Hot take: Old book smell is overrated when the pages are moldy

My aunt told me back in 2019 to always sniff the spine of a thrift store book before buying. I thought she was being dramatic until I brought home a 1978 sci-fi novel from a garage sale in Portland. Three days later my whole apartment smelled like basement and I had to toss it. Is the vintage book smell worth the risk of mold or should we all be more careful?

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1 Comment

evan_anderson9d ago

Did you check the spine before you bought it? I learned that lesson the hard way with a Stephen King novel.