Readability versus legibility: in reading, the two overlap but there
is a difference. Legibility means all the letters and punctuation are
readily recognized. Readability means the eye moves along quickly,
with understanding of the text. Every book should be, to some degree,
readable.
And if it is, it will
also be somewhat legible. However, when readability is the priority,
the eye quickly scans over the letter forms, the punctuation marks,
sensing them more than consciously recognizing them. That is great
for a good reader.
For a beginner,
legible typefaces such as Century Schoolbook are preferable. Reading
is slower but comprehension, ideally, is improved. When I am writing
a draft, I have that same need for legibility. It helps me see
mistakes, lets me make sure the punctuation is proper. With some
typefaces, it is, for example, difficult to determine which direction
quotation marks might slant, or to make out the difference between a
comma and a period. That is not a good thing at the drafting stage,
nor in early rounds of editing.
I sometimes write
with that aforementioned Century Schoolbook. Other times, I prefer to
work with a monospaced font at that stage; Linux Libertine Mono is
the go-to at the moment, but others work. I do prefer a mono typeface
that looks more like the serif fonts one would find in a book. Again,
big, easily-read punctuation is particularly desirable.
Incidentally, though
Century Schoolbook is great for writing or for children’s books, I
would not be inclined to set an adult book in it. If one desires its
look, there are ‘tighter’ takes on the Century typeface — more
readable ones — or other type designs in the Scotch Roman style
that should be preferable.
