“opening the book, i inhaled. the smell of old books, so sharp, so dry you can taste it.”

“And how could anyone consent to give up the smell of open books, old or new?”

Elizabeth Kostova book The Swan Thieves

“A computer does not smell… if a book is new, it smells great. If a book is old, it smells even better… And it stays with you forever. But the computer doesn’t do that for you. I’m sorry.”

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) American writer

“Here you discover that so long as books are kept open, then minds can never be closed.”

Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)

“The place was part museum, part library, and part archive; I loved it at first sight…and smell, for here there were thousands of printed books, many very old indeed, and nothing smells quite as wonderful as old books.”

Dan Simmons book The Fall of Hyperion

“Books, books, books. It was not that I read so much. I read and re-read the same ones. But all of them were necessary to me. Their presence, their smell, the letters of their titles, and the texture of their leather bindings.”

Colette (1873–1954) 1873-1954 French novelist: wrote Gigi

“There was the smell of old books, a smell that has a way of making all libraries seem the same. Some say that smell is asbestos.”

Scott Douglas (1963) American wheelchair tennis player

“The book smelled dusty and old but also carried a sweet tang, a hint of something inviting. She opened to the first page and started to read, pronouncing the words in a reverent whisper.”

Shannon Hale (1974) American fantasy novelist

“I even love the smell of books.”

Adriana Trigiani (1970) American film director

“I grabbed my book and opened it up. I wanted to smell it. Heck, I wanted to kiss it. Yes, kiss it. That's right, I am a book kisser. Maybe that's kind of perverted or maybe it's just romantic and highly intelligent.”

Sherman Alexie book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian