“I love the smell of books!”<\/p>\n\n
A phrase I often hear from acquaintances, friends, relatives. Either the smell of freshly printed paper or old books. My mother often tells me that she loved the smell of a library – she was, for many years, a librarian and documentarian at the Medical Documentation Center (M.D.C.) Library – that smell of library dust. <\/p>\n\n
I resonate with these thoughts and phrases. There is something subliminal in that book smell. I think that, beyond that specific smell, is the emotion that it awakens in each of us, a kind of magic that transforms that book into a complex whole of possibilities, of histories, of truths. <\/p>\n\n
It stirs in me the excitement of the prospect of discovering an unknown land. What is hidden inside that book? And, perhaps, what messages do the unwritten but inferred words convey in the space between the pages? <\/p>\n\n
I liked a Facebook post from a friend who said that “My biggest addiction is…. reading!” Yes! I understand her reading addiction. I catch myself having a similar addiction. That moment when you sit relaxed with a book in your hand, next to a steaming cup of coffee, is unrivaled. The combination of the smell of the book and the coffee is a marvel.<\/p>\n\n
I remember the first time I walked into Barnes & Noble in New York, a multi-storey bookstore where you can find practically any book your heart desires. I thought it was a magical place, and as you approached the area where people were having coffee and sitting with a book in one of the small caf\u00e9 chairs inside the bookstore, you were assaulted by a symphony of inviting smells. Wonderful! <\/p>\n\n
Having said that, I am a big fan of technology, of the internet, an inexhaustible source of knowledge with just a few taps. I use digital information a lot as a guide and a source of knowledge. I myself write articles and post digitally out of a desire to democratize knowledge and popularize the book. <\/p>\n\n
I understand that our tastes change and evolve. Video content is increasingly watched. Our ability to concentrate, our attention span, has diminished considerably. We have no more patience. Everything has to be content-focused, intense, immediately available. I am going through the same transformation and I find myself in the middle of this crowd. <\/p>\n\n
Will there be physical books in the near future? Will we still smell that smell of fresh paper or an old book? Some optimists say yes. But the same has been said about records, which are now only to be found in a private collector’s cellar or in a small shop in a remote corner of the capital. <\/p>\n\n
The naive in me hopes that more and more people will develop that addiction to reading, especially physical books, with their specific charm. <\/p>\n\n
The optimist in me says we need that connection with the physical book. That palpable feeling of the printed page, of the original covers, carefully crafted by talented people, of the magic that the mere touch of the book generates, the anticipation of discovering new, unknown worlds. <\/p>\n\n
The realist in me believes that there will be a period of transformation, where the digital world will merge with the physical world and a balance will be found in which there will be a place for the printed book.<\/p>\n\n
I hope, however, that we will continue to be moved by that smell of paper, fresh or old, and that we will continue to hear from friends, acquaintances or relatives the words: <\/p>\n\n
“I love the smell of books!” <\/p>\n\n
Have a great day!<\/p>\n\n
Claudiu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“I love the smell of books!” A phrase I often hear from acquaintances, friends, relatives. Either the smell of freshly printed paper or old books. My mother often tells me that she loved the smell of a library – she was, for many years, a librarian and documentarian at the Medical Documentation Center (M.D.C.) Library […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-improvement","category-life"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n