A smell of books, a book of smells
©readinginterrupted.com
It starts off as a book; a few matte, grainy pages. A poem, some short essays.
©readinginterrupted.com
Scents – Günter Grass
The moment I open one of those books
I read so avidly
as a boy still finding myself,
the smell of old paper still captures me;
for just as a dog leaves his scent
to mark the boundaries
of his territory,
securing his wide-spread realm,
so I am surrounded by books
to which odours cling;
to read is to absorb scents.
(trans. Breon Mitchell)
©readinginterrupted.com
How did Geza Schoen translate the smell of paper into a perfume?
“Think of the million of pages turned so far in your life, from newspapers, books, magazines, and catalogues. What attributes come to mind to describe the olfactory sensation of this basic material? How about: dry, fatty, pungent, chemical and linoleum. Now, turn it all into a perfume.”
And then the bottle. In the book. Like a secret. A scent to be read. Pages to be smelled.
©readinginterrupted.com
©readinginterrupted.com
©readinginterrupted.com
The smell of a book isn’t limited to one paper scent, of course.
Remember Rachel Morrison, senior library assistant at NYC’s Museum of Modern Art Library: readinginterrupted.com/nosyreaders. She is categorizing all different books smells from “very smoky, campfire, fireplace” to “antique store, old wooden furniture” to “cloves, cigar.”
…. Open your book, close your eyes, inhale….
reading interrupted. 
The moment you mentioned the smell of paper, I knew exactly what you meant. The fragrance is powerful for it offers the very best of all – knowledge. 🙂
Ah, yes, Rebecca, the powerful scent of knowledge! That’s probably one of the reasons we love the smell of libraries so much!
Quanto sono d’accordo…The powerful scent of knowledge. Bello e intenso.
The scent of knowledge- that would be a great name for a perfume! Un bacio cara amica!
This is wonderful!
It’s a fun and clever project, isn’t it? 🙂
Wow!! Its like a dream come true!! I think you will like this video that I chanced upon in another blog…
Thanks for sharing!!! 🙂
There is definitely a dreamlike quality to it as it is so unusual, you’re right!
I remember seeing this video – thanks for sending the link!
How ingenious! Have you sampled it yet?
I briefly smelled it but haven’t worn it on my skin yet. I will be trying it today for the first time! (everyone will be trying to read me like a book, I’m sure!…. sorry, that pun had to be said!
It surely did!
Che bello! Today I am moving to Berlin to a fantastic perfume lab! A book, Berlin guide with me. Smells… Lonely planet!! Wish u a lovely weekend xxx
The new adventure starts! Book in hand, new perfume lab, creative scents to be explored! love you xoxo
This is why I will always love books…you can’t do this with a Kindle.
I could try spraying the scent near the back of the Kindle…..
🙂
I love this special blog of yours….. The perfume of books evokes so many memories in each of us…. This text of Gunter Grass is very special indeed! And I didn’t know they made a perfume called Paper Passion….I wonder how it smells on the skin! I also like the words of
Lagarfeld “the silent smell of paper”
Great piece!
Merci!
I like Grass’ poem too – I had never heard of it before until now. I love that last line “to read is to absorb scents”.
I love the smell of paper, too, and the whiff that comes when you open a book – old or new – for the first time. I like the concept of this, but since I’m still completely tied to paper books, don’t feel the need to have the scent bottled up.
I know, it’s so delightful to open that book and inhale that smell, isn’t it? For some reason, I didn’t see the perfume as restricting the scent but as capturing the moment so you could take it with you, liberating it in a way so you could have the moment of opening the book for the first time with you all day (I’m going to try it today and see what if that’s the experience!).
Intoxicating!
Yes! The seduction of the page, written word and of scent!
Letizia, Your observations and photo finds always amaze me. I love the scent of a good old book and you’ve captured the feeling here incredibly well. Thanks!
Thank you, Liesa! The scent of a book is so magical and, to many, so much a part of the reading experience.
This is why I like old book stores or used books. I find once a book hits my own shelves it loses its characteristic scent from whence it came. Either that or I am losing my olfactory sense. Great post, Letizia. Love the title.
Thank you, Lynne!
