Of Paragraphs and Print Size

[purple95]

I posted these thoughts tonight on a thread about evaluating a book and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to create a separate thread and rant a bit.

 

Two characteristics of a book that will often cause me to pass it over are the print size and extremely long paragraphs.

 

As my eyes age it becomes more difficult to read the tiny print sizes often encountered in many books. This seems to be very common in non-fiction works, and in books published long ago.

 

Please, please tell me why publishers insist in printing a book with such small print. Is this just a way to save paper, ink, space, or what? I'm a product of the early part of the war baby generation and have millions of brothers and sisters of the same generation. Why are publishers blind to the needs of one of their biggest audiences? The young whippersnappers are reading Kindles and e-books and even when they encounter a book with tiny print, their young, strong eyes don't mind.

 

I'm not to the point where I require large print books yet, but I'm far more comfortable with medium to larger sized print. Reading and comprehension is so much easier with larger print.

 

It's discrimination, I tell you.

 

Secondly, I HATE reading books by authors who don't grasp the concept of the paragraph. If I am able to understand the rather simple concept of:

 

One general thought to a paragraph.

At least two sentences to a paragraph in most instances.

 

why can't those paid to write, and those who are paid to edit not do the same? This is grade school English Composition folks, not rocket science.

 

I see far too many books with an entire page, or even several pages consisting of one, single paragraph. Why? Are there authors who think that writing one paragraph that fills several pages somehow gives their work a certain sophistication above us mere, mortal readers? If so, "balderdash". All it gives their writing is to make is extremely difficult to read and comprehend.

 

Sadly, if one, or heaven forbid, both of these flaws are present in a book, I'll oftentimes return it to the shelf. Have I skipped over some good books because of these factors? Of course. But life is too short.........

 

I'll descend from my soap box now and return you to your regular scheduled programing.

 

dan

[pipread]

I agree with you regarding the small print, why does it, in some books, need to be so tiny? I`ve been reading The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and the print is very small. I don`t see why the print size can`t be increased slightly. Of course in my case at least, a trip to the optician would help.

[chesilbeach]

Although I don't like print to be very small, it wouldn't stop me buying a book, however, the wrong font will. Some publishers try to make their books stand out by using a sans serif typeface, but without doubt, on the page, a serif typeface is much, much easier to read. I've stopped myself buying books if the typeface is a badly chosen sans serif typeface. (On screen, it is the opposite, and I actually find it very difficult to read serif fonts. I actually don't read most of the posts on here made in serif fonts, and will avoid websites with them as their main font).

 

With regards to the paragraphs, I think is depends whether the it's poor writing or a choice of style from the author. Obviously, this is difficult to judge before you buy the book, and that's why I would never discard a book I think is potentially interesting, just because of the paragraph style. It may, however, stop me finishing a book if the writing is poor and the length of the paragraphs is just a symptom of the standard of writing.

 

Jose Saramago is a writer who I greatly admire, and the style of his writing incorporates characteristics such as no character names, implied dialogue with no actual speech, and long sentences and paragraphs. I would never have read his books if I'd decided that I couldn't read something with page long paragraphs, and I would have missed out on some amazing books. I'm not saying it's always easy to read, but it is worth sticking with it as it is a very rewarding experience.

[purple95]

chesilbeach,

 

Interesting that you should mention Jose Saramago. He is one of the authors I had in mind when I made my post/rant.

 

I tried to read one of his books, the title of which completely escapes me now. It dealt with the ramifications resulting from death taking a holiday.

 

The book was simply too much work despite the interesting subject. I stand by my premise that authors, GOOD authors, should understand and use proper paragraphing techniques in their writing.

 

As I read that book and was making my decision to abort the effort, I examined several of the long paragraphs. I found what I felt were several places that provided excellent places for making a new paragraph. I could see no reason why Saramago (or his editor) did not create a new paragraph.

 

Understand, I'm not picking on your favored author. This book was just a recently encountered and perfect example of my point.

 

Do editors realize the difficulty readers have in dealing with such situations? I suppose it differs from one author to another but I would think they would like to make their work as enjoyable and readable as possible, if for no other reason than to increase income by increasing sales.

 

Well........unless you're Mr. King or someone similar.

 

dan

[chesilbeach]

Don't worry, I don't take it in the least bit personally

 

For Saramago, in particular, I believe he makes choices stylistically with his writing, to add to the atmosphere and to create a deliberately challenging environment for the reader. It is the nature of the stories he tells to examine society and to induce the reader to consider the world around them, not necessarily to provide an easy reading book.

