Today, I am grateful for old books
This morning, I awoke to the most wonderful smell. No, it wasn't coffee being brewed, bacon being fried, or cinnamon rolls being baked; instead, the wonderful smell that greeted me this morning was that of the old leather bound pages of my 1906 edition of Everybody's Magazine. Last night, I fell asleep reading this old tome and, upon waking, I discovered it right where I must have left it; on the pillow, right next to my head.
I love the entire tactile experience of old books. This is something that a "Kindle" or downloading a book to a computer can never replicate. There is the smell, which comes from the contributing factors of the materials used in creation of the book and the influences of the environment in which the book has lived its life. Smelling an old book can be like discerning the different notes of a fine perfume; the base note is the old leather, paper and glue of the book itself; the middle note is that supplied by the years of being stored in a box in grandma's basement; the top note, a delicate blend of the remaining hints of grandpa's pipe smoke and dust. Just as type sets, paper stock and embellishments differ from book to book, so do their scents. So, today, I am grateful for old books and their deeply visceral link to the past.
What made you happy today?
Despite frigid in-office temperatures, I am happy that we're allowed to leave early at 3pm! Yay! I'll be heading home to tidy before my mom arrives.
ReplyDeleteIn stark contrast to my peers in the same situation, I am exceedingly happy to be getting in a small cramped rolling space
ReplyDeletefor the next 10 hours. I am happy to do this because it gives me the, albeit forced, undivided attention of my darling dear and a chance to listen to the same cd seven times in a row.
Holiday traveling, here I come!!!