So I tested out the same paper in high and lower resolution and they looked identical.
After spending more time with it, it's not as bad as I first thought it was. It isn't super clear at full screen (the text size is so small that the text isn't super smooth) but it's still readable. It's not quite as blurry as I first thought, and although it would be much better with a retina display, I now thinks it's good enough to work.
My new statement is that it would be much better with a retina display, but it is good enough as it is.