The smell of new books

[Caz1+]

Smell is one of the stronger senses. When you smell a book you are smelling the memory of enjoying it and the sense of relaxation. When the book is new you don't have these associated memories so it's foreign to you. Once you read it I bet it smells different

[gali]

I love both smell. Since I have got my kindle, it matters less to me.

[bobsmoot]

New books have a more chemical smell to them, which I don't find too pleasant. I prefer the smell of an older book.

Has anyone ever picked up a book that smells downright awful? It doesn't happen often, but very occasionally I'll pick up a book from the local library and it actually has a *stink* to it. It's hard to describe... But it's strong and pungent. could be from someone with really greasy hands handling the book?

[Adonis Maratos]

New books have a more chemical smell to them, which I don't find too pleasant. I prefer the smell of an older book.

Has anyone ever picked up a book that smells downright awful? It doesn't happen often, but very occasionally I'll pick up a book from the local library and it actually has a *stink* to it. It's hard to describe... But it's strong and pungent. could be from someone with really greasy hands handling the book?

all i can think of is mold and decay :p but it has never happened to me

[Fran]

New books have a more chemical smell to them, which I don't find too pleasant. I prefer the smell of an older book.

Has anyone ever picked up a book that smells downright awful? It doesn't happen often, but very occasionally I'll pick up a book from the local library and it actually has a *stink* to it. It's hard to describe... But it's strong and pungent. could be from someone with really greasy hands handling the book?

all i can think of is mold and decay :p but it has never happened to me

Well you never know where a previous reader liked to read ... maybe their preferred reading location was sitting in the pigsty or maybe a corner of the local glue factory

[mbeasley]

I love the feeling of new books more so than the smell. The stiff feeling of the pages that I'm able to wear in myself is the best.

[Adonis Maratos]

I love the feeling of new books more so than the smell. The stiff feeling of the pages that I'm able to wear in myself is the best.

That I understand and i get it too that first crackle of the spine after you spread it out on your desk the sounds of adventure

[Amberle]

I admit i do love the smell of new books, yet I also love the smell of used ones as well. But as for new ones, it is hard to describe, that has always been one of my favorite smell. And a book store that also has a coffee shop in it...the smell of coffee combined with the new book smell is awesome

Yes! Even though I would much rather support the small local business, and try hard to send most of my book allowance their way, I have to admit one of my guilty pleasures is sitting in a Books-a-Million and just... breathing.

[bobsmoot]

Apparently a scientific study has been done on "the book smell".

“A combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness” is how an international team of chemists describes the unique odor of old books in a study. Poetic, sure, but what causes it?

Books are made up almost entirely of organic materials: paper, ink, glue, fibers. All these materials react to light, heat, moisture, and even each other over the years, and release a number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). While the blend of compounds released by any one book is dependent on the exact things that went into making it, there’s only so much variation in materials.

The researchers tested 72 books and found some 15 compounds that came up again and again. They were reliable markers for degradation. These include acetic acid, benzaldehyde, butanol, furfural, octanal, methoxyphenyloxime, and other chemicals with funny-sounding names. A book’s smell is also influenced by its environment and materials it encounters over the course of its life (which is why some books have hints of cigarette smoke, others smell a little like coffee, and still others, cat dander).

You can’t judge books by their covers, but the researchers think you can learn a lot from their odor. They're developing a method for determining the condition and age of books and other paper documents by using special “sniffing” equipment to analyze the blend of VOCs. They hope that this study of "degradomics" can help libraries, museums, and archives assess and monitor the health of their collections and store and care for them accordingly.

(this is from mentalfloss dot com btw)

[Adonis Maratos]

my book loving Chemistry teacher will love this thank you

[Bailers77]

I've actually never bought a used book, but I don't really like the smell of new books. I can't wait till they loose that smell.

-- 24 Feb 2014, 00:04 --

I've actually never bought a used book, but I don't really like the smell of new books. I can't wait till they loose that smell.

[Scorsee]

I like the smell of some new books--typically hard bound and oddly, only certain publishers? It must be something about the combination of ink, paper and binding they've used. I've really fallen in love with the smell of properly used books since I've acquired more of them. There really is something about knowing that this book has been on a journey you can't imagine and somehow it has made its way to you.

[kismoody]

I'm not entirely sure either way. I love both old and new book smells. Since our memories and emotions are frequently tied into smells, my guess is the new book smell invokes happy memories without the additional smells. Old books, however, sometimes have other smells other than book smells that might invoke a different memory response that's mixed.

[V_bansal2912]

The smell of new book is something like, a promise of new adventure and new world to explore. Give me a new book and freshly brewed coffee anytime!!

[CoffeeBreakWithMe01]

I have to say i love the smell of both new and used. I don't know exactly what it is about it that I like apart from it is such a comforting smell to me.