MegaFont NEXT - choosing a typeface

[wayfarer]

Is there a professional typographer - or one of the SoftMaker font team (perhaps the moderator here can pass the query on?) - who can recommend a suitable typeface from the MegaFont NEXT collection for the body text of a work of literary fiction?

(It's going to Amazon/Ingram PrintOnDemand, plus probably a short POD digital run from a printer.)

One of the Baskervilles of course is the obvious choice.

Also I think Caslons are often used, and there's SoftMaker's own Book font in this collection.

Garamond maybe, but that's mostly for genre fiction (crime, romantic, etc) rather than literary.

Any other suggestions from MegaFont NEXT collection? I've looked through them, but didn't trust my limited expertise enough to make a judgement!

As well as being a suitable face for body text, it needs of course to be 'heavy' enough to print well. That might be a problem with many of the Baskervilles.

Any guidance appreciated!
Thanks.

[martin-k]

Typical typefaces for body text are Garamond, Baskerville, Savoy, Cheltenham. If you also consider sanserif typefaces, include Chantilly and Saxony in your quest.

You can use http://www.infinitype.com/en/text to filter for text faces.

[Jossi]

All the font families you mentioned are longstanding, proofed and trustworthy faces fully suitable for any longer work of fiction (btw: I don't see Garamond in use for genre fiction only; in my opinion it's one of the most versatile font faces ever). In other words: You may use any of these safely, it's simply a matter of taste. I recommend printing out a text page the size of a book page and testing the optical impression: is it easily readable, doesn't look too dark or too flimsy overall, does it suit the general character of your work (maybe a bit heavier for drama or horror, a bit lighter and airier for comedy), does it look inviting, do you simply like it? In the end, trust your feelings.

[wayfarer]

Thanks Martin and Jossi, both replies much appreciated. I must have another think about Garamond, maybe it will work perfectly well. And I'll certainly take a look Savoy and Cheltenham (it would need to be a serif face), and check out that link. Thanks again to you both.