Sometimes I have very specific sensory memories attached to holding certain books.
This usually happens when I have to, like, fight with a spine to stay open or a book arrives wITH THE WRONG COVER (cuel 119 years of screaming) or else I picked up a library book and it had a strange…sticky…substance on the cover.
It’s always blood isn’t it??? I’m sure it is. I need to wash my hands until forever.
Now I usually have a really awful memory, but I’m very sensory sensitive. So while I probably don’t remember someone’s name or even six of the words spoken to me, I’ll remember how a chair felt to sit on, how the food made me feel, how loud it was, or if I shape-shifted into a dragon and ate the sun.
These things all happen equally for sure.
Anyway it’s time to talk about
I’ve also done posts on 10 Books That I Read While Outside and (OF COURSE) 10 Books That Made Me Really Hungry. I freaking love sensory posts, apparently!?
Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Sensory Reading Memories
1. THE TIME A LIBRARY BOOK COVER WAS STICKY
Look let’s start with the obvious: dubious sticky matters on library covers. Um…ok just wait a second — WHILE I THROW UP. I’m still shuddering and this happened like 3 years ago guhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Anyway least to say I loved My Life Next Door but it very nearly did not get read. It was either some sticky spilt drink oR BLOOD OF ENTOMBED KINGS. I JUST CAN’T.
2. THE TIME A BOOK FELL APART WHEN I PICKED IT UP
So people assume a lot that I’m super rich and buy a ton of books. This bothers me because it’s like sooo not true! Case in point: I get a lot of books from op-shops (thrift stores) and library sales. Hence there was THIS ONE TIME I picked up a copy of The Name of The Wind (which I’d read on audio but like?? oooh! I want to own it too) and it just…
DIED
IN MY ARMS.
3. THE TIME THE COVER WASN’T EVEN?!??
THIS BOTHERS ME SO MUCH IT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL.
When I bought Scarlet (which I did because my old blog name “Notebook Sisters” is actually mentioned in the back ahh!!), this was my first time seeing the front cover not being flush with the edges. So you have that strip of red??? For reasons I cannot fathom. Like why, sir, why. My paperback of Caraval is like this too and I am just so so confused. I honestly thought it was a printing error.
4. MY FIRST TIME WITH DECKLED EDGES
Ok but “deckled” is not a real word. Also I don’t get the point of them????
I bought the Lemony Snicket series from a second-hand store when I was about…oh, maybe 14?? I hadn’t met deckled edges before and I AM NOT JOKING — I thought the books were old and wrecked ah hah hah haha. Oh dear.
5. SOFT COVER YOU CAN PET
Which is honestly the opposite of what Locke Lamora even stands for but minor details. So I bought this anniversary edition (which is frankly awful to photograph…#suffering) and I had no idea it would come with this soft sort of textured cover!?? There’s probably a term for it?? I KNOW NOT.
But you can pet it!!!
6. THE TIME I RIPPED THE COVER
The actual trial of library-sale-books is getting the old barcodes off. I was bEING CAREFUL. I’m…sobbing. Anyway I ripped the front of the dust jacket of How To Lead A Life Of Crime, so the book is pretty much dead to me. I only look at the spine to save myself.
And ripped paper is the opposite of a good sensory experience.
I AM A MONSTER.
7. HUMIDITY OUT TO RUIN MY LIFE THO
I LIVE IN TROPICAL FAR NORTH AUSTRALIA AND I HAVE 10000000 REGRETS.
Seriously the humidity wrecks so many books. I actually keep my TBR pile with the covers face down in their stack, so the fronts don’t curl. But otherwise everything freaking curls?! This is is Alice in Zombieland, who has the misfortune of being on top of a pile. She is one of many. My tears, like Alice’s, would make an ocean.
8. RAISED TITLES (ALSO PETTABLE)
You kneeew I would sneak a mention of my Favourite Ever Author™ onto here. And I was legit going to make up some nonsense about the time I picked up The Raven King and the sky opened and rained golden ravens and blue-eyed stags appeared from the mist. BUT. I actually have a real one!! (I mean. The others totally happened too.)
The Scorpio Races has raised font and it is SO PETTABLE (a real word) and shiny!! I may or may not spend time gently tracing the letters while I read. Totally normal. We all would.
9. BUT I CAN’T BREAK THE SPINES????
I actually asked for this deluxe editions of The Hunger Games for Christmas one year specifically so I could reread them. But I don’t know what they bound them with?!? Possibly the strength of aNGRY MEN??? I would very much have to break the spines in order to read them and I caaaaan’t.
NOT STRONG ENOUGH EMOTIONALLY.
But I read these in like 2012? I want to read them aaaaagain. #sobbing
10. WHEN THEY SMELL SO GOOD
There’s pretty much no denying that, at least once, you have sniffed a book. Of course the old ones will kill you with that musty smell if you have allergies but YOLO APPARENTLY. Anyway I’m going to go ahead and nominative Illuminae as really really beautifully smelling.
I think this is because they’re so inky due to all the designs?! Whatever. These books are worthy holding over your face, suffocating, and smelling the good smells of ink and dead tree skin.
(ALSO…the audiobooks are dramatised if you want a doubly sensory experience while reading! I love them so much, but on 2 x the speed because nobody has time to listen to people enunciate. Faster faster, ok, I live life at double speed and this is why I never sleep.)
I am a book smeller through and through!! Old books, new books, I love the smell of all of them! And I actually adore deckled edges now, but when I first discovered them I had a similar reaction to yours!! 😂 I was like “WHAT IS THIS MADNESS!”
I love when you do posts like this! Sensory posts are some of my favourites!
Deckled edges are just CONFUSING at first right?!😂I mean, I’m not opposed, I just think they’re pointless and I always have this moment of “omg my book is DAMAGED” when…no, Cait, no it’s fine.😂
Also so so glad you like this kind of post! I had a lot of fun.💛
You…you don’t break spines?!? How do you read? Genuine question. I am baffled by this revelation. (Explains why your books always look so nice in photos though. 😉 )
One time I got tomato-fingerprints on a copy of Half Bad. I’m…not proud of it.
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I like open them just….halfway.😂😂Ok but I do break SOME spines when the binding is super stiff! But some books are kind of bound loosely (I guess?!) and it’s easier to read them. Also hardcovers.😂They are nice.
