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cuddly_cali t1_ja05f1w wrote

The smells, the notes found in the used books, or old bookmarks and dog earred corners. I love it all

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gemmadonati t1_ja0wfgx wrote

Yup, same to me. The article quotes someone complimenting the smell: "It’s the smell that seduces me. Like incense." (It turns out there's a good reason, the lignin in paper produces vanilla-like compounds when it decomposes.)

I'm from East Texas, and their libraries smelled like that when I was a kid. They had air conditioning by that time but it was recent enough that the "biblichor" (if I can coin the word - see "petrichor") persisted. Incense, yes.

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dsynfolt t1_ja162ib wrote

Biblichor is already the word for the smell of libraries and bookshops (old books).
You can't coin it or mint it, but you can use it.

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Mazmier t1_ja2535f wrote

Vellichor is another specific to used bookstores.

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