The Smell of Books

eBooks vs Paper Books.

Is the smell that important?

• Category

  People & Blogs

[Blinkazoid]

I'm afraid to smell mine for fear of dying from black mold disease!

[FantasticBabblings]

It is ironic that the smell people like is most likely from dead organic matter. It's like beautiful sunsets. The best ones are due to pollution.

[Lee Ann Steinmetz]

Hahaha! No, seriously, I only smell coloring books. You may laugh, but that smell holds so many sentimental memories. That's the ONLY reason I smell coloring books. The rest of the books, I just read.

[FantasticBabblings]

As a child I loved the smell of crayons. The taste too.

[indyracingnut]

This was almost like Hitchcock waxing eloquent about the aromatic qualities of movie theater popcorn. Well done, sir. I'm still one of those paper book purists but it doesn't have to do with the smell so much as it has to do with the ease at which I can lend the book to a friend, not worry about dropping it, or even burn it without paying $200 to replace the ebook device, etc etc.

[teresalacalamita]

Very interesting.

[framlin1950]

I do happen to know that a can of “fart spray” from Spencer Gifts has an aromatic quality more similar to that of old books, than that of flatus recently expelled from the digestive tract.

[razellicious]

I have to admit that sometimes I smell my books. Although ebooks are better for the environment so I tend to do my reading on my ereader. *sniff* Youtube still smells good. :P

[TheFinalTestament]

I almost forgot I'm allergic to newspapers. I get all teary eyed and not because I love the smell of them.

[eswyatt]

When I was doing a lot of research that required hours in the library reading really old books, (by old I mean 200 years old), the smell made me feel sick, like I picked up some old mold spore or bacteria that our modern immune systems have long since forgotten. At least that's what I imagined.

As for paper v electronic. I make a lot of margin notes, which you can't do on electronic media. But I also need to do word searches. So I agree with Steven Pinker that you need a copy in each format!

[Lee Ann Steinmetz]

Now you're my kind of guy! I remember chewing crayons with my sister. We were trying to make paint! Remember the paste we had to use in elementary school? I loved that smell. Also papers that had been mimeographed! I didn't taste the paste or the mimeographed paper, though.

[TheMouthonWheels]

**I even read my Kindle there sometime.** LOL Whatever floats yer boat ;-)  The library sounds lovely. Are their any photos of it online?

[FantasticBabblings]

I just recently started The Corrections, but I already have Freedom on my Kindle.

[FantasticBabblings]

Ok sure. 20% of nothing is nothing.