Edgar Rice Burroughs had worked as a cowboy, a prospector, on the railroad, at a factory and as a pencil-sharpener wholesaler before writing his first story, A Princess of Mars. He began writing to support his wife and children and because, “if people were paid for writing rot such as I read in some of those magazines… I could write stories just as rotten.”

Presumably, he didn’t succeed because his stories were incredibly popular and no fan of Tarzan or John Carter would ever would ever call them rotten. And while Tarzan remains the most famous creation of Edgar Rice Burroughs it was his first book, and subsequent adventures on Mars, which may have been most influential. Science fiction writers like Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert A. Heinlein all cited this book as a major influence. And countless scientists, like Carl Sagan, were inspired to become astronomers after reading as children this book about life on other planets. It is possible the public’s appetite for space exploration and the work of NASA would not have been so great were it not for this book.

And for good reason. It is a rollicking story: full of adventure, swordplay, daring feats, and fun, fun, fun. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Star War, a Star Trek, an installment of Flash Gordon, or really any story with a hero and a princess, I think you’ll love this story. If you’ve never read this story, or find the print in your well-worn copy is now to small, I am thrilled to be able offer A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs in Super Large Print.

I’m very excited to bring Louisa May Alcott’s classic Little Women into Super Large Print. The adventures of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy have charmed and warmed the hearts of millions since first becoming a bestseller in 1868. And it’s a lot of adventures – it takes five volumes to tell the first part of their lives. Each volume contains between 3-5 complete chapters, and each is less than 400 pages to make them as comfortable to hold as possible. Volumes 1-5 contain Chapters 1-23 of the complete and unabridged text.

The book was such a hit that Louisa May Alcott immediately wrote a sequel and then two more. If there is interest I can try to bring the rest of the stories about Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy into this really big, really easy to read font.

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin is a slightly more grandiose title than what he wrote. Originally, it was a sort of letter for his children. He describes the impetus for telling his story this way:

A German Editor having written to me for an account of the development of my mind and character with some sketch of my autobiography, I have thought that the attempt would amuse me, and might possibly interest my children or their children. I know that it would have interested me greatly to have read even so short and dull a sketch of the mind of my grandfather, written by himself, and what he thought and did, and how he worked. I have attempted to write the following account of myself, as if I were a dead man in another world looking back at my own life. Nor have I found this difficult, for life is nearly over with me. I have taken no pains about my style of writing.

By taking “no pains” about the style of writing, he produced an exceedingly conversational telling of his life that sparkles with an honesty that makes it feel incredibly modern. It is rare to find anyone who effected history as much as he, speaking so frankly about their life and thinking, in his era or any other for that matter.

In the process of relating the details of his life, including his earliest memories and his lackluster academic career, we get a very revealing portrait of a shockingly innocent, almost naive young man. And as he takes us through the stories behind his greatest achievements, it becomes clear he remained innocent and child-like as he became an old man. I don’t know if I’ve ever read such an unselfconscious autobiography.

I hope low vision readers will enjoy this intimate, strange autobiography.

Who was Ethel M. Dell? It’s hard to say more than two things about her: she was incredibly private and incredibly popular. Despite being read worldwide by millions, very little is known about her. All she left behind is her work, and the grumblings about her by authors of her era who didn’t sell as well as she.

I first saw her name when reading a charmingly snarky essay by George Orwell about his time working in a bookshop. The shop had a lending library and it was there he said you could see what actual readers enjoyed. He said the Dickens and Thackeray and other “classics” would sit gathering dust, while the books he turned his nose up at were devoured steadily. I won’t quote what he said, because it’s just so darn mean and snobby, but I took his put-downs as recommendations. So I went looking for Ethel M. Dell stories.

She wrote thirty books and even more short stories. She knew what the snobs and critics thought and didn’t care. She knew she was a good storyteller and she was right! Do her stories challenge the reader? No, why should they! She was a master of longing, passion and the happy ending. In a career that spanned 1911-1939 she offered an escape from a terrifyingly dangerous, sad, and harsh world. And I can say the escape hatch she made still works. It’s a tradition that is carried on by thousands of writers across the world, but her original model is as effective as ever.

