Science behind the smell & bibliosmia.

I could not be more serious when I say that one of my motivating factors for creating this blog was to write about the science behind reading, listening & soaking up literature in all its forms. I think reading is so incredibly valuable, and vastly underrated. But, that’s another blog post. Today let’s talk about one of my favorite things about books: their smell. If you’ve read my About section (it’s a good read – check it out) you will know that I tie one of my earlier book memories to a book’s smell. One particular book, Night Cars by Teddy Jam.

I can’t say that I have ever heard anyone else ever mention this book but it is one of my most cherished possessions. I don’t know why the smell is so distinct for me but I can even slightly smell it when I just think about opening the big blue cover. It’s not a smell that I can easily describe either, it’s definitely a musty smell, but it’s also sharp, a little sour and a teensy bit sweet. Can you even smell sour? Well, I can because that is what my favorite book smells like. That smell instantly soothes and calms me.

Basically, I am a book sniffer and I have zero shame about it. Who is with me?! 

Really, a better question isn’t who is with me, but why they are with me. So, what the hell is up with the smell? The science behind a book’s scent is actually incredibly interesting and a layered explanation. There are tons of not only academic research on this but good old articles all over the internet about the book-smell phenomenon.

Bibliosmia, a phrase coined in a twitter tweet by Dr. Oliver Teale, is now colloquially used to define the unique smell of a book. The scientific explanation, as told by me, is that books are made of cellulose, lignin and other compounds. These compounds eventually structurally break down and emit the amazing book-smell. The older the book is the deeper the smell gets. I read somewhere that the smell can be characterized as a book slowly dying. I think a better way of looking at it is like it’s smell grows as it lives, just like we get wiser with age, books smell more the longer they live.

If we really want to dip our toes into trippy land we can start to consider the life of a book, the compounds and inks that make it who it is, the hands it passes through before it finally gets to us. To me, books really live, that amazing book smell is a part of the book just as much as the words and author are. 

I read a significant number of books on some type of device, not the physical form. Often I will read a book on an app and then if it’s a book that I love I will purchase the physical book to add it to my collection. I will say that I think part of the magic of a book is the physical part of it. Touching the cover, looking at its composition, feeling its weight as I am reading it and finally, smelling it’s earthy, sour, sweet, woodsy smell. That is a magical and unique experience with each new book I hold. 

The power of a book is real, my friends. Do you have a book that is your favorite to smell? Note that this doesn’t have to be your favorite book, but your favorite smelling book. Share it below, you will note who reads my little blog when you go into your local bookstore and see someone sniffing your favorite ones. Side-note, anyone want to share their story of getting caught in public sniffing a book? What can you do, either people get it, or they don’t. I will tell you though, this girl gets it. Happy sniffing you little book sniffers!