bookish nuttiness from yours truly

[andave_ya]

Do any of you smell your books? I love smelling old books. They've got just this inviting heady scent that speaks of places gone and things done. New books smell nasty; just a lot of chemically treated stuff. Probably it's just the wood pulp paper as opposed to archival but oh how I love the smell of the stuff! Whenever I see a really old book it's hard not to open it and breathe in. I do hope there's no drug in it or glue or something. That would be embarrassing.

Well, I did say this was bookish nuttiness. :p

[Elly_blue]

well you are definately not the only one, don't worry about that! :lol: I really luv the smell of old books...

[Niamh]

i love that musty smell of old books!

[kratsayra]

yes, I know exactly what you mean also. It's even better when a whole library room smells like that! It almost makes me feel like I want to do work. :)

[BlueSkyGB]

My work also brought me into that wonderful scent...:)
I too work in a library...and was visiting a friend at a (shall remain nameless) :p library..who happened to work in special collections and archives...and I got the chance to examine an old leatherbound pre-printing press bible..illustrated and beautiful....cannot imagine the hardwork and time it took to create this object......

[dramasnot6]

I too am a closet book sniffer! :D The smell of old books is ironically refreshing.

[SleepyWitch]

Do any of you smell your books? I love smelling old books. They've got just this inviting heady scent that speaks of places gone and things done. New books smell nasty; just a lot of chemically treated stuff. Probably it's just the wood pulp paper as opposed to archival but oh how I love the smell of the stuff! Whenever I see a really old book it's hard not to open it and breathe in. I do hope there's no drug in it or glue or something. That would be embarrassing.

Well, I did say this was bookish nuttiness. :p

hey andave-ya, what a coincidence! i was thinking of posting the same question!

I like sniffing 60s and 70s books best.
but the latest (7th) edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary smells lovely, too.. i think it's chlorine or printing ink...

[Pensive]

Well, some of them, in which I can't seem to find any insects. Recently, I opened some old books of my grandfather, and found insects in it! *shudders thinking about the fright she had* :p

[andave_ya]

Ew, Pensive, that's awful! Bugs in books! :sick:
I'm so glad my Mom and I aren't the only book sniffers, though! We were at a lovely old used bookstore last week and my Mom and I were both getting into those books on the sly :D :p

[grace86]

Hearing that so many people smell their books makes me laugh...but yes I do the same. Can't resist! My fiancee laughed at me until I pointed out that he loves the smell of new computer parts! :lol: Guess we all have our weaknesses.

I love walking into a secondhand bookstore and smelling the air...just creates an atmosphere.

[kratsayra]

Hearing that so many people smell their books makes me laugh...but yes I do the same. Can't resist! My fiancee laughed at me until I pointed out that he loves the smell of new computer parts! :lol: Guess we all have our weaknesses.


That's hilarious! My boyfriend (who is also a computer person) also thinks its pretty weird when I smell books. He's like "um, aren't you supposed to be reading that?" I'm not sure how he feels about the smell of computer parts, though. ;) I actually do like the smell of some brand-new plastic things. But it doesn't have the same connotations as old books.

[Madhuri]

Well, some of them, in which I can't seem to find any insects. Recently, I opened some old books of my grandfather, and found insects in it! *shudders thinking about the fright she had* :p

You can keep those books in the sun for a while and the insects will be gone. And, maybe keeping mothballs will help too.

As for me, sometimes when I smell old books I start sneezing, and my nose itches :p

[Pensive]

You can keep those books in the sun for a while and the insects will be gone. And, maybe keeping mothballs will help too.

Well, yes, I adopt the method of keeping them in the sun later if I catch insects inside them.


As for me, sometimes when I smell old books I start sneezing, and my nose itches :p

Perhaps that's because it contains mud? Sometimes it happens to me as well. But even if it makes me sniff, it still have this good smell in it. :p