Her stories have a sensual and seductive comfort that remains incredibly appealing. In Cornelia Otis Skinner’s popular 1942 novel, “Our Hearts Were Young and Gay,” the narrator says she has “a secret letch for Ethel M. Dell.” And I can see why. Her stories go down smooth and leave you feeling warm all over. Of course, the snobs had a lot more power back then. People of a certain station would have to read their Ethel M. Dell books in secret, wrapping them in more respectable book jackets. Times have changed. But the joyful escape these books offer hasn’t.

So it is my great pride to bring Ethel M. Dell into Super Large Print.

Father Brown is one of the greatest detectives to ever grace the page. While not quite as famous as Sherlock Holmes, he has proved an equally enduring character. I am so happy to be able to offer some of these classic mysteries for low vision readers.

In his Letters from Prison, Antonio Gramsci explains what makes Father Brown mysteries so wonderful:

Father Brown is the Catholic priest who through the refined psychological experiences offered by confession and by the persistent activity of the fathers’ moral casuistry, though not neglecting science and experimentation, but relying especially on deduction and introspection, totally defeats Sherlock Holmes, makes him look like a pretentious little boy, shows up his narrowness and pettiness. Moreover, Chesterton is a great artist while Conan Doyle was a mediocre writer, even though he was knighted for literary merit; thus in Chesterton there is a stylistic gap between the content, the detective story plot, and the form, and therefore a subtle irony with regard to the subject being dealt with, which renders these stories so delicious.

Personally, I’m in no position to call Sir Arthur Conan Doyle a mediocre writer, but he is right to say that G. K. Chesterton’s writing is “delicious.” There is an unpretentious poetry and sophisticated understanding of human psychology that is rare treat, especially while maintaining the pace that makes these stories such riveting page-turners. This is detective fiction at its very finest.

H. L. Mencken described some of Willa Cather’s writing as being the best, “ever done by a woman in America.” I would disagree. Willa Cather is one of the greatest American writers ever of any gender. I’d read her in school, but I think I was too young to appreciate just how good she was. I didn’t think about her until I asked my sister for suggestions for books to make for our grandma and she practically screamed, “Willa Cather!” She was right.

The first book I made for Grandma was Cather’s The Bohemian Girl. She would read it over and over again, and always be left with this beatific smile on her face when she closed it. All Cather’s books explore the depths of human relationships with beautiful, elegant prose that can cut like a knife or be as soothing as sunshine. Her classic 1918 short story, “Ardessa,” turns her sharp eye to the newsroom of a New York City newspaper.

Ardessa is an “older” woman whose managed to achieve a high status job as the secretary for the owner of the newspaper. She has grown comfortable in her role and mistakes her position of privilege for real power. Cather explores the sexism of the era at a time when that word didn’t even exist. But her deft handling of the subject feels as fresh and sadly relevant today as it did a century ago. Cather doesn’t need anything as dramatic as an assault to create an incredibly emotional charged story rooted in the reality of an inherently misogynistic culture.

I’m very excited to offer this timeless classic for low vision readers.

There are many Giant, Huge, Extra-Large Font Bibles out there. But they all try to compress the entire Old and New Testament into one or two incredibly heavy volumes. The Super Large Print King James Bible gives each chapter its own volume. Some longer chapters are divided further. The goal is to offer a book that can be held comfortably and read by someone who may be legally blind, but still wants the grace that comes with connecting to the Word through the page.

Not all chapters of the Bible are currently available. If you or a loved one would like to see a favorite book in Super Large Print, let me know. I’m always working on more books, and eager to connect people with their favorite books.

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has written me over the past year. My grandma had been my primary audience for these books, and after she passed I wasn’t sure if other people would be interested. The response from readers, and the friends and family who help these books find their way to low vision readers has been really heartwarming.

It is not easy for anyone to step outside themselves and imagine another person’s experience. I am inspired by the friends and family who take an interest in the lives of those around them. Sometimes being a friend can mean researching, advocating or helping someone navigate a complex system, but it always starts with that basic act of imagination. If it was easy for us to set our own experiences aside and imagine the details of another’s daily challenges we’d do it all the time. It can be a difficult, uncomfortable, and sometimes scary act, but it causes positive change in the world with surprising regularity. (And it just happens to be a muscle that is strengthened by reading literature.)

So thank you to the friends, family and caregivers who have helped these books find their readers. Hearing from all of you has exposed me to the nourishing presence of this invisible web of care which everyone is a part of. And thank you to the readers who have made lots of good requests for future titles. Please keep them coming. And keep on reading!