Hot take: That librarian who said old books smell like glue was right

Someone at the library told me last month the musty smell in old books is just drying glue, not history or magic. I found a 1930s botany book at Goodwill for $3 and it smells like a chemistry lab, totally ruined my nostalgia.

2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

2 Comments

shane_moore873mo ago

OH MAN, that is SO disappointing! I remember finding a first edition Hemingway at a garage sale once, practically drooled over the worn leather and that "historic" smell. Now I'm convinced it was just the ghost of some long-dead glue factory haunting my shelves. But honestly, I still can't help myself, I'll huff those musty pages like a weirdo and pretend it's the scent of TIME ITSELF. Guess I'm more of a romantic fool than I thought, because I'm still gonna buy old books just for that fake nostalgia kick. My wife calls it my "dusty paper addiction" and honestly, she's not wrong.

7

chen.jade3mo ago

Walmart has some cheap trunk air fresheners that smell close enough for me.

9