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The Smell Of Books

shadforth

shadforth

Member
I'm sure I can't be the only one in the forum who loves the smell of books?!:eek: Old books,especially library books that have been constantly handled,and somehow cyphered a sliver of their many readers,are the best. But brand new books,sometimes with pages so crisp and silvery white,are also quite scenty too!
 
When I was younger, I constantly received awkward looks as I would dip my face in between the pages of whatever book I was reading, and inhale the sweet smell contained therein. I still enjoy smelling books while reading them, though I don't usually inhale so deeply from the pages themselves anymore, but just enjoy the smell that naturally exudes from them.
 
I'm sure I can't be the only one in the forum who loves the smell of books?!:eek: Old books,especially library books that have been constantly handled,and somehow cyphered a sliver of their many readers,are the best. But brand new books,sometimes with pages so crisp and silvery white,are also quite scenty too!
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Excellent topic!:) Some new books have a great smell, to me, it's all part of the *enjoyment* process of first handling the book when you buy it and thumbing through it. That old book smell is great too. I'm not certain how to describe it. It is most distinctive when you reading something made out recycled paper, or a book from say-the 1930s. Terribly specific I know, but I hear ya.:cool:
 
I love the smell of books, it's one of my favorite scents. When going into the used book store the first thing I do is breath it all in.
 
I love the smell of new books, but loathe the smell of used ones. To me, they smell musty, dusty and damp. :eek:

With new books, I love to hold my face right up to the book, and flip the pages and inhale. :eek:
 
when i was younger i too adored the smell of old and new books. That all stopped when i was about 10 and sifting through a stack of my sisters "Goosebumps" stories fresh from the library rack. On the bed I opened one book and started to feather the pages when an Earwig fell out between the pages onto my cheek, crawled down my neck and underneath my collar. Terror ensued. Scarred me for life.
 
angerball said:
I love the smell of new books, but loathe the smell of used ones.
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There are used books and then there are used books. Perhaps, as with people, the smell of a used book is related to its past life. A book which has sheltered in a dignified private library or on the shelf of a loving family surely smells different from one that was dumped for years in a basement by an inappreciative owner.

How about magazines and newspapers? Today's newspaper smells good to me - hot news and fresh ink - while yesterday's is for taking out the garbage.
 
pagedown said:
when i was younger i too adored the smell of old and new books. That all stopped when i was about 10 and sifting through a stack of my sisters "Goosebumps" stories fresh from the library rack. On the bed I opened one book and started to feather the pages when an Earwig fell out between the pages onto my cheek, crawled down my neck and underneath my collar. Terror ensued. Scarred me for life.
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I admit it. That story made me LOL.
 
The cheaper books (mass paperbacks, etc.) have no or very little scent. Academic books or books with pages with high clay content often have delicious smells. Sniff... sniff... SNORT... sorry, got carried away...
 
My college library had that old book smell and I absolutely love it. I checked a book out last year from my current library (an old C.S. Lewis) and it smelled the same. I am sure that because it smelled so good I enjoyed it more.
 
Ooh, Standing ovation for these hardworking scientists and researchers who can spend years trying to unravel the reason behind a natural preference. A mere mortal like me would never be able to give much thoughts to these chemicals and their reactions. Nevertheless, the vanillin story would remain fresh in my memory for a long time, especially when I handle an old book next time.
 
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