But also tomato-fingerprints on Half Bad of all books is kind of at least aesthetically appropriate. BLOOOOOD.
I don’t sniff books (but I do like to stroke my face on the pages of a new book which is weirder bit feels so nice mmmm), I like deckled pages but they’re still pointless, and I definitely pstroke covers. Especially if they have spot gloss. Yes I definitely have sensory memories attached to certain books, but maybe to a lesser degree since I read so many ebooks? But I remember sitting on the sun outside my house and reading days of blood and starlight and eating pomegranate while reading a heartbreaking work of staggering genius and lots more too! Pomegranate are just delicious. Do you get Mich tropical fruit in North Australia? Passion fruit, surely?
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That’s an awesome specific memory though! I really want to eat pomegranates again! I feel like I have, but it’s like such a vague memory.😂 And oh yes, I live in teh full on tropics so we have everything, mangoes bananas pineapple passionfruit pawpaws lychees etc etc…oh and chocolate fruit!
Wait what are chocolate fruit?
Ok apparently they’re really called Black Sapote. 😂😂 Google! They’re weird but not bad??!
The smell of books has to be my favourite smell ever (+ the smell of fresh rain + the smell of freshly cut grass!) Raised titles always seem to make the book feel a whole lot fancier and shinier and more precious! Gorgeous post as always Hun 🙂
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IT IS SO GOOD. I absolutely love it! Unless it’s a super musty old book smell…then I have an allergy and die, but like…what can we do but risk suffering for good book smells. :’)
I’m glad “pettable” is a word, it would explain why some covers are so delightfully nice to pet.
I freakin’ love the smell of books, that’s one of the reasons why I prefer real books to e-books (but I have a kindle anyway, lol, useful though). When I buy a new book, smelling it is the first thing I do, hahaha! When I was bored in primary school (but also highschool, who cares) I dropped my head on the text book, boring as it might have been at least it smelled good, haha!
Speaking of sight, nearly twice a month I feel the urge to tidy up my library to get matched covers and themes – I barely tidy up my room, but the library is the library!
HUMIDITY. Oh, girl, I feel you. Even if it happened to me when I was in Italy, humidity blew its strike at me too. I had to put a lot of books and comics in the basement when my parents bought a new bookshelf (yay!), but some of them were horribly misshaped after that! Luckily I saved them all, but still some covers are bent,…
I am TOTALLY here to make pettable a word.😂 It would describe so much…gloriously. :’) And YES! I agree kindles are extremely useful, but real book smell so goooood. I can never get enough. Also some smell particularly nice?! Bless them.
I also would much rather sort and organise my books than actually tidy the rest of my room.😂
HUMIDITY IS A HORROR TO BOOKS AND SHOULD BE AVENGED.
I love soft covers! The ones that feel kinda velvety under my fingers. If they also have the titles raised and with a smoother texture, that’s the best! 😀
Aren’t they so much fun!? HUGE fan. I believe in all the sensory things ahhhh.
AHHH I LOVE THIS POST SO MUCH.
I LIVE TO SNIFF BOOKS, I PET BOOK COVERS (BEFORE I COVER THEM WITH PLASTIC/ACETATE), AND I FIND DECKLED COVERS AS WEIRD.
I really love my Harry Potter books with Kazu Kibuishi’s art on the cover. THE BOOKS ARE VELVET-Y and I just want to pet them forever but I CAN’T. I think I’m the only bookdragon who covers their books with acetate (plastic cover or something). I have super sweaty hands that were blessed by Poseidon so if I don’t cover my books with plastic, they’ll be destroyed in under 10 minutes. WHY POSEIDON. WHY???
I absolutely love The Language of Thorns to the 1000th power. I think it’s the most beautiful book I own. It has great texture and EMBOSSED COVER LETTERS. But then again it’s covered with plastic now. I was SO UPSET I almost cried when my book got wet because I put it in a place directly below a dripping area. Dripping area = a place in our house where water drips from the ceiling when it rains. MY MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK WAS ALMOST DESTROYED. I think a part of me died that day.
I love the smell of old books so much too. Thank you for this post. It brightened up my day 😭💕💖
SNIFFING AND PETTING BOOKS ARE TOTALLY NORMAL. I’m sure we’re all perfectly fiiine here.
Oooh velvety! Honestly why aren’t more covers aesthetically pleasing to touch?! Possibly because I’d never get anything done except petting covers but pfft. These are the sacrifies I have to make. Also I forgot about Language of Thorns! But YES! Mine is all raised and aesthetic too and the soft cover!
But omg no to the dripping roof that’s awful. 😭 I get just frustrated enough about the humidity ruining all my covers if I don’t leave heavy boxes on top of them, but water damage = noooooo.
(I’m SO glad you enjoyed it!! 💛)
OOh nice ones! I didn’t think about the 5 senses too much when it came to writing this post! But I totally love the super smooth covers too! Sadly I can’t remember which one was first for me. Or the the tragic occurrence of a ripped page or cover…those I try to forget!
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I’m such a sensory person so it like sprang to mind immediately for me haha. But agh I have ripped pages too! IT IS SUCH A TRAGEDY. *hides in my shame*
I love this post!! I’m also very sensory sensitive and I can totally relate to so many things you write about.
I do sniff books. I don’t like the old musty smell, but I love the smell of a new book (agreed about Illuminae lol).
I also enjoy textured covers! I have some books that have raised titles or raised the author’s name (or both) and I even have a few books that have a cloth bit on it (the Sarah Scribbles books I own). Sometimes a cover will have glitter on it or other shiny bits you can touch. I simply love holding and touching books in general.
I hate deckled edges, ugh they annoy me so much. I was like you in that when I first encountered them I thought the book was a misprint! I own a couple of books with deckled edges, though I can only remember bits of what books they are (I haven’t read the books heh). Some people really love deckled edges, I don’t understand that at all, but to each their own.
I don’t mind breaking the spine in books I own, but if they are new books then I want to be the one to break the spine if it happens. If they are used books, then sometimes their spine is of course already broken but that’s okay because I know it is a used book. I don’t like those type of books/editions when it is hard to read them while still keeping the spine not looking too bad. I don’t mind breaking the spine but the book should still look in a somewhat reasonable condition (which I always try to do when I’m reading a book). If I can’t read the book without fully breaking the spine in several places, that I don’t like and find uncomfortable, I mean.. I don’t want the book to break in half!
