I get the feeling library workers feel a little differently about the stank. New books, though…that’s the stuff. - ThreadSky

annabookwriter.bsky.social • 7 days ago

I get the feeling library workers feel a little differently about the stank.

New books, though…that’s the stuff.

Comments

there was a british publisher whose paper had a VERY specific smell that i was absolutely obsessed with in elementary school, & i would honestly kill to find one of their books & see if it still smells like i remember. I'm with you on not liking the "musty old book" smell.

cageyratfish.bsky.social•7 days ago

there's a "roomful of books" smell that's different from the musty smell, & i actually like that quite a lot. In fact, i have a candle that smells like it ("Library Scriptorium" from the awesome Cantrip Candles)

annabookwriter.bsky.social•7 days ago

Agreed (although that is largely dust interacting with paper). I love Cantrip Candles!

cageyratfish.bsky.social•7 days ago

Ha! true enough. Some smells are better when you don't know too much about what causes them 😹

annabookwriter.bsky.social•7 days ago

Oh my god yeah. Like petrichor.

cageyratfish.bsky.social•7 days ago

i absolutely LOVE petrichor & was amazed to learn that the specific chemical that produces it is also in beets, and it's why beets have that "earthy" taste that many people can't stand

symbo1ics.bsky.social•7 days ago

alright I'm just not going to shatter my delusions, and close the computer now

symbo1ics.bsky.social•7 days ago

the way your memory works... lol

cageyratfish.bsky.social•7 days ago

my brain is a palace of wonders 😹

symbo1ics.bsky.social•7 days ago

but when you bring things like this up, I do partly relate, and it's possible I've smelled this very same publisher you mention. How could we join the dots?

We can still talk to Voyager 2. You'd think there's still hope.

cageyratfish.bsky.social•7 days ago

They published hardcover editions of wildlife novels - pretty sure "Tarka the Otter" was one of them. I remember the paper stock was a sort of off-white, ivory colour. Editions would've been in the mid 60s to early 70s. some Gill serif typefaces may have been used

cageyratfish.bsky.social•7 days ago

they were very pleasingly sized, too! Smaller than a "standard" hardcover book if that makes any sense. Perfect little books. i loved the animal stories, but i can also remember just pulling any and all books i recognized by that publisher off the shelf & just burying my nose in the pages 😹

symbo1ics.bsky.social•7 days ago

Another coincidence. I had to remember some Gill serifs just …yesterday? One of my early childhood memories is Linotype Pilgrim (by Gill) because my Allen & Unwin copy of LOTR (bible paper edition) proudly listed it as such in the colophon. A beautiful typeface, next to Perpetua, Joanna, etc.

symbo1ics.bsky.social•7 days ago

Oops, I mean Voyager 1.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/01/science/voyager-1-transmitter-issue/index.html

cageyratfish.bsky.social•7 days ago

Awww venerable old robot 💕💕

mrspither.bsky.social•7 days ago

This librarian HATES the "smell of old books." It means mold and other nasty stuff. They infect the books around them, so they are hauled off the shelf to be cleaned or replaced. No book should smell like that.

briannadasilva.bsky.social•7 days ago

Same, I LOVE new book smell!

thepoetofcuisine.bsky.social•7 days ago

new books smell of peaches and black coffee and it infuriates me no one notices

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply