The smell of new books

[ChelseaH]

What is it with people saying they love the smell of new books? I have never purchased an unused book that didn't faintly smell of chemicals. Old books though, they have a proper smell, a wonderful smell. It varies as the life the book has led varies but it always smells like the passage of time, it smells like an adventure. The book's smell tells another story than the one the book itself has written. All in all, I find it hard to understand what y' all are talking about when you talk about 'new books smell' :p

I never find a smell when I get a old book, but when I pick up a new book and get home the first thing I do is flip through the pages and smell it.

[Paliden]

I love the smell of old books!!! New ones, no. But to go into an old antique store and find books that are really old.....ah! I have found some treasures that way and the smell wonderful! LOL!

[Adonis Maratos]

It only wins by a sniff.

Pun intended?

[crashlee012]

I honestly don't know why I love the smell of old books. It's as wonderful as the smell of freshly cut grass. Book stores always smell magnificent, but it's the Thrift Store book section full of used books that always draws me in. Like a moth to a flame, I make a straight beeline to the book section of any store. I always feel like Belle when she flipped through the pages of her favorite book with a look of total and complete happiness on her face. Like she could die there and be totally fine with it. The smell of old books does that to me...and I'm perfectly happy to let it

[W-Harbinger]

the smell of coffee combined with the new book smell is awesome

I laughed when I read this for I completely agree. The two together do make a very inviting smell. I also enjoy the feel of old book pages that have been worn a little yellow with age. I don't know why, I just do.

[L_Therese]

I'm not big on book smells at all - new or old. What I like about new books is the way they sound when you open them the first couple times. What I like about old books is the feel of the pages as I turn them (they're generally softer and thicker).

[Jen319164]

From where I get my books the books don't smell like a new car or fresh ink on paper or any of that stuff and i think it is because they are quite expensive and i have seen alot of people just go to the bookstore to read them and put them back also i guess they are used but even the ones at the back of the shelves or the ends of the piles......scent less

[Swalka1991]

Haha. The smell of books themselves don't particularly interest me. It's just the smell of paper and glue and ink. Bookstores, though, are wonderful. I prefer used bookstore scent to new bookstore scent, though. There's something almost homey about it, since I have my own library/office in my house!

[Adonis Maratos]

Haha. The smell of books themselves don't particularly interest me. It's just the smell of paper and glue and ink. Bookstores, though, are wonderful. I prefer used bookstore scent to new bookstore scent, though. There's something almost homey about it, since I have my own library/office in my house!

The house where i grew up also had a library (still has and I spend a lot of time there when i visit) but the room doesn't really have a particular smell, do you think there's something different between your Library and mine?

[VanessaCherie21_]

I absolutely adore the smell of books-old or new. It's a very comforting smell to me. I also love the sound a new book makes when you first open it up.

[sdietrich]

Personally, I love the smell of new books. I agree that there is a distinction between a "new book smell" and an "old book smell", but I love the smell of a new book! To me, the smell of a new book is the smell of a new adventure. It's the start of something magical...

[nikinoodle7]

I'm a sucker for new and old book smells. <3

[lizrumping]

I like the smell of both new and old books. But the smell of books, in general is probably my favorite scent out there. I recently heard about a perfume that smells like books. Might have to check that one out..

[nikinoodle7]

Perfume?! I'm all for checking that out. (:

[sashacats]

I love the smell of old and new books! When I walk into a bookstore or library and that book scent hits my nose I instantly anticipate the new adventure I am about to embark on.