Are you a book sniffer?

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CYMH090909
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Re: Are you a book sniffer?

Post by CYMH090909 »

Sad but true I love the smell of books especially old books. I love the smell of walking into an old book store with used books and leather bindings.
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KNewton
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Post by KNewton »

Oh yeah! Definitely do...or did...sniff books :) Doesn't every REAL book lover?!
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Alexandra Bayer
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Post by Alexandra Bayer »

I love the smell of certain books, but I don't buy by smell, like you do. ;)
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Post by zoedecicco »

Most definitely!!!

I sniff books all the time, especially new ones. Paper...mmmm
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Post by ESQNYC »

OMG i have been teased most of my life for sniffing and smelling books! I noticed that my 2.5 year old son does it as well and i find it quite endearing. There is something about the smell of the pages of a book, new or old.
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Post by Aspen_Reads »

mellysw wrote:This used to be a huge secret of mine. The only person who knew I sniffed books (god that sounds so awful!) was my best friend, who thought I was wierd anyway. But recently I have discovered a LOT of readers sniff books out there!

So do you sniff your books?

I can always tell a good book by how it smells. I KNOW that sounds wierd! I KNOW! But it is so true! I swear, if you sent me to a bookstore (new or used, doesn't matter) and gave me two AWESOME books I really wanted but told me I could only have one, I would sniff them to figure out which one I wanted. After I cried and whined and begged to have both of course! But by sniffing the pages, I would be able to tell which would be better, even if I can't tell from the blurbs.

And there is a technique to it! Sure, you can just lean over and get a whiff. Most of the time that is not enough though! You need to faaaaaannnnnn the pages out to really get a good whiff of it's real smell.

I promise you, every book smells different. I have opened boxes of books I had stored away in a closet for years, and the books still retain their individual smells. Strong environmental odors CAN affect their individual smells over a long time though. There is one book from my childhood where I love the smell so much I keep it in a ziplock bag so nothing affects it's smell. No lie, I swear it! As a matter of fact I will go take a whiff of it right now....be right back....

Ahhh....the smell of childhood.... This is the one thing I miss using my e-reader.

Anyway! Tell me about how you sniff your books, if you do!
I sniff my books by flipping the pages slowly, and really inhaling the scent. I definitely agree with you that they have individual scents that stay there for a long time! I love that there are other book sniffers out there. My fiancé thought I was so weird when I was in the bookstore the other day, and I finally broke down and sniffed a book in front of him! It was something I swore I would never do, and then I did it, and now I am a booksniffer in public, so if I'm weird, it is all in the name of books!
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Post by LivreAmour217 »

I love my books, but I have to confess that I've never had the urge to sniff one. Nothing against it, mind you, it's just something that's never crossed my mind. I guess I might have to try it sometime, just to satisfy my curiosity, as it seems to be something a lot of people do!
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Post by ALynnPowers »

LivreAmour217 wrote:I love my books, but I have to confess that I've never had the urge to sniff one. Nothing against it, mind you, it's just something that's never crossed my mind. I guess I might have to try it sometime, just to satisfy my curiosity, as it seems to be something a lot of people do!
I'm surprised as well!! I never sniff mine... but I can recognize the smell of books... like in a library.
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Post by huntingmyths »

I absolutely love the smell of books. I don't purposefully smell it, but I do love the scent. :)
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Post by Alexavier-Taiga »

I only smell new books or antique books. I NEVER smell a book from my school library because 90% of them have stains that look like comet and I am just not going to put my face near that. So only new books for me!
I have found that books I buy from the same company, tend to have a similar smell, or even books my the same author! Though this might just be a placebo-smell..
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Post by jkclay1 »

I also love sniffing books! In fact I was arguing with someone the other day who said and I quote, "We don't really need libraries since everything is now online..." I was absolutely mortified!!! Smelling the book and turning the crisp pages is one of the greatest parts about reading a new book! It's something you can't do with a kindle, nook, tv, or anything like that. It's what set actually hold in your hand books apart!
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Post by Lady_Phantom »

I LOVE the smell of a used book store. The smell of a book somehow gives it character.
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Post by GKCfan »

I'm very allergic to dust and mildew. If I take a sniff of an old, musty book, I start coughing and sneezing uncontrollably. It gets so bad that some books I have to read in ebooks if they're out of print and all the available copies are in shabby condition.
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Post by 3chicnP »

Hahahah! I DO like the smell of books though. If you step into a library, it smells amazing. I think that paperbacks don't smell as good as hardcovers for whatever reason. I only smell them when they're new. Like I've just bought them. I don't smell my books on a regular basis. I admire them though.
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thebookaddict
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Post by thebookaddict »

Absolutely! I'd bet that if you blindfolded me and put a bookunder my nose, I could tell if it was an old or new book! And once, I found a book-scented candle!!
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