MORE THAN A UTILITY, PAPER AS AN EXPERIENCE

Books made with paper, have a characteristic smell. Old books especially have an earthy, organic, sweet faint vanilla scent that is typical of libraries and second-hand bookshops.

As a home, office, or school supply, paper is often considered a basic utility item. But paper can also be useful beyond its practical application because the smell of paper can also become a beautiful, inviting experience.

Sometimes the best thing about a book or paper is the wonderful effect it has on the nostrils as you flip through and breathe in the scent of the pages.

And yes, if you didn’t already know it, there is a name for this smell – Biblichor. It derives from the Greek word, Biblos, meaning book and Ichor, meaning “the fluid that flows in the veins of Gods.” It was almost certainly inspired by the word Petrichor, which describes the pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.

Scientists say the sweet vanilla and almonds smell of old books is mostly caused by the slow breakdown of complex polymer and aromatic alcohols like cellulose and small amounts of lignin in the paper, over a period of time.

In the supposed age of the e-book, the comforting, soothing scent of biblichor is something electronic books cannot offer, and one of the key reasons why millions of book lovers would continue to prefer and hold on to hard copies.

Although biblichor still remains something of an unofficial word as it has not yet been officially recognized by mainstream English dictionaries, it has however been in usage for years and it has gained currency among paper and book lovers everywhere.

But then why are so many book lovers drawn to the smell of books? Well, it probably has to do with the fact that smells have the power to affect our mood, emotions, feelings, and sensuality while transporting us to a whole new space and time.

The part of our brain that processes smell also stores our memories. When we get a whiff of the scent of something, say, for instance, the smell of old books that we have attached to a memory, it triggers a pathway that may transport the reader to a space and time that is ethereal and treasured. Scents can build into a powerful story that can affect our emotions.

So, next time you see a bibliophile with their head buried between the pages of a book, they may just as well be doing it for the scent as much as for the content.