# Bookerly, where are you?



## LaraAmber (Feb 24, 2009)

I can't take waiting for the update.  I keep checking everyday for news.  They said summer and it's August tomorrow.  

I should not be this excited over a font.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

LaraAmber said:


> I can't take waiting for the update. I keep checking everyday for news. They said summer and it's August tomorrow.
> 
> I should not be this excited over a font.


I'm not sure anyone ever officially said it would come for the Voyage . . . its just what we've all be speculating. I did specifically ask and, as I recall, the answer strongly implied -- without outright confirming -- that it would come via an update, but no timetable was given.

But, yeah . . . we should have it by now.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I want it too on my Voyage. Was there anything specific said about models other than the PW3? I can't recall now. 

Its on the PW3 already right? Just not the new hyphenation and kerning thingies or whatever its called, that says coming soon on the product page. 

I mean my Voyage works fine as it is, but I'd still like to have the bookerly, soon. It looks really nice on the Fire. 

I am a bit less eager for the hyphenation. I remember when the Scribd app added that and I found it horrible. Maybe I have been reading so long on kindles and they never had it that it looked weird. I do know that amazon will get it right so it does look and feel great. I do have that trust in them based on how nice and readable all the kindles have been from the first one on.


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

I actually didn't choose Bookerly for my PW3. Didn't understand all the wows about it.  But you're talking to someone getting cataract surgery in a few weeks, so there.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Like so many other people I just assumed Bookerly would be coming to the Voyage. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if there some sort of technical obstacle that would keep it from being done. But if Bookerly does not come to the Voyage, that makes me more sympathetic to the idea that a Voyage update might be coming this year. Amazon could not really hype their supposedly superior font if the font wasn't available on their flagship Kindle.

Having said all that, I'm in the group that really wasn't that worried about a new font. I tried it on my Kindle Fire, and wasn't wowed.


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

I'm a six year kindle user. If my Voyage was 2 or 3 years old, I would accept having to upgrade for the new font and rendering engine. But watching a reader with a premium price tag like the Voyage lagging behind lower end models only nine months after release is irritating. Being told I would have to upgrade in a year or less would be infuriating.


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

I still think the Voyage will get all the new software items with the next software upgrade.  I think the telling point is the PW3 has also not got the typography update yet.  Must have been some bug found... it will come sooner then later


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Bookerly is here for most kindles as far as I can tell. Here is for Voyage.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201630670

Go on the left on the site for your device and check. It has listing for 2 paperwhites, but they call it 6th and 5th generation and I don't know which is which. Since the PW3 came out after the Voyage and the Voyage is 7th, shouldn't the PW3 be 8th? Would that make 5th the PW1? I get confused.

I know its out for the basic touch also. Just not sure about the PW versions.

After more looking I think they call the PW1 5th and the update is not available for it. So PW2 as 6th kindle, but I don't see the PW3 anywhere on this page.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

To be sure you get the right one, go to MYC&D and click help to the right.

Under help, hover over 'amazon devices' and then click kindle device and apps.

That will show ONLY the devices registered to your account and if you follow the link and scroll down to updates you'll know you're getting the right one for your device.


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## LaraAmber (Feb 24, 2009)

It looks like the update went live today!  I can never wait for updates to appear naturally so I downloaded it manually.  

I like it, I had been using Caecilia.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> To be sure you get the right one, go to MYC&D and click help to the right.
> 
> Under help, hover over 'amazon devices' and then click kindle device and apps.
> 
> That will show ONLY the devices registered to your account and if you follow the link and scroll down to updates you'll know you're getting the right one for your device.


Awesome, great tip there. That way the confusion with the PW models I had doesn't matter. Of course unless I am the only one confused when they are calling them 6th, 7th, etc kindles.

I am about to put the new suit on my Voyage. 

eta: doing it as you said though it shows me having a PW2, I don't have that, I have a PW1 which my husband uses. Strange that.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Atunah said:


> Awesome, great tip there. That way the confusion with the PW models I had doesn't matter. Of course unless I am the only one confused when they are calling them 6th, 7th, etc kindles.
> 
> I am about to put the new suit on my Voyage.
> 
> eta: doing it as you said though it shows me having a PW2, I don't have that, I have a PW1 which my husband uses. Strange that.


I think how they name the things with the generations is also confusing. That's why I always just go through MYC&D. 

Weird, though, that it's got your kindle wrong? Does it show an update available for the device . . . . . if so, go ahead and get it. Maybe you only THOUGHT you had a PW1.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I think how they name the things with the generations is also confusing. That's why I always just go through MYC&D.
> 
> Weird, though, that it's got your kindle wrong? Does it show an update available for the device . . . . . if so, go ahead and get it. Maybe you only THOUGHT you had a PW1.


Oh its definitely a PW1. I still remember the issues I had right out of the gate. Got the first right as they came out and had to have 2 replacements. Its probably dead again as I gave it to hubby and he is a snail pace reader and mostly reads on his surface and ipad thingies. But the PW1 is not eligible for this one anyway. They are also not listing my beloved K1 there. Its still listed under the My account device section, but not in that section you posted. Sniff.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I wonder if one of the replacements for the PW1 was actually a PW2?

