Book sniffing

People will really think of anything. I stumbled upon a perfume maker who was inspired by the scent of books. Check it here. The perfume, which has notes of vanilla and musk to simulate the scent of books, is a bit pricey at $60.00, and I doubt if it's available in Manila. Still, it wouldn't hurt to check out department stores, right? The perfume wants to evoke the atmosphere of libraries, with their huge collections in different bindings. I'm loving it already!

I just love the smell of books. I get a high every time I read a newly bought hardback. I can't quite put a finger on the actual smell bookstores have. It's probably the combination of all those types of glue used on the books (which explains the "high" feeling). Or maybe it's the paper and the ink. Old books have their particular scent too. Mildew has never smelled so good. When you think about it, you somehow get a whiff of the last person who read the used book. We all leave traces of our DNA, and books have loads of our genetic material in their pages.

If I were to ask you which part of the book that you smell, you'd probably just tell me the pages. I smell everything -- the front and back covers, the gutter, and the pages too. I'd bet that my blood has increased levels of adhesive polymers from book sniffing. One of my former office mate writes that she gets giddy when she enters FullyBooked. Could the adhesive be the reason for this?

Hmmmm... If we get a high over the smells of our books, don't you think it's one of the reasons we frequent bookstores so much -- just to get that feeling of ecstasy from book sniffing? Must investigate.

Speaking of book smells, I wonder how the library of the Vatican would smell. Would it smell like old priest? Or would the scent have a hint of years of repressed sexual ideas? Would the books have body fluids in them? The Vatican library supposedly has one of the most extensive collections in the world, even those books that it has prohibited throughout history. And its librarians and administrators have played a major role in dictating on what people should and shouldn't read. Currently, its target is, of course, Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.

Banning books is akin to admitting that the people around you are stupid and couldn't decide for themselves. Besides, book censorship usually backfires, causing more people to get hold of the controversial book just to see what the fuss is all about.

The Vatican Library