You’re right, now that I think about it, the odor of the store where the book came from often gets lost somehow. But the book itself, the pages often retain an individual smell, depending on the type of book. how interesting – I had never thought of that. There are many layers to this!
another FB share, boy if I were the consumerist I used to be… I would have to have this
I was delighted to receive it as a gift; it’s such a beautiful and original object. Thanks for sharing it on FB 🙂
Awesome title, Miss Letizia! How could anyone NOT love the smell of books? Year after year, it’s a tie for me…between books and warm cookies. : )
Thanks, Britt!
The ideal scenario would be a book AND warm cookies: two wonderful smells and a delightful experience!
Alright…let’s make it happen! : )
Definitely!
What a great idea, Letizia! I love the smell of books. I see from a previous comment you received this as a gift – I might get one for my daughter for Christmas 😀
I’m sure she would love it. It’s a lovely object: the words inside, the packaging, and then the fragrance itself.
That is very cool. Why hasn’t this been a thing before?!
They’ve made scents based on books before but never packaged so beautifully or in a book itself. This one is truly unique!
Even though used bookstores can smell stuffy, i do enjoy the mixed smells of so many books.
Yes, that mix is wonderfully stuffy, I know just what you mean.
I wonder if people think that’s what my flat smells like.
In a pleasant way, I’m sure 🙂
At least book lovers will think its pleasant and now book lovers, they can’t be helped.
You find the coolest stuff about books! I’m always amazed how in sync we are with our bookish sentiments. Technology may provide ease in reading, but it can never capture the scent. Nicely done!
That’s why I like your blog so much, we are kindred biblio-souls!
Gorgeous evocative post Letizia… I never know which I love best… the smell of libraries, or the smell of a stationery shop with all that gorgeous blank paper and dozens of different pens and pencils waiting to be used….but that’s another story !!!
Thank you, Valerie! And it’s so true, the smell of a stationary store is so delightful as well! One can spend hours in a stationary store, right? One of my favorite scents is a sharpened pencil…..
amazing
I agree!
The scent of paper is amazing. Hugs, you have such interesting posts!
Thanks!
And there are so many different paper smells, as everyone is pointing out- the musty bookstore, the library paper paste, the newer books, etc.
‘To read is to absorb scents’! How wonderful. Where can I find this perfume?
This also makes me realise that I’ve been reading on my ipad recently, and my next read has to be the real thing, otherwise I shall lose my sense of smell!
Isn’t that a great line? I love it too.
Yes, read some paperbacks or just go to your local library and inhale deeply to get a whole mix of paperback scents!
This is so awesome!
Isn’t it? 🙂 I love how they thought of everything from the packaging to the essays (to the scent, of course!).
Me too, I so want that scent!! 😀
Wow! love the whole concept, I would love to smell like a book, so have you try it?
I have! I smelled like Neruda’s poetry, Proust’s memoirs, Montaigne’s essays, and Flaubert’s novels!
What a description, oh my now I need one too, will get it ;).
If you do, let me know what books you smell like!
My friends were utterly surprised to see me bring out a secondhand book to relish in the beach yesterday. I proceeded to sniff in the smells.. . . Can’t do that with a Kindle!
I know how much you love a secondhand book. They have such a unique smell about them, don’t they? Plus, it’s such fun to imagine the life they’ve led before… who the various owners were, etc. Perhaps some of the Greek beach smells will become a part of this one!
That is awesome! Fragrances in books…always brings to mind Jean-Baptiste of serial killer fame in Perfume. You have a good eye for awesome things…you have me in a book sniffing mood now!
Yes, Jean-Baptiste, ha!
I love this post, Letizia. There is an erotic and exotic smell, for me, about a library or book store or even Amazon, because I know that I can enter any world of my choosing just by opening the pages,
The physicality of reading is definitely sensual and, you’re so right, even Amazon and an e-reader can be seductive as we lose ourselves in the world of reading – so well put, Dannie.
A dab on each wrist, rubbed together. Two more, under each ear. Letizia, you heart-breaker, you.
3 men in the bookstore swooned as I passed by them today…. The perfume seems to be working 😉
I nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award! Check out my post to see how it works. 🙂 http://wp.me/p3DlRf-2B
Thank you so much for thinking of me – you are so sweet! I don’t write about awards anymore, but I am very very touched and can’t wait to check out the other nominated blogs!