 

However, with regards to the role of the editor, I imagine it's a tough job being an editor for a Nobel Prize winner, whose whole career has been defined by the unique style of his work, as well as the provocative subject matters. I imagine their task is the ensure the work flows and there are no errors or contradictions in the plot, rather than change the distinctive style of a renowned writer.

 

I think the other thing to consider is whether the writer is writing to sell books or to create art. I'm sure most writers would want to achieve both, but there must be some authors who will be strongly leaning towards one end of the spectrum or the other. I suspect Saramago would fall into the art category, and as such, probably has less consideration for the ease of reading and more for the content and artistic value of his work, and that is why has developed his own, fairly unique, style.

 

The joy of books is that there are more than enough out there, that there is something for everyone, and I'm happy to be able to overlook the ones that aren't for me in favour of those that are. Personally, I've given up on a few books over the years for various reasons, but I would still always give a chance to a book that looks promising and give up part way through, rather than not start it in the first place.

 

Lastly (because I know I've gone on a bit here!), if nothing else, it's given us the opportunity for a lively discussion!

[purple95]

chesilbeach,

 

I enjoyed your post and I did not feel it was too long at all. I agree with everything you said. It certainly must be a tough job for an editor to keep all sorts of authors happy (and productive).

 

As I stated earlier, I really was interested in reading Saramago's book due to the subject. Tell you what..........I'll search it out and give it another go based on your thoughts and opinions.

 

Not that I'm putting any pressure on you, of course.

 

dan

 

p.s.

I'm ever so slightly behind you for 2009. My current total is 43.

Edited May 17, 2009 by purple95

[Maggie Dana]

A subject close to my heart: books and readability, or lack thereof. As a book designer and typesetter (and author), I've been ranting about this for years, and am in the midst of writing an article about it for a UK-based blog about editing and publishing. Here are my opening paragraphs:

 

* * *

 

Pinned to my notice board is a sticky note that says: A typographer

[chesilbeach]

chesilbeach,

 

I enjoyed your post and I did not feel it was too long at all. I agree with everything you said. It certainly must be a tough job for an editor to keep all sorts of authors happy (and productive).

 

As I stated earlier, I really was interested in reading Saramago's book due to the subject. Tell you what..........I'll search it out and give it another go based on your thoughts and opinions.

 

Not that I'm putting any pressure on you, of course.

 

dan

 

p.s.

I'm ever so slightly behind you for 2009. My current total is 43.

 

No pressure, then!

 

I haven't read the book you're talking about yet, but I'm sure it will appear on my to be read pile in the future! I hope you get on with it at the second attempt, but like I said earlier, there's plenty more books out there to choose from that you will like!

 

A subject close to my heart: books and readability, or lack thereof. As a book designer and typesetter (and author), I've been ranting about this for years, and am in the midst of writing an article about it for a UK-based blog about editing and publishing.

 

Maggie, that article sounds really interesting - can you post it here, or a link to it, when it's finished? I watched a very interesting documentary about the 50th anniversary of Helvetica a couple of years ago, and there was a segment in it about the difference between typefaces that work on the page against fonts that work on the screen.

[Maggie Dana]

Chesil:

 

You're quite right about fonts that work on paper (serif) versus those that work best on screen (sans serif). I'm reading Linda Gillard's STAR GAZING and loving it. It's a beautiful, well-written novel, with compelling characters and sparkling dialogue.

 

My only complaint is the design. The two first-person POV narratives are set in sans serif; one of them (heaven help us) in a sans serif italic, which makes it even harder to read.

 

Fortunately the book's gorgeous writing overcomes my irritation with the design, but it'd have been an even more enjoyable read had the book's designer used serif fonts throughout. I have the same issues with Jodi Picoult's multi-person POV novels. A jumble of fonts, including sans serif, that jar the eye.

 

As soon as my article appears I'll post a link. I'm still waiting to hear from the blogger about it.

[purple95]

Pinned to my notice board is a sticky note that says: A typographer

[Maggie Dana]

My more experienced colleagues, old-time book typesetters like myself who joined the business long before the desktop revolution of the mid-1980s, feel the way I do about fonts and readability. There are, however, some brilliant newcomers who're passionate about fonts and the nuances of type design, but you won't find those creative people designing a book's page. They're too busy designing the next gorgeous typefaces for me, and my typesetting colleagues, to salivate over.

 

While aforementioned desktop revolution has been beneficial in so many ways by making it easier for people to communicate and share thoughts, etc., it's also been a scourge in that anyone with a personal computer and a few relatively affordable pieces of software can hang out a shingle that proclaims them to be a typesetter. There are no tests to pass, no certificates to obtain, no apprenticeships to serve.

 

Add to this the fact that publishers are always looking at (and beyond) the bottom line, and you have people with little to no experience offering rock-bottom prices to manufacture a product that used to bear the extensive and thoughtful care of a battery of craftsmen and women who'd paid their dues in the typography business, and then some.

 

Nowadays, many books (especially fiction) are typeset in third-world countries by people who don't speak our language, or if they do, they're non-native speakers. They are even hired for copy editing duties as well, which can result in some hilarious and inexplicable syntax, especially when the editor and author aren't scrupulous about double-checking what their copy editor has done.

[purple95]

Maggie,

 

Interesting thoughts.

 

Thanks,

dan

[Kylie]

Interesting discussion, thanks all

 

I also dislike books with tiny font, although that hasn't really put me off buying them (I'm thinking of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, which I keep putting off reading, at least partly because of the small font).

 

Paragraph lengths don't bother me too much. I'm happy to give the author a bit of leeway with their paragraphs, although I do get irritated at paragraphs that run for a couple of pages - mostly because there's no good stopping point.

 

I would also love to read your article, Maggie.

[BookJumper]

I believe there is one instance in which small type is not only excusable, but advisable from a practical point of view. It is the instance of extremely long classics: Hugo's "Les Mis

[sadya]

I always buy a book if I really like the topic or the story regardless of the way it's been printed, even though I do have problems reading them sometimes.

 

I can read smallprint, but my eyes start hurting a bit when I read those tiny letters for a while. Then I have to use glasses or a magnifying glass so my eyes will stop hurting. My glasses still don't feel comfortable after many years and you can't always use a magnifying glass everywhere you go. So I sometimes read smallprint without them even though my eyes hurt a bit, because I'm too curious to know what the rest of the book has to tell me. I have bad reading habits, I know.

 

Sometimes when I read books online, I change the size after pasting the book in Word or Wordpad to save my eyes.

[lexiepiper]

I'm another that hates small print, I won't buy a book if I see it has it. Other than that, I'm pretty easy going

[Maggie Dana]

Here's the article I wrote about how book design affects readability. It appears today on this blog:

 

http://howpublishingreallyworks.blogspot.com/

[Ceinwenn]

I started reading Grave Sight today & the font is driving me crazy. I wear glasses to read (or am supposed to) & the print is pretty small & worse than that is that at on each page there are several places where there is one line in the "normal" size, then the line below is a smaller print, which is making it very hard to read.

[Christie]

I can see where your coming from! Books that in the past had teeny tiny print but then have been re-realeased and printed better and I ended up chucking my old version of my books and buying it again in much better print.

[Ben Mines]

My first copy of Don Quixote (Collector's Library Edition) squeezed Cervantes' momentous adventure into a mere 600 pages. The print was so ludicrously small that my eyes began to ache three pages into the prologue.

 

I gave it to someone who owed me money I knew I'd never get back and bought the Penguin Classics edition which needed over 1100 pages to accommodate a sensible print size.

[Ruth]

I don't really like small font, although I will read books with it, if necessary (and to be honest, I do find that my eyes get used to it after a few pages). I don't like a lack of paragraphs either - that's one of the reasons why I keep putting of reading 'Blindness' by Jose Saramago. There are virtually no paragraphs in it!!

[Kylie]

I have Jack Kerouac's On the Road: The Original Scroll. The book is presented as Jack typed it, which means the entire thing is one long paragraph. That's put me off reading it a little, I must say, because it's going to take so long to find my place again each time I pick it up!

[BookJumper]

I keep putting of reading 'Blindness' by Jose Saramago. There are virtually no paragraphs in it!!

... maybe it's an interactive book that seeks to make its readers blind so that they might feel more like a part of the story?

[Ernie]

A font that's easy on the eye in large bold black letters printed on white paper. Well as this doesn't describe the current book I'm reading, I use a magnifying glass but having lost the one I had I've been looking around for another.

I finaly found this yesterday,

[busy91]

I'm with you on the tiny print. I'm trying to get through "Pillars of the Earth". And although the book is good, they type is so darn small, I can't get through it. And have you ever seen Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" paper back. OMG! I'm amazed I actually read it, and quickly too.

 

I've not come across too many books where the paragraphs were never ending. I've been lucky, but I'm sure that would annoy me too.