If a player reads a book, it looks like he is just staring somewhere and holding the book in his hand. It would be better in my opinion and definitely doable to make the player model hold the book in front of him (like a map in first person view) and temporarily change the head position to looking down into the book (like with a bed, if you press F3 and look at the coordinate axes, they're also not correct, because the head position temporarily changed).
But if this ever gets reality, why stop there? It could continue for a map (in third person/multiplayer), food, fishing rod, clock, compass and maybe also the throwable items (ender pearl/eye, snowball, potions, etc.). This would be kind of like one of the mods that change the player model when swimming, flying, sprinting, etc., so it might be considered a mod request, too.
Edit: The opposite could also be possible: Looking down shows the book, just like maps. That way you don't have to pause to read a book, you can just keep walking and doing other things.
Pretty small change, but all graphical enhancements such as more little animations are always welcome. They make the game feel just a little more complete somehow.
Now, two years later, I would suggest the opposite: Make books act like maps: You can read them when you look down, but you don't have to pause to open it.
The other points:
Map: That's now implemented (not sure about the outside view on multiplayer, but I assume it's good).
Food, fishing rod, throwables: I still agree.
Clock, compass: I don't agree anymore, they are used as inventory items mainly. You don't need to perform an action to look at them, so it would be inconsistent when the animation triggers.
I advise you edit the original thread, or create a new one for your new idea. It may get confused with the original. I think both ideas would be great, especially with the terrific custom swimming animations of 1.13.
If a player reads a book, it looks like he is just staring somewhere and holding the book in his hand. It would be better in my opinion and definitely doable to make the player model hold the book in front of him (like a map in first person view) and temporarily change the head position to looking down into the book (like with a bed, if you press F3 and look at the coordinate axes, they're also not correct, because the head position temporarily changed).
But if this ever gets reality, why stop there? It could continue for a map (in third person/multiplayer), food, fishing rod, clock, compass and maybe also the throwable items (ender pearl/eye, snowball, potions, etc.). This would be kind of like one of the mods that change the player model when swimming, flying, sprinting, etc., so it might be considered a mod request, too.
Edit: The opposite could also be possible: Looking down shows the book, just like maps. That way you don't have to pause to read a book, you can just keep walking and doing other things.
Pretty small change, but all graphical enhancements such as more little animations are always welcome. They make the game feel just a little more complete somehow.
So.. Uh.. Support.
Now, two years later, I would suggest the opposite: Make books act like maps: You can read them when you look down, but you don't have to pause to open it.
The other points:
I advise you edit the original thread, or create a new one for your new idea. It may get confused with the original. I think both ideas would be great, especially with the terrific custom swimming animations of 1.13.