refreshing. Then I found myself skipping the regular book (the next in the series) to ask for the large print one.
Is this how it begins?
I don’t know if that’s how it starts, but I will say that makes a ton of sense to me. It would be so much EASISER to read a book with larger print. I put my monitor on larger print sometimes to make life easier on my eyes. So I guess your faithful non-reader and I are in this together.
I would read every book as large print as it is easier on the eyes and easier to read quickly. But, since I work in the publishing industry I know why they do not print more books in large print = price.
The larger the print, the more pages the story takes up and the more pages equals higher price to print. Of course they have to balance the print size with where the chapters fall and how many signatures the pages take up. A signature is 32 printed pages (16 running pages printed on both sides). So, if you go to 17 pages than you need to go to a whole other signature. So now they would have 15 blank pages in the book = waste. So they make the print just a little bit smaller so that it will fit in a smaller amount of space. For textbooks, the print size is not mandated on what the kids can read but the TEACHERS. If we went to a 9 pt type, once it is reduced into the teacher’s edition, it becomes 7.5 pt type, the lower limit an older (>18 yrs) person can read.
Its all about cost. I believe large print books are easier on the eyes and I would love to have more of them.
I hate reading Large Print books. Don’t know why, but it always gives me a headache, and it feels like I have to turn the pages too often.
Does this mean I’ll never grow old? Because I noticed more gray hairs today in the mirror, and if so, I want my money back.
Yes. And as an added bonus large print books are way easier to read on the treadmill.
…and this is a major reason I love ebooks. Every book can be large print and can magically adjust itself for your current reading situation, especially those late-night-read-beside-your-sleeping-SO situations where having a bright light on wouldn’t be the best thing to do.