My son’s 8th grade Language Arts class requires that he read The Giver and thus I had to go out and buy the book for him. I haven’t been inside our local Borders in quite some time since I read a TON on my laptop and mostly works in progress by aspiring writers (and yes, I read a LOT of them).

As I walked into Borders with my double 6 year olds, one on each hand, my entire body relaxed at walking into the place.

No, I haven’t extra money to spend on books. I hadn’t gone in to buy anything more than the one.
No, I wasn’t given a shot of rum as I walked in (which would make me very sleepy and relaxed).
No, I wasn’t offered a massage or carried through the place on my quest for said book.

The smell caught me.

The smell of books, said “quiet” and “peaceful” and “breathe deep” — which I did and pulled in that smell that only comes from… books.

It doesn’t come from a Kindle or a Nook or any ereader. They smell like plastic.

Books though … something altogether different. It’s woodsy, but paper … like those old mimeographs from school in the ancient days before Xerox (my son wouldn’t know about this, but I remember). It has a smell, a distinct smell that makes you want to sniff it for a while and just breathe it in.

That’s what I had at Borders. That memory that comes from being around books.

I have my own ‘mini’ library with my stacks of books, not properly organized and falling all over each other. My girls have four FULL shelves of early readers and picture books acquired over the ages. If I get REALLY REALLY close to them, I can smell the same thing and it always brings a smile.

Yes, I want an eReader and it will be a sad day when we can’t get books in paper form — honestly, I wish there was a fast/convenient total print-on-demand method so if you want the book in paper, you can get it in a week or two but can have the eReader, too. I dunno.

I just like books. 🙂