Gladly my books don’t struggle with humidity much, but I once bought used books and when I got home it turned out they stank of cigarette smell. I really don’t like that smell (and I have asthma so I stay away from when people smoke), and I had to air the books for several days before the smell disappeared enough for me not to be too bothered (I haven’t read those books yet either.. but I have a big TBR so oh well). I have bought used books before where the pages had got wet. And I’ve bought books in a library sale in which a few of the pages came loose, so I had to put them back in with some tape.
Oh I hate having stickers put on my books! If I can’t remove the sticker without messing up the cover, I let the sticker stay on the book. I don’t want to destroy the cover. I try to remove stickers very slowly, so if it seems it’s going wrong I can stop and let the sticker stay, rather than ruin the book’s cover (or the back of it etc).
I do actually own a book without a front cover, I bought it from a library sale and most of the cover has been ripped off (probably by a kid, because it was a children’s book). But I still wanted to read the book and buying it from the library sale is a lot cheaper than buying a new copy, so I decided to buy the book anyway. I also own a book I bought at the library sale, that doesn’t have a ‘cover’ bit on the spine, you can just see the outline of the glued-in pages (if that makes sense?).
And regarding #3, I have several books that have that. Ugh I hate it when they do that and I do not understand it. I never buy a book in a book shop that has that feature or that has deckled edges, but when I order online I often can’t see that the cover will have that ‘missing bit’. Sometimes it’s the only paperback edition available of the book too, and I really don’t like huge hardcovers, so not much choice.
I don’t like how huge hardcovers (23+ cm, ie. 25 cm) with dust jackets feel in my hands, it is just too huge and cumbersome. I cannot read the book in the same way I read my favourite sized paperbacks (19-22 cm). I know lots of people take the dust jacket off when they read a book, but I can’t do that and don’t want to do that. The cover often looks stupid without the dust jacket. But the dust jacket always annoys me while I read, the way it chafes my hands. With a medium size hardcover (~21 cm) the effect is less bad so I have been buying more of those recently as I want to read new releases but a paperback release is still far away or not even talked about. For example, so far Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series is only available in hardcover, but I’m glad those are good sized hardcovers and I’m glad I bought them, because I love that series.
I don’t like sticky library covers either, but gladly that doesn’t happen often with my library. Most books are in pretty good condition, and when they are not they usually get sold at library sales. I have had it happen that a book started to break down as I loaned it, or that I loaned it and then noticed it was not looking great. In those cases I always take the book to the customer service and tell them about it, usually then they put the book up for sale. I’ve had that happen quite a few times. Once, a few pages were missing from the book’s ending! Gladly it was a children’s book and the story had already sort of wrapped up. I hadn’t noticed it until I was reading it and found out! So I took that book to the customer service desk too.
Okay, I’ve probably rambled enough. I love to know that we relate a lot on some of our sensory issues. I sometimes feel kind of alone with my sensory issues, as I don’t know a lot of people who have sensory issues too, that I talk with.
<3 all the love for this post!!
I’m so glad we are sensory loving readers together here!!💛And YES to patting and sniffing all the books…they just deserve our love ahhh. (And also super glad we relate though! It’s always nice to find someone who experiences things the same way.)
Also so glad I’m not the only one who was super alarmed at deckled edges. 😂TOTALLY thought I was buying a damaged book there for ages lmao.
I do understand about the dust jacket issue…I leave mine off when I read, but sometimes if my hands are sweaty, I actually find the bare book gets my hands inky? Like there was one I read where my fingers were BLACKENED after reading. Little bit frustrated because then I’d get ink on the pages when I turned. What a mess. 😭😂But I have to leave the dust jacket off or it slips around and annoys me haha. I also don’t buy like massive books in hardcover because MY POOR WRISTS. I can’t take that.😂
Petting book covers, check.
Sniffing every book I own, check.
I remember I bought this one book brand new at a store just because the cover felt like velvet. I wound up reading the book and hated it, but I kept it for years so I could pet it.
This is just like what we bookworms must DO in order to exist. *pets and sniffs all the books like a completely sane person* 😂
A) of course i do once i had a book that smelled like marshmallows and it was the Book Thief so I’m not sure what that says about it but that’s definitely my experience too
B) who doesn’t it feels so nice?!!!?
c) I like deckled edges on certain types of books because it fits their vibe. On a contemporary? I will hate it forever and refuse to acknowledge its existence. On a high fantasy where any records would have gone through a war and a million years? Yeah no that’s perfect and seems completely reasonable
Marshmallows?! Ok but that would be delicious.😂😂 And I’ve only ever seen deckled edges on like fantasy actually, but like… I just don’t get it.😂
Huge sobbing because #7 is so real to me. I also live in a tropic country, Philippines. Aaargh, I don’t know if your books develop sunspots, too. Those pesky spot on the pages of my precious books, huhu! Adding humid-free environment to my dream of owning a roomful of books with a sliding ladder on shelves.
The first sense my mind engages in when reading a book are my eyes. I am easily stimulated by doodles, graphics, images on the pages. Some of the books that are visually stimulating for me are Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold, The Little Prince, and the iconic chapter illustrations of Mary Grandpre in the Harrry Potter books.
But of course, I also sniff books. The whiff of ink is irresistible and who am I to resist. 🙂
I’m so close to the top of Australia I’m like…a stone throw from New Guinea, which I mean obviously isn’t the Philippines but HI FROM THIS CORNER OF THE WORLD ANYWAY!! *waves and then cries with you about humidity* But yes we deserve like temperature regulated private libraries?! :’) Living the dream there.
Ohh I want to read Amy & Roger and also Noah Hypnotik!!
I love this post! I’m most certainly a book smeller. Old or new, I have to smell it. I too live with the challenge of humidity and instead of a TBR pile, I have a TBR section of my bookshelf which keeps the covers nice and flat. (As they should be!) I can’t stand rips either. It hurts me. And don’t get me started on turning the page corner to mark your place. This is what book marks are for!
Book smells are just the best thing ever!! All that ink and paper *sighs happily* And omg I wish I had room on my actual shelves for my TBR. In a well-ordered universe, I would have more shelves for sure.😂 Oh ugh to dog-ears, agreed they are awful!
