Book Sniffers Anonymous

[paya]

Hi, I'm paya and I like the smell of (new) books. When I open a book I'm holding in my hands for the first time, I have the urge to sniff in the middle, the binding. It can tell a story you know... If it's an old book, you get to know in what environment it lied. If it's a new one, you get the smell of the paper and glue... Exciting, isn't it?

 

I think we should talk about it. Sniffing books is not anything to be ashamed of! Anyone else around here? Tell me your story!

 

 

[Agaith]

I'm Agaith, and I've been a book sniffer for a number of years.

I suppose my favourite combination is when I have a brand new leather bookmark and slip it into a brand new book and sniff both together...hmmm so relaxing......................oh sorry I drifted off there but there's a little bit about my book sniffing habits.

 

[Marzipan]

I love beautiful covers, but the smell of books does nothing to mee. A drob dead gorgeous cover might distract me for ages.

 

As a kid I used to eat books... Must have tasted good

[Frostina]

Oh wow!

I knew i wasn't the only one...

I have been a book sniffer as long as i can remember and beyond.

Acc to my parents, I would often refuse to read a book just because it didnt smell "right"! Although i have to admit, i don't find that very hard to believe, since i do that even now. There is something about how the pages in a book smell that either binds me to the book or makes me run away...

Old books tell stories... Oh and how i Love to interpret them!! although the smell of mould is an instant turn-off for me!

Last month we had our yearly book fair and i found a book that really really wanted. like always, i opened and sniffed it. the man who had been searching my book for more than an hour was staring at me. well, to make a long story short, i didn't like the smell, and i didn't buy it! i just... couldn't!! I'm afraid my addiction is somewhat harmful to me... (I need to go all over the city wasting money and time to find a different copy of the book! the same lot tends to smell the same!)

 

kinda a hopeless case don't ya think?

[Bleu]

I must admit I like the smell of new books as well.

 

Sniffing an e-book reader just won't be the same

[Nephylim]

Oh GOD... my favourite place to be is a bookshop. My favourite is the second hand ones because the smell of old books is so much nicer expecially the really old ones with leather bindings. Law libraries are cool too because of all the really ace leather bindings.

 

 

OH GOD I am an out of control book sniffer. One of these days I will walk into one of those shops and never come out again.

 

 

[YaP]

Haha, me too. I have always liked the smell of books.. well, of most books. Not only new books - older books from the library can smell really good too - or bad if they have been treated badly .

Just another proof that we really are controlled by smells. Olfactoric beings we are !!!

[Sara Alva]

The sci-fi books my father kept from his childhood always smelled sweet. I'm guessing it had something to do with his mother's cooking in their small apartment. I loved to sniff those books (and continue to love the ones I stole from him).

 

Good thing my grandmother didn't cook w/ a lot of garlic and onions

[YaP]

Good thing my grandmother didn't cook w/ a lot of garlic and onions

 

maybe she did and thats why the books smell so good ?

[Sara Alva]

maybe she did and thats why the books smell so good ?

 

But would that make it smell sweet? I always imagined it was a bunch of spices.

[Tipdin]

Hi, my name is Tipdin and I'm a book sniffer.

 

My last sniff wasn't long ago. I've been sniffing for over 40 years now. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to kick the habit.

 

At this point, I'll even enjoy a sniff of my old books. I can't help it, I'm surrounded by them, and I'm weak...

[JamesSavik]

I too love the smell of books: old, new, it's all good.

 

I don't need an anonymous program. It's one of the few healthy addictions.

[rustle]

My name is rustle, and I don't just sniff books.

 

I sniff, stroke, caress, lick. I love the crinkle of a brand new smythe-sewn, case-bound book, the earthy taste of a vintage all-rag folio edition. There's nothing like an old dictionary with drill indexing. Give me a dust jacket with foil embossing and gloss UV coating.

 

Sorry, too many years with ink under my fingernails and the whiff of toluene in the air.

[Zolia Lily]

I love the smell of books. I work in a bookshop.

First thing i do upon walking in is that one long inhale. Ahhhh....

Sets me up for the rest of the working day!!!

 

Then the other day, i had a customer who came up to me and told me our shop smelt.

Grrr. Should have told her to go buy an e-reader if she didn't like it.

 

 

[Wulfenite]

I like the smell of new textbooks. =)

[JamesSavik]

I like the smell of new textbooks. =)

 

 

Starting at $150+, they SHOULD smell like roses.

[Tipdin]

Starting at $150+, they SHOULD smell like roses.

 

AMEN!

 

I'm in college now and not only should they smell great, they should be collector's items - maybe I can make some cash to pay tuition!

[YaP]

But would that make it smell sweet? I always imagined it was a bunch of spices.

 

tastes are really subjective.. but onions and (especially) garlic are spicy.. and if cooked they can be kinda sweet too.

 

But i think the really "sweet" smell of books that we all seem to like so much is more from the paper/ink/glue which changes over the years and probably is different for older books too because of different material used back then.

[Freddyness]

Hai I'm Freddy, I love the smell of books. I must admit my house is like a library with the number of books we have. honestly my favorite place to be is the huge waterstones and forbidden planet.

[Ara]

Hey im Ara and I think your all certifiable.

 

Oh and yeah ok so I have partaken in this filthy activity myself but it fills me with shame and self loathing hehe

[Camilo]

Hello I'm Cam and I like the smell of a new iPad.

[Bumblebee]

Hello I'm Cam and I like the smell of a new iPad.

 

 

LOL the iPad 2.0 better smell good

 

I loooove the smell of leather bound books.... they smell soooooooo good!!!!

[paya]

Hello I'm Cam and I like the smell of a new iPad.

 

Does it have a certified shiny iSmell?

[MusicalAlchemy]

I don't tend to smell books themselves, but I like the smell of being surrounded by old books, or general library smell. So i guess I'm a covert book sniffer

[Contest4jen]

second hand bookstores and the forgotten shelves at the back of the library are the best places to sniff books!