If they think it's a PW2, does it show the update available?


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I wonder if one of the replacements for the PW1 was actually a PW2?
> 
> If they think it's a PW2, does it show the update available?


There wasn't a PW2 yet when I got the replacements though, all the exchanges happened within a week or so. With the one day shipping. Who knows, I don't use that one anyway and I doubt my husband cares the few times he uses it if there is bookerly or not. 

Eta: even weirder, I just noticed my husband put the PW on his own account, so it shouldn't show there at all. Its not in my account device listings obviously. I do not have a PW2 hiding, I swear. . His PW1 does not show update device on device. I can't see his account though. Its on the 5.4.4 something it is suppose to be for the PW1 according to the update pages.

I am updating my Voyage as we speak. It is taking a while it seems.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

So you open a book after the update and it gives me a popup, like it did on the fire6 when it got bookerly. Just says introducing bookerly and some bla bla and then either no thanks of use bookerly. Its kind of nice. But its a bit larger than the caecelia I just had, but going down a size its a bit too small. Have to get used to that. That always happens when I get used to a font and its size. Its a little less thick than regular caecilia  but about the same size. Bookerly gets one more line on the screen compared to regular caecilia.  I don't have the type setting yet though, I think I need to redownload the book for that. If the book has it available.  Going to try that now.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Let me see, I took some screenshots of before and after. Both set on bookerly and size 3. First pic is without the type set, book was already on device. Then delete and redownload and you get typeset function. Its the same page in a way, but because of the different typeset it puts the words in different places. So first pic bookerly without the new typeset, 2nd with the new typeset. 


















I don't think I picked a good example as most of the text doesn't match. I see if I can catch a chapter one in another


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Another example, same again. Both on bookerly size 3 medium line spacing, first is without the enhanced typesetting, 2nd is with.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I just did mine: took maybe a 15 seconds to d/l the file to the computer, nearly a minute to copy to the kindle, and then several minutes to update and restart.

Do be sure you're kindle has a decent charge . . . . if it's under about 20% it's likely to warn you that it can't do it until you've recharged it.

After you've done the update, the first time you open a book it will ask if you want to use Bookerly.  If you say 'no' you can still switch to it later, or switch to another font as usual with the Aa menu.


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## etexlady (May 27, 2009)

So, my Voyage software has not updated and "update your Kindle" is grayed out.  I suppose it will eventually upgrade?  I don't think I'm in any particular hurry to do it manually.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

It should eventually. Keep wireless on and the battery at a reasonable charge level.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

I'm pretty disappointed with Bookerly. It's seems to be a finer font than Caecilia - and I want a heavier font to combat the washout caused by having the light setting quite high. It's also gives the impression of being slightly more condensed than Caecilia, hence the extra line of text it makes room for. I prefer the more rounded text.

I've always been happy with Caecilia so I'm glad they didn't swap them out and you have a choice of both, but I do wish they'd let you have control over the weight of the font as well as the size.


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

I think the width of the strokes are the strength and weakness of Bookerly. It fits more words per line, which makes the entire "better typography" thing easier. But it's not as thick and I think the fineness of the characters really shows more in e-ink than on a screen. I'm still waffling. I definitely prefer Bookerly on the Fire, but I'm not sure about my Voyage yet.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I like Caecilia, but find it a bit thick, so had moved to Palatino, which I found a bit thin. I liked it better, but had to move up one size for optimum reading.

I think Bookerly is a good cross between the two. AND, I have now been able to go back down to the size I used with Caecilia.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

My Voyage received the update sometime during the night last night and I had the message when I opened it this morning, so it is being pushed out automatically if you wait.  I have switched to the Bookerly font and played around some with the line spacing as well. I'm afraid my eyes are not good enough to notice significant differences.  I was hoping for less of a jump between size 4 and size 5, but that doesn't seem to be affected with any of the available fonts.


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

At first I could tell a little difference in Bookerly and Caecilia but not enough that I really cared.  Caecilia was a bit heavier which I liked, but Bookerly was fine.

I left it on Bookerly to see how I liked it and I'm not totally sure but I think I'm reading a little faster.  This could be my imagination or maybe I'm really reading faster because I expected to after what I read about Bookerly.  In any case I'm going to stick with it for a while.

Barry


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## Brownskins (Nov 18, 2011)

I like the Bookerly font a lot more than Caecilia.  It's my favorite Kindle serif font now, next to Palatino.  For sans serif, I still like Droid Sans.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

After using Bookerly for a few days, I went back to Caecilla. It seems to be slightly bolder, which I like.

Mike


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

On my Voyage I tried Bookerly and almost immediately went back to Caecilla because its slightly bolder.  But then after reading about Bookerly I gave it another try, now its my favorite font!  I also think my reading speed has improved slightly.