I’m so happy that I live at high altitude because there’s usually no humidity. When I travel to humid places, my books get curled like that, and it’s gross. Sticky stuff on pre-loved books is also gross. I buy almost all of my books used, and I can’t handle what people do to them. I have a lot of books that are held together with glue sticks and rubber bands because they died in my hands.
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I am so frustrated at all the humidity gahhhh. I just want my book covers to stay flat, is that so much to ask, SKY!? *shakes fist at the sky* 😂
If I had to build a book stack for every time I found water damage in a library book (or juice or coffee stain or something), I’d probably be ABLE to open up a library – and then just stick all the damaged books in there!
I remember the one time I was reading Goblet of Fire outside and I got up to go inside and accidentally dropped the book into the pool (it’s a thick book) !!! So that was fun and I had to throw it away quickly. And then with Deathly Hallows an insect flew at my face so I threw the book at it – it was a huge insect okay? I needed to defend myself? And so the dust jacket ripped thanks to my ‘superb’ throwing.
SNIFFING BOoks is just the BESt thing in the world? Me in a second-hand bookstore = me picking up every book and inhaling that scent while also not caring what others think of me.
I feel like people don’t really respect/care for library books like they should?! which is so frustrating gah. Give our libraries all the love!! They save lives!!
Omg but dropping a book into the pool!! NOOOOO.😂 But I have definitely killed flies/bugs with books before hehe. We gotta live here. We must survive.
I made the same assumption about Deckled Edges the first time I saw them. You’re not alone there.
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They totally look like mistakes. 😂😂
I remember quite a few times when I’ve gotten books from the library and found pen and marker on the pages!!!!! It’s horrifying, to say the least. 😱 And I love it when the title is in raised letters!! That’s the most magical feeling in the world and it makes the book feel more important somehow.
Ohhh I definitely smell books!! Especially old books – they smell so dusty and inky and full of secrets! And I pet the soft book covers all the time! They feel like a mini spa or something! Deckled edges…… eh, I’m not a fan. I like my edges smooth and crisp 😌
I love the smell of books, new or old. And I love to crack open a new hardback and hear that special sound. Your post made me laugh as usual. Here in the US, some of our libraries use sticky due date slips they put on the front cover of your stack. When I get home, I take a rubbing alcohol wipe and wipe them clean! That stickiness is gross, even though I know where it comes from! It just isn’t right to do that to books, you know?
I read one book a few months ago that the last reader must of used her long hair as bookmarks, cuz there were several strands deep in the book and that was gross!!!! I had to keep blowing them out whenever I got to one. Yuck!!
Aghhh I hate it when people don’t respect library books! I mean just because they’re free/not yours, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take good care of them?! *fumes*
And afjkdsla raised lettering though. 😍 I wish all books had it!!
Wait those books with old pages are made that way?? I mean, I guess I sort of knew… but not really. 😳 *feels very dumb*
YES THEY ARE ACTUALLY MADE THAT WAY. 😂😂 And pfft, don’t worry, I legit thought they were printing errors too here.😂
I hate hate hate deckled pages! And when the cover isn’t even–that’s the worst.
I do sometimes pet book covers when they have raised lettering, but my big habit is to rub the pages between my fingers. Like, the minute I turn a new page I’ll get ready to turn the next one and just rub it between my fingers while I read the pages I’m currently on. It’s weird. But very, very comforting.
And I love to smell books too! Sometimes they smell strange though.
It’s so…extra.😂I don’t really understand deckled eges AT ALL. Ahh but I love raised lettering! I think all books should have it. 😍😍
A) yes, who doesn’t sniff books besides the Muggles who don’t read? B) main reason I prefer hardcover is because they’re easier to let and c) why do they even exist? I was freaked out when I got Eveless and was like “what the heck???? Is this damaged? How??? It’s too new!!!!” And then I figured out maybe they wanted it to feel like a medieval book to match the story???? Idk.
And once I was book shopping and I had my arms full with three paperbacks (they were part of a series) and a hardcover and I dropped the paperbacks and one of them got the cover bent so that there was a big angler line running through it and I died a little and put back in the shelf to get the store’s only other good paperback copy. I hope whoever got that copy is ok with damaged books :\
Also I was so pleasantly surprised when I got ATPN that it was so buttery feeling! Like I legit sometimes take it off my bookshelf to just feel it because it feels so nice.
Oh and why don’t you just buy super cheap copies of The Hunger Games from Amazon or something and keep the collector’s editions for looking at and the new copies for rereading?
We absolutely are totally normal to sniff books.😂All the normal bookworms are doing it. And AHH I’m so glad I’m not the only one confused by like uneven covers and deckled edges.😂I always immediately assume it’s a printing error. Publishers must get so tired of our inability to be imaginative sometimes.😂
Noooo that sucks about the cover! I have dropped one while trying to take photos and bent the cover. I still feel SO bad.
ATPN is so freaking slippery right?!? When I got my author copies I, um, dropped…all of them.😂Ok but it was on my bed and no damage was had, but apparently they’re trying to get away from me (tho can I blame them tho).
I kind of need to do that for THG!! Or maybe borrow out some audios from the library?!
Man, I think the saddest is the book death of The Name of the Wind. I HOPE YOU WHISPERED IT SWEET NOTHINGS AND ASSURED IT EVERYTHING WOULD BE OKAY.
I also totally sniff books, which gets me weird, judgmental looks from my husband every time because he doesn’t get it. He’s a monster, okay? I bought him Scythe for our anniversary because I loved it so much and felt he had to read it (he loves dystopian books, and The Giver is probably his favorite of all time). And I was very good and wrapped it before messing with it so I wouldn’t be tempted. But as soon as he opened it, of course I petted it and sniffed it. It smelled like new book, and it was glorious. So worth his glares. xD
I also LOVE petting books, too! The soft books sort of freak me out a bit? I’m not sure why, but maybe because they remind me of velvet, and I just can’t do velvet. The texture is just squicky to me. But if a book has a raised titled or inlays in the design or anything that creates a texture on the cover, I just love it!
If that makes us weird, well, we can be weird together. Everyone else is just missing out.
