The Smell of Books

I went to the library today - it was the first time that I’d been there in a few months, and when I walked in, I was immediately struck by the smell.

Now, I don’t mean that the library smelled bad. Quite the opposite.

It was the smell of books, and it was heavenly - almost heady.

There’s just something about the smell of books - it’s the smell of literature, the smell of information - it’s the smell of knowledge.

Walking down the stacks is a sensory experience to which nothing else compares. The smell of the books - the rows and rows and rows - the feel of their heft in your hands.

When I was at university, I did a research project for which I got to use original source materials. Where I went to university they had an amazing collection of old books, and when I tread - oh so lightly and in an almost euphoric state - among the stacks of the old book collection, it was like being in the presence of history itself. Books that I picked up and opened were from other centuries, and had leather bindings, gold leaf letters, and unslit pages.

I was humbled.

And they smelled divine.

Now don’t get me wrong - I really like my Kindle too.

But nothing - ever - will take the place of books.