{"id":94867,"date":"2012-09-28T12:08:34","date_gmt":"2012-09-28T17:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2012\/09\/28\/the-smell-of-books\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:13:13","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:13:13","slug":"the-smell-of-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2012\/09\/28\/the-smell-of-books\/","title":{"rendered":"The smell of books"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

What\u2019s in a smell? A book in any format may read the same, but it seems there\u2019s something about the smell of print that e-books just can\u2019t capture\u2014for now.<\/p>\n\n

Earlier this summer, New York Times<\/em> tech blogger Nick Bilton wrote<\/a> about wandering into a West Village bookstore on a visit to New York:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI immediately felt a sense of nostalgia that I haven\u2019t felt in a long time. The scent of physical books\u2014the paper, the ink, the glue\u2014can conjure up memories of a summer day spent reading on a beach, a fall afternoon in a coffee shop, or an overstuffed chair by a fireplace as rain patters on a windowsill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

But amidst this nostalgic reverie, he considers the advantages of e-books: their search functionality, ease of transport, the ability to share favorite passages with friends. He leaves the bookstore without buying anything.<\/p>\n\n

Yet for some, the added conveniences of electronic books can never make up for the loss of the physical experience of reading a print book. The author Ray Bradbury famously was never a fan of e-books<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThose aren\u2019t books. . . .\u00a0 A computer does not smell. There are two perfumes to a book. If a book is new, it smells great. If a book is old, it smells even better. It smells like ancient Egypt. A book has got to smell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

According to Bradbury, e-books themselves \u201csmell like burned fuel<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Though none were as caustic as Bradbury, one of the things that struck me in the responses of our online panel was the ambivalence of these avid readers (and e-book borrowers) toward the rise of e-books. Many echoed the same thought: \u201cNothing can replace the feel and smell of a physical book.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

As another panelist explained:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI thoroughly enjoy reading from my Kindle. I am honestly surprised because I am an absolute bibliophile. I love the touch, the smell, everything about a paper book. I would find it shameful if paper books were not longer published or made available. For me, my e-reader will NEVER take the place of a paper book, but it does have its own niche.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

However, some patrons noted the downside of the \u201cused book smell.\u201d One wrote:<\/p>\n\n

[print]<\/p>\n\n\n

Another said that she doesn\u2019t even borrow print books from the library because she is allergic to perfume, \u201cand the physical books are usually smelly. E-books, on the other hand, have no odor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

In fact, one patron felt that having fewer books at the library made the library more<\/em> conducive to reading:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI like that the libraries are not as cluttered with old smelly books now that the computers and e-book formats are around. It makes the libraries feel less like old bookstores and more like a living room waiting for readers to sit down and read.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Finally, the results of our national survey indicate that while the lack of a \u201cgood book smell\u201d is not a deal-breaker for most readers, it\u2019s certainly not irrelevant.<\/p>\n\n

When we asked readers what they like most about reading books<\/a>, they gave a variety of responses. Many mentioned the joys of learning, entertainment, or relaxation, but a few (2%) said the physical properties of books\u2014their feel and smell\u2014was their favorite<\/span> part of reading. And among Americans who don\u2019t currently own an e-reader (like a Kindle or Nook), about 16% said the main reason<\/a> is that they just prefer print books in general.<\/p>\n\n

Though e-book readers clearly prefer e-books to print in many situations<\/a>, they may not need to sacrifice all the tactile pleasure of the printed page. In fact, nostalgic e-book readers can now recapture that new- or old-book scent with perfumes such as In The Library<\/a> and Paper Passion<\/a> (shown at top). And for the budget reader, Smell of Books<\/a>\u2122 claims to offer an \u201caerosol e-book enhancer,\u201d available in scents ranging from its \u201cNew Book Smell\u201d and \u201cClassic Musty Smell\u201d (shown below) to \u201cCrunchy Bacon Scent.\u201d Note\u2014Unlike the perfumes mentioned above, this product appears to be tongue-in-cheek.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

I\u2019ll close with the words of an online panelist who described her own internal compromise between the pleasures of print and the ease of e-books. \u201cThe joy of smelling turning pages can’t be matched by an e-book, but the joy of the story from an e-book can turn someone into a physical book reader,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the more we read the better we all are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s in a smell? 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