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IT WAS SO SAD. But I legit stuck it back on the shelf and didn’t buy it. 😂😂 I mean. I ended up finding another at a different op-shop so at least I still get to own it but it’s STUCK TOGETHER. WELL DONE ME.😂
Sniffing books is such a bookworm THING. We can’t be stopped.😂
I totally understand some textures not being fun.😂I’m really texture orientated so like there are even towels in my house I can’t handle because the texture is wrong. I like velvet! I don’t like satin. UGH.
a) Not usually but I have
b) Yes!
c) They look cool but I haven’t tried reading a book with them yet
A lot of books remind me of various trips and vacations I took as a kid!
Ahh it’s awesome when a book can be like attached to a travelling memory!
I think I may have started tearing up looking at some of these pictures (the ripped cover? Curled pages? my heeaaart it hurts) but as a Floridian who lives in constant 98% humidity, I totally relate to the curling covers issue. If I suddenly take my book outside to read, the pages turn all stiff and I have no choice but to bend the cover. I can’t remember the first book that I discovered with deckled edges, but I do remember thinking that it was a mistake with the printer lol!
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Agh I KNOW. 😭😭 This was a cruel and painful post afdkslafdj. And omg humidity is a bookworm nightmare. I still have books I’m flattening out and I do bookstagram so it can be super frustrating. I like paperbacks…but honestly prefer getting hardcovers because at least they won’t get wrecked!!
Soft covers are the coolest thing! I don’t know who thought of that, but they were a genius. And deckled edges are so fancy. Kind of hard to turn the pages, but still. Elegant!
The people who’ve invented the textured covers deserve ALL THE CROWNS FOR THEIR GIFT TO THIS WORLD.
We didn’t do TTT this week, because this topic is HARD, but I love what you did with it. And yes, I SO RELATE to disgusting things found in books. One traumatizing instance was Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart – I ordered it online, used, and was SO EXCITED when it arrived. However, as I was reading it, I found FOOD inside it, sticking two pages together. Thankfully, it wasn’t rotten it was just… there. And I had to work a loooot on getting it out, and my god, it was sticking in so hard. Tbh, I’m still confused about this? I mean, you pour drink on a book, fine, okay, no way to get it out, but HOW ON EARTH do you leave food inside it!? Wow, this turned into a full rant, sorry lol.
I hate when covers are uneven – I do not understand who thought it was a good look. I looove the paperback cover of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (which, btw, is the most excellent book of ever), BUT it has a cover like that, and I’m SO! ANGRY! because otherwise it’s GORGEOUS.
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Ahh I’m glad you liked my version of it!! It was a fun prompt haha, and only hard for me because I had to think up a different way to do it. (I was going to do foodie books but I do that SO much haha.) But ewww I’m so disgusted at that book wtih food inside?! Like how on earth?! Did you manage to get a refund??? I know you said second hand but that’s like not in useable condition. GROSS. 😭😭
I totally get the library book one. I had an instance when I was a child and it set off my OCD (I have contamination and checking OCD) and it prevented me from touching a library book again because I was so horrified… until early this month when I finally managed to conquer it, yay! And I’m very guilty of sniffing books and I pretty much have to be dragged away from the bookshop if there’s a textured book in my hand, love those covers! 😂
Aw no I really do feel that pain. 😭😭 I don’t have OCD but I have a lot of anxiety issues and rituals, so it’s often not a lot of fun. But I’m glad you’re able to use library books again! No small feat!!
(Books smell so freaking good!? It’s ridiculous. 😍😍😍)
OKAY, OKAY. Let’s talk library books for a minute. I’ve never had the displeasure of meeting a sticky book. Although, I have had some interesting moments with my library. Some of these things are minor–pages crinkled, food or drink stains (no sticky!). But then there was this one magical time where I couldn’t stop flinching and laughing over a library book because it had–wait for it–CIGARETTE BURNS. On the front jacket. Through SEVERAL PAGES. It was WILD. I have an allergy to smoke so I got through approximately half of it before dropping it mid-sneeze and giving up. End random story time. No clue where that came from.
This post had me laughing 98.9% of the time. The other 01.1% was spent nodding my head because I FEEL YOU. AND HAVE PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED AND SURVIVED MANY SIMILAR ATTACKS. Let’s start a club.
Omg library books are like an adventure just in themselves.😂Cigarette burns though?! THAT’S AWFUL. Did you end up telling the librarians it was ruined?? I tried to borrow a Harry Potter book once and found out two pages had been glued together with lipstick. Seriously?! How dare people trash books. *cries*
LET’S START A SENSORY TRAUMA BOOK SURVIVAL CLUB FOR SURE.
I totally did! I was like, “Hey, Mildred (librarian’s name is not Mildred but I don’t remember what her name actually was so for story-time sake, it’s Mildred) do you happen to know who checked this book out before me? I’d like to send them an ashtray.” She laughed like I was kidding but apparently they did fine the person, they just never replaced the book for some reason? I mean, even the cover was messed up! The plastic had a melted spot in it! I was like, hm, makes since @ local library.
I love the lipstick story! That’s too funny. I wonder how that came to be? Did they chop off the end of a lipstick, smush it between pages and set it outside in the heat? Did they think Harry Potter needed to rock some lipstick? I’m very curious. I have questions.
HONESTLY WE SHOULD. What would it be called? “Help, I’ve Booked and I Can’t Get Up”?
Jessica recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday (#16): Books With Sensory Memories
Oh god lol I can 100% relate to the “blood” on the cover. I am a pro at figuring out “whether coffee or blood” xDDD it’s.. ugh, disgusting.
Speaking of sensory sensitive. I wonder if you get like this, but I have this weird thing where if I like how something looks, I MUST ABSOLUTELY TOUCH IT. And admire the surface and the tactile properties. It’s kind of hilarious, really. I have recently visited a large fabrics store… That was both a sensory wonder and a sensory nightmare. I HAD TO TOUCH EVERYTHING, I am not kidding, every pretty color and texture – and it drove me crazy xD wow. I wonder if I’m just weird or super weird because of this 😀
What the hell are deckled pages xD *googles*
Do you know those covers that are nicely matte and untouched, and then you touch them, AND THAT’S THE END?? That. I’ma just leave this out here.
I really like raised titles though. I can’t stop petting them indeed 😀
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Library books raise so so many…questions. Dubious questions…omg.😂
Omg yes I like to touch things a lot too. It’s a huge sensory-seeking thing, I think?! I can like make myself NOT, but seriously if I go into a craft store, I’m like patting everything. We are the people I’m sure shop-owners hate.😂😂
oh like the covers you smudge??
