I was walking by a chain bookstore in the local mall where I just relocated and I got hit with a ‘bookstore smell’ when I walked by it and it was just such a wonderful smell to me. It’s definitely a book smell, but not the same smell as you would smell in a used bookstore or a library. It’s the smell you only smell with new books.
Since it was just a quick hit as I walked by rather than me being distracted by the actual books, I realized how much I loved that smell, but I had never thought about it before. If I could make my home smell like that all the time, I absolutely would.
Now I’m only wondering if I love the smell because I love bookstores or if I love the smell independently of bookstores.
Usually yes, though I’d say that a fair number of modern books are printed on this weird plasticized paper that has a very different smell (similar to a gloss magazine). Book stores that stock too many of those books or sections full of those books smell unnatural and toxic to me.
I love that smell. Libraries too.
Idk about new books, but older book smell can be due to the breakdown of the lignin into things similar to vanillin. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/that-old-book-smell-is-a-mix-of-grass-and-vanilla-710038/
I’m actually the opposite. I love the smell of used bookstores/libraries and old books in general. That said, every bookstore I’ve been to that sells new books also has a coffee shop, so all I smell there is coffee and baked goods.
I think that’s part of why I noticed the smell too. Because the bookstore (Waterstones, a UK chain) didn’t have coffee inside it.
Very well could be. Now that I think about it, I can immediately imagine “old book” smell, but cannot think of what “new book” smell is. My only recollection is the year in middle school we got new textbooks, and the plastic covers had a weird chemical smell to them.
New book smell is a little plasticky and a little gluey. If it’s fresh enough maybe a little inky.
Used bookstores smell better.
Not for new books, but vellichor is a relatively new word to describe the scent of old books.
oh god yes. ESPECIALLY used book stores. Shared stories have a particular smell that just speaks of history.
It’s outgassing from the glue. Probably worthy of a Prop 65 warning.
Yes. Less so the ones that have coffee shops and cafes in them, but ones that are just books, magazines, etc. I love the smell of new books.
Definitely yes!
Bookstores make me go to the bathroom. Libraries do not.
Yup, new or used.
They are, as people have already noted, different smells between new books and old ones. And there’s changes the the smell of new books.
But I think you’re onto something with it being a chicken/egg thing. How much of enjoying the smell is tied up in enjoying the books and reading vs the smell itself being pleasant.
Personally, I think the smell itself is pleasant in general, but gets amplified into a very pleasant smell by love of books. Going to book stores isn’t as common as it used to be. My kid had never been to one at all until a few years ago, and loved the smell right off. Commented on it before we went in the entryway. That happened with other kids of the more recent generations too. That makes me lean towards the smell itself being nice, until someone does some experiments that say otherwise.
It applies to old books too. As someone mentioned, the lignin breaks down into that almost vanilla scent, which combines with that slightly musty, dusty smell to make something delightful that tickles the nose. I have a few thousand books here at the house, with about half of that in one room, and it has that distinct library/used book shop smell to it. Not as strong as a place just filled with books, but it’s there.
To me, I find it hard to decide whether walking past a bakery or a bookstore is better.
Y’all know you can just buy the glue from the factory. Smarter move than pretending to be smart by going to the book store /s
There’s a scent oil called “library” and it’s pretty spot on. If you have a candle nerd in your life, you could ask them to make it for you.
Edit: I have been informed that the scent is more akin to the smell of high gloss books than new books. Still good sniffs though.
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