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## Winter9 (Jan 19, 2010)

Me too, seems to go fester! 

Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Winter9 said:


> Me too, seems to go fester!


You can probably get some medication for that!  

Mike


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I just got mine.. so far I don't see much difference.. but I haven't done much reading with it yet.. Will report back.

Later: I think I prefer Caecilia - a bit darker and I really don't think I'm reading any faster.  That has more to do with what is going on around me.


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I've been reading mostly with Bookerly.  I have gone back to Caecilia a few times for a while to compare.  The impression that I'm reading faster with Bookerly is getting stronger but I'm still not convinced that it's not just my imagination.  I doubt there's any real way to find out without going to a lot more trouble than it's worth to me.

More and more I'm thinking that what Amazon has done is simply added a second font that I like.  I'm not sure which of the two I like better and maybe I'll just go back and forth.

I read paperback books most of my life and they use all sorts of fonts and I never noticed being affected much by a different font.  I often would begin a book and notice it had a lot different font than the last book and sometimes I'd be curious enough to compare them.  But a few pages into the book I always forgot all about that.

People who study fonts talk realistically about how fonts can affect our experience and I tend to believe them just like I believe that the Earth is round.  I haven't experienced either but I have no reason to doubt them.

Anyway, having a second good font is a good thing and I'm all for it.

Barry


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## Brownskins (Nov 18, 2011)

The reason I like Bookerly is also the reason why other people don't like it: It isn't *bold*. Caecilia bothered me because it was too dark (and I associate *bold* with emphasis, similar to ALL CAPS). For that reason, I always went with Palatino or sans serif (if Caecilia was the only serif option). IMO, Bookerly looks evenly proportioned, and since it's narrower and thinner, a lot more words fit into a line, and full justification looks more acceptable. My preference is actually "left aligned, no justification" but that's a different topic in itself.

As far as reading faster, I don't know how to gauge that. I just know that Bookerly doesn't annoy me, so I get immersed into the story faster, and get distracted less. With Caecilia, I couldn't even last a chapter.

Regarding the hyphenation update, I haven't really noticed a lot of hyphens. The only thing I've noted is that there are less occurrences of the uneven spaces between words due to full justification. I thought it had to do with Bookerly being "thinner" but maybe there really are more hyphens - that for some reason, do not stick out for me. That is probably a good thing.

Honestly, since I have a large TBR list and also the library has just informed me that several of my waitlisted books are available, I haven't purchased a lot of new books. Maybe the hyphens will show up in the newer purchased books. I bought maybe 3-4 books last month but haven't started on them - maybe those will have the hyphens. Does anyone have feedback on the hyphen usage? Good, bad, or neutral?


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## stevene9 (Nov 9, 2008)

Linjeakel said:


> I'm pretty disappointed with Bookerly. It's seems to be a finer font than Caecilia - and I want a heavier font to combat the washout caused by having the light setting quite high. It's also gives the impression of being slightly more condensed than Caecilia, hence the extra line of text it makes room for. I prefer the more rounded text.
> 
> I've always been happy with Caecilia so I'm glad they didn't swap them out and you have a choice of both, but I do wish they'd let you have control over the weight of the font as well as the size.


I agree completely. Bookerly is not as dark as some of the others. I wish they would let us bold these fonts.

Steve


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I'm still using Bookerly and I'm still going back to Caecilia from time to time to compare, although not as often as I was at first.  When I do now Caecilia seems a bit too bold, although that was what I liked about it before I got used to Bookerly.  I think I'm liking Bookerly more and more and at this point I'll be a little surprised if I don't stick with it.  But I don't think I'm completely convinced yet.

Barry


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## musclehead (Dec 29, 2010)

I like Bookerly. Very smooth - almost like flowing water.


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

I'm still using Book-
erly, but I finally got
a book that had en-
hanced typsetting-
ing and I'm less than
impressed.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

I finally got this update today. Since I have dial up internet at home, getting updates is a bit of a hassle, but I was going to be at the library using their wifi with my laptop for a couple hours and brought the Kindle along. It showed no signs of wanting to update and the update feature is always grayed out in my settings, but I rebooted it and that inspired it.

So far the Bookerly looks good to me. Haven't had a chance to sit and read, just clicked through a couple of pages to look at it. The book I'm in right now doesn't have enhanced typesetting, but I downloaded two from KU last night and the other one does, so I'll get to see that soon.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Yay, glad you got it ellen. 

I still like bookerly and still use it. Most of my books have it now. I did have to download them again if they were already on my kindle. 

It is a tad less bold I guess than caecelia, but for some reason my eyes seem to really like it. I read faster I think with it. Don't know. And the size of it is just right on my Voyage. As it on size 3 its perfect. Some fonts are kind of in between where I could use a 3.5 size. But bookerly is just right.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

My only real problem with Caecilia was that I wanted something between the size font I ended up using and the next one up. One a little too small and the other a lot too big. Bookerly looks good in what always seemed a little too small in Caecilia. If that's just my imagination, I hope it lasts.


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