All books should have raised lettering. THEY SHOULD. It adds years to my life.
Yeah, boyfriend always asks me why I can just not make myself NOT touch everything, I mean. WHY WOULD I THOUGH xD it’s just… so much more perception. Making myself not touch every little texture would be kind of like plugging up my nose when eating a dessert. Why would I do that xD
Yes, the raised lettering… And even braille. I just like embossed things so much? Like, when I used to be in electronics, we’d have these tiny circuit boards. And there was this one broken processor, readier for soldering. It had these tiny tiny TINY metal balls under it, when you heat it, they dissolve and stick and make a contact. They’re like a milimeter across or even less. Less probably. I used to do the nail fidget thing with it xD you know, like dragging my nail and thumb over it. INSTANT ANXIETY REMEDY, I swear. Loved that thingie so much.
I’m so glad you can understand, I’m not sure I know anyone else like that, except for my mom, but much more mildly than me!
Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks recently posted…[Magical Realism] A Soft And Comforting Story Of Love And Magic
My first experience with deckled edges was with the Winner’s Curse and I was…genuinely confused. Like I had the workers helping me trying to find a hardcover edition of it without the edges being all weird…until the manager told us that “that’s supposed to be that way” (but at least 2 of the workers didn’t know and were with me that it was weird)
Also, I have to smell books, they smell so good! (not the library books for obvious reasons…um ewww) but nice new books or really old books….le sigh, perfection. I love when the covers are soft, one of my bookish coworkers calls those types “Skin covers” because…I don’t really know why but it bothers me when she says it….
I feel you on the torn book cover-I did that one day (back when I still made youtube videos) and was doing a bookhaul and ripped the cover all along the spine (I actually caught it on camera) not fun.
Omg I am SO glad I’m not the only one who had a massive deckled-edges-confused-fail.😂With my Scarlet cover that wasn’t even, I was legit about to send it back! Then I kind of wondered if it was supposed to be that way…😂GEE, PUBLISHERS. MAKE PAGES AND COVERS FLUSH. THIS IS ALL WE ASK.😂
New library books are good! I love that moment when I’m pretty sure I’m the first one to read a new library book. 😍
I feel like everyone who has read it can relate to crumbling and dying because of Name of the Wind but I am not sure I’ve heard it the other way around hahaha. I love the way you set up each one! And I of course love the classic Paper Fury colorful photos! Great post 🙂
Ah hahah yes, The Name of The Wind is so intense. BUT GOOD. I’m glad I ended up going with audio though. 😂😂
I pet covers all the time, if they have interesting textures or raised details on the cover. I find it helps me stay focused on the book!
And I experienced deckled edges with The Good Sister recently. Every time I tried to turn the page I swear about five were stuck together!
Of course I smell books. The older the better.
And I love it when books describe settings in a very sensory way! It helps to bring me into the world.
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Oh good, it’s totally a THING THEN.😂Honestly I think all covers should be textured. There are those classics that have embroidered covers, aren’t there?! I don’t even like classics BUT I WANT ONE. 😍😍
Ugh yes that’s a huge issue with deckled edges. Who even thought that was a good idea?!
I smell every book I get. I can’t stop. I must. Do. The. Sniiiffffffff. They smell so good. If there was a perfume that smelled exactly like books. I would wear that perfume. I would paint my walls with that perfume.
Textured covers are also one of my favourite things! My copy of The Scorpio Races also has raised lettering!!! I’m currently reading it (I’m about half-way through) and I am ashamed to admit this is my first Stiefvater book….. *hides* BUT I ASSURE YOU IT WON’T BE MY LAST!!! I’M ALREADY IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK AND IT’S HASN’T EVEN FINISHED YET!!!!!! WHERE HAVE I BEEN?!?!? I MUST’VE FALLEN INTO SOME SPACE VORTEX?!?!?!?
I had to google what deckled edges was….. I have one book like that and I literally thought it was a printing error. But it’s not????But what is this deckling of edges for??? Black magic??
EXACTLY. WE CAN’T STOP IF THEY SMELL SO GOOD!!! Occasionally I just put a book over my head. I’m sure this is fine. Nothing to worry about.
Oh yes I love the raised font of The Scorpio Races SO MUCH. We have been blessed. And I’m very pleased you are being converted to the world of Stiefvater. 😉 Wait until The Raven Cycle takes over your life. Ahhh!!!!
And omg I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought deckled edges were a printing error.😂
I don’t have many sensory reading memories, but I love the smell of new books, textured covers are awesome, and deckled pages are the WORST! Seriously WHYYYYYY?! WHY is this a thing?! JUST NO. XD
Ahh I’m glad we agree on smelling and petting books…honestly that sounds very weird written out.😂It’s A BOOKWORM THING, WE’RE FINE. (Deckled edges make no sense?!
Pettable covers!! The soft leathery feeling ones are so nice to hold.
SO MUCH. 😍😍 I will never get tired of them!!
I hate deckled edges. They make it so hard to turn the pages! You’ll grab the one that’s sticking out the most, and two more will come with it. How is that helpful?!
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I honestly do NOT see the point. 😂 I like things to be in smooth lines?! Although I mean…I don’t *hate* them, I just have questions as to who actually invented it as a good idea.😂
I can so relate to the one sensory moment “the time a library book cover was sticky”. I work in a library and I deal with this everyday (more than I would like to). Books with raised titles always stand out in my mind.
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Ahhh it’s so frustrating when people don’t respect library books though!! I think I borrowed a Harry Potter once with pages stuck together with lipstick (BLOOD?!) and that was seriously gross too.
This is so fun, I love these sensory memories! Though I straight up NEVER want to know what the “sticky stuff” on My Life Next Door is. Never. Okay so I thought deckled edges were a mistake too! Only I was like, in my 30s and it was only like 3 years ago. It was The Winner’s Kiss and I almost sent it back to Amazon because I thought it was defective 🤣 Not really my proudest moment hah.
I’m afraid to LOOK at the Luxury Editions wrong- they are scary. White and unbendable and yep, has disaster written allll over it. Grab a cheap crappy copy to re-read! I have an old paperback one that I read in the bathtub because why not?
