Book Text: Recommended Alternatives

Possibly my favorite text face of all time. I rarely get to see it, but whenever I do the text suddenly has more beauty and credence. It suffers from lack of a bold, but its substantial weight and three optical styles more than compensate.

Another good example of the new 21st-century breed of text serifs. Tisa is warmer and friendlier than most, without getting into territory that is too playful. Still serious enough to set sober text.

One of the few classical Garaldes that saves space (in both the Condensed and core width) without sacrificing elegance. Perhaps a bit too frilly for some content, but much of those details are subdued at text sizes.

Graceful without pretense. A very complete set, fully stocked with the characters needed for all Latin-based languages.

Not so much a face for books as it is news and short texts, but it sets those with efficiency and authority.

An unusually large x-height paired with gentle, spare curves.

Straightforward, hardworking, and true — not unlike John Downer himself.

Soft and sweet. Don’t miss all the swash extras.

We lost Michael Harvey this year. Honor him with a look at his serif/sans masterpiece.

Much more than FF Meta with serifs. Retains some of its sans predecessor’s charm, but is slightly more restrained. A capable workhorse in nearly any context.

Unabashed chunkiness in the name of small print readability. Underused and under-appreciated.

This elegant 1930s design suffered from the limitations of metal type. Frank Blokland’s digital revival does Van Krimpen justice.

Can’t say it better than Yves Peters: “combines Dutch purposefulness with Latin sensuality”.

Xavier Dupré’s faces always reveal his lively, slightly quirky touch. This take on the French oldstyle is no exception.

If you’re thinking about Bodoni for your text, consider this under-appreciated Frutiger face instead. Unlike most Didones, it’s spaced and shaped for smaller type.