As a student of books, and at the present moment taking a course on book design, I inherently appreciate the beauty of a printed tome. I also grudgingly admit that though I'm enjoying the Kindle it could use some work in the aesthetic department. It was only when I got to the last page of classic Fitzgerald when I was able to put a finger on why.
The famous last line is as follows:
"And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."It's a beautiful close to a beautiful novel, and I've read it many times before.
Unfortunately, the Kindle default page layout and font size renders the last line like so:
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| Page One |
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| Page Two |
I'm sorry. I'm an editor. I saw that last orphan and stared at it in dismay. Really? This is what you do to The Great Gatsby? And of all lines to orphan, you orphan that one?
Those of you who doubt the endurance of printed books, look no further. Until issues like this are sorted, at least some version of humanity's important literature needs to have been consciously designed and permanently stamped on paper. (This hasn't even gotten me started on Project Gutenberg downloads. Hanging indents! No hanging indents! Unnecessary line breaks! Maybe I should watch some TV instead . . .)
Reiterating my feelings - there is nothing like a printed book, even the smell of it is so wonderful, a kindle is odorless
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