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I DON’T WANT TO KNOW EITHER. I miss my library a lot since I moved, but holy wow I had some weird book experiences there too.😂I think there was a Harry Potter book that had two pages stuck together with, um, like lipstick or something??? Or blood again. Can we go with lipstick? I’m traumatising myself.😂
Aghhhh I’m going to like eventually get some cheap gnarly Hunger Games so I can reread and not ruin my deluxe white ones. TOTALLY NORMAL.😂
Oh man, sticky or mysterious-substance-covered library are the absolute worst. I have just not read a fair number of library books because of that. I even have a special spot where I usually put library books if they are…less than lovely. I totally feel you on the not breaking spines book! There are so many books that I try to read while holding them like barely an inch wide because I can’t break the spine, but I want to read it!? I get weird looks, it doesn’t work well. Deckled edges just totally bother me because it’s so hard to turn the pages for me for some reason, haha. Great list, I loved reading through your experiences. 🙂
The book has to be seriously awesome to make me put up with a sticky cover.😂 And also I wish libraries would like, um, replace the book?! Aghhhh.
And yes I just hold my books barely open sometimes to save the spines.😂I know it might seem silly, but I also take a lot of book photos so I like them looking nice!!
I freaked out when I encountered deckled pages at the first time too, I thought it was ugley 😅 But now I’m loving it, and I try to buy each one of them I encounter because they are a rare species 😀
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They SO LOOK LIKE A MISTAKE!!😂😂 I was so confused when I realised it was intentional at first.😂
Oh my gosh, I ALWAYS pet textured covers! I thought I was the only one 😂😂 My friends and family always look at me really strangely when I do it… I remember just sitting there at book club once, just stroking This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills, because the letters and stars had a different texture than the rest of the cover, and it felt really neat! But everyone was just like ‘why?’, and it was awkward.
Also one time I was reading Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce, and I my fingers were weirdly stained dark blue, and I sort f shrugged, and washed it off, and then next time I looked, they were stained again, and this must have happened five or six times before I noticed that they smelled like Sharpie ink, and started sniffing the cover of the book (because I always read with the dust jacket off), and realized that the book was STAINING MY FINGERS BLUE! I put the dust jacket back on after that.
And deckled pages are sooooo annoying! I actually really like the way they LOOK, but there’s always those little bits of paper like fraying at the edges, and I pick them all off and give myself a million paper cuts. Which is NOT fun.
But I actually absolutely LOVE the strip of colour at the edge of Scarlet. It’s one of my favourite things in book covers actually. (Although I do get why you would have thought it was a printing error… 😂)
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We are TOGETHER IN THIS! Pat all the textured covers!! Honestly there should be more fo them?! and omg Emma Mills covers are a freaking DREAM with how gorgeous they are and textured, even under the dust jacket!
Also the same thing has happened to me with hardcovers leaking. It’s so weird though!? I was reading one where the hardcover was black (I always ditch the jackets too😂) and basically ended up smudging the pages so well, if anyone wants my fingerprints, they are forever in that book. 😂
Deckled pages just look like a mistake?! SO MANY MISTAKES. I was really suspicious as a teen reader apparently.😂
urrgh on sticky covers. a big smile to all other ones 🙂 Great post!
Sticky covers are just true nightmares!!
I LOVE deckle edges! It just adds a different experience to the book, and it makes it feel like they put more effort into the book aesthetic XD Also, soft covers are a blessing to the worlddddddd
WE SHOULD JUST PET AAAAALL THE BOOKS. THIS IS FINE.😂
I can relate to so much of this!!
When I was little, I accidentally left my copy of Spindle’s End at the pool and couldn’t find it for months. Then it magically turned up but with water damage. I was so sad. I tell myself that it’s readable at least, but I try to keep my books in as new condition as possible.
Do I sniff books? Yes, I do. Especially if I’m buying them used because I don’t like reading books with weird smells. But I do like the smell of new books. (They’re just so expensive!!)
Do I enjoy petting textured covers? YES! I have a copy of a picture book with velvety soft covers. I love petting it 💖
How do I feel about deckled pages? I don’t like them. They look raggedy, and they make it inconvenient to turn the pages.
… I actually just went to look up why deckled pages exist. I’m curious now 😂
Aww no to water damage! That’s devastating though. I honestly feel SO BAD when I damage (or get damaged) books…poor smol little things, they only want to be loooooved. (Although sometimes damaging books IS because of loving them and that’s ok.😂)
And yeah new book smells > old book smells. 😂 Every time no fail ah ahhah.
omg I should go google the origins of deckled pages too?! They make NO SENSE.😂
The whole wrinkling pages thing – I have a reasonable number of books like that just because I picked them up for free or super cheap at some thrift store (or because they got smushed at the bottom of my book bag but we won’t talk about that).
Ravens and Writing Desks is at the back of the Cress paperback and I had just bought the hardcover so I NEVER BOUGHT THE PAPERBACK because I’m not one for multiple copies but mildly regretting this decision. :/
Also — #decklededgesforever <3
At least I guess our books are thoroughly proven to be WELL LOVED.😂 And ohh I’ve wrecked books just having them in my bag too oops. It’s frustrating! I like them to look pristine. 😂
I absolutely love this post, it was so fun to read! I agree that The Series of Unfortunate Events has such strange edges. It’s like it was supposed to look like it was chopped off with a knife, but I don’t understand, why would someone want it to look like it was chopped off with a knife?!😂YES, HUMIDITY. One time I was innocently reading a book as I brushed my teeth (I am a severe bookworm, wow) and then I got in the shower and forgot about the book and…it now has curled edges because of how hot the bathroom got. I’ll never do that again, that’s for sure. XD
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Aww thank you! 😂 I’m glad you enjoyed it! And omg ASOUE is weird on the inside and out, right?! I’m so not surprised younger-me just thought I’d bought really old abused copies ah ahahh. Ahem. And also I admire your brushing-teeth-plus-reading multitasking. Level bookworm pro there. 😂
I love deckled pages! I like how they make the book feel imperfect so that I don’t feel absolutely awful when I break a spine or accidentally fold a page or corner.
Actually that’s a really good way to look at it. 😂😂
I love the smell of books, I even did a separate post about it!
And I live in Pakistan so I totally get you on humidity ruining our precious books.
My TTT post
I’m SO done with humidity.😭Torturous beast.
This post was so fun to read!
I work in a library so HOO BOY have I seen weird “why would you do this???” sh*t in books. There’s been the mundane (bodily fluids or cheeto dust), the privileged (1000 dollar checks and credit cards), the unique (dental tools and shopping lists that included “that one thing Chad can’t stop eating”) and the truly awful (blood and toenail clippings). I just…. *sobs* why do you think we wouldn’t notice this??? We can’t always charge for stuff (some things can’t be proved who’s at fault) but we have to discard so many books for sheer disrespect to a shared tome.
Ugh I had a graphic novel assigned in college that had the WORST binding. Everyone’s copy just sluiced apart. You could look at the book wrong and another page would puff out across your dorm room floor in protest. So disappointing and it honestly ruined my reading experience. The story could have been great, but I didn’t want to have to piece it back together every time I opened the cover.
Deckled edges are the devil. If for nothing else, because trying to flip to the last page read is impossible.
I am a proud book sniffer. Dear lord they smell so good (when they smell good). I was gifted a perfume once upon a time that was called “in the library” and IT WAS LIKE BOTTLED HOME. I got to smell like books for a while. I don’t know how they did that magic but I was chuffed.
Other than what you’ve mentioned, I’ve built forts out of books (wonderful but precarious), been bruised by books (do not drop Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell on your foot D: which reminds me I need to finish the miniseries), and been saved by books (I mean reading saves me every day.) I’m truly thankful for books, and for my imagination, and for being allowed to live in someone else’s world for awhile.
Holyyyy wow to the cheques in books! BUT TOE NAIL CLIPPINGS. I’M JUST GOING TO VOMIT NOW. I wish people had more respect for library books??? Like we’re literally able to read books for free at our leisure and people have the audacity to abuse them. It’s the worst. 😭😭
And omg yes fast-flipping for deckled pages is pretty much impossible.
BOOK SNIFFERS UNITE.
I’m not a big fan of deckled edges. I agree, they make them seem old.
I like your take on this weeks topic. I wrote about where I was when I was reading things.
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I just don’t get the point of deckled edges tbh.😂 WHY, UNIVERSE, WHY.
I LOVE DECKLED PAGES. I have no idea why they exist…BUT I LOVE THEM.
Totally right??? Like WHY. I just…I would love to know who even invented them.😂I’m so curious.
I can answer yes to a and b, and deckled pages are cool!! It makes the books seem old and I LOVE old books!!
They can be really pretty!😂And the “old” aesthetic is definitely strong there!
I related to TOO MUCH of this post, especially the humidity thing. I, too, put my books face-down because otherwise the covers curl and my eyes cry. But even then, the back cover curls and I cringe. Why do we live in Australia, Cait? When it hurts us?
Also, YES with getting bar-codes off library books. I tried really hard to get the spine sticker and bar-code off a David Levithan book, but the book was that canvas-y type cover and everything just went SWISH and there’s pulp everywhere. RIP me. And that book. Which I got him to sign anyway because I was not going to get another copy, haha. #cheap
I really love deckled pages!! The only issue I have with them is sometimes it’s actually really hard to just.. turn the actual pages of the book, so boo.
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Australia does NOT care about our feelings.😭 Or our books. 😭😭😭 And it’s like awful for bookstagram, because nothing lies flat?!? THE WOES. And omg I feel so sorry for your David Leviathan book! aghghhgh I kind of haven’t looked at my How To Lead A Life Of Crime since I got it because I’m too ashamed. 😂
i tried so hard to not break the spines when i’m reading (until my hands are in this weird position) but the spines are always broken in the end. and when i have books with deckled edges for the first time i thought it was a faulty! anyway, great post Cait <3
Tiffany @ String of Pages recently posted…Review : Caraval by Stephanie Garber
I do end up breaking a lot of spines still. 😂 I think this is why I prefer hardcovers definitely haha.
“I may or may not spend time gently tracing the letters while I read.” Yes, Cait, but what we all want to know is if you murmur “myyy preciousssss” while you gently trace the letters? This is Maggie Steifvater you’re talking about, after all…
THIS IS SO ME THOUGH. I mean am I gollum or a bookworm??? Who can tell.
I love this! Humidity is the worst. 🙁 Or when your book gets rained on. I never thought of sensory memories with books before, but now that I am do have to smell and touch them all the time. When I pick up one with those softish covers, I ALWAYS have to pet it. I’ll just stand there and stroke, and my mom will just be like, “why is my daughter weird?” Also, when I take a book off the shelf, whether I’m at B&N or a secondhand bookshop, I always flip the pages under my nose. I don’t know why. But if I decide to get the book, and I like how it smells, I’ll be flipping the pages in my face the whole time I’m wandering the store. I won’t even realize it until someone says something. And then I went to Half Price Books the other day, and my sister was following me around. She was like, “You have to touch all the Sherlock Holmes books??” And of course, I was like, “YAAAAASSSS!”
UGHGHGH HUMIDITY. It lives to make us cry tbh. But I live for the soft covers. They’re just amazing and so pleasing to pet. 😍
I got a book from the library once and it smelled like I’m not sure what, but something peppery and strange and I hated it, but then I fell in love with the book and the smell became nostalgic and when I got around to buying the book I was legitimately upset it didn’t have a weird peppery smell to it.
Also, I love deckled pages? But that is because I can then pretend that I am from olden time or that these books were passed down through the ages, a family secret, and came to my hands, worn and ready to be read yet again.
Also, I get so many of my books from library sales <3
But see yes!! Deckled edges just make us think of old books?! IT IS A TRICK TBH. I don’t mind it for the looks, I just…always wonder why someone would MAKE a book look old instead of waiting for it to get old. 😂 It’s the distressed jeans of books???
Oh my gosh! This is perfect! That pettable cover thing is such a thing! There are some covers out there that just, ahhh! I want to add the feeling of the paperback waterfall. You know, when you flip the pages with your thumb and they are just so soft they fan out and fall together softly…so very hard to explain, but I know you know what I mean. I’ll give you an example. I have the Outlander series, but am stuck after book three. I have book for in my TBR and every time I rearrange the pile I think of shelving this one until I flip through it. Then it is so soft and supple that I have to keep it in the pile. LOL
YES YES I LOVE THOSE SORTS OF COVERS. I really appreciate when publishers/designers go the extra mile to just give us something gorgeous like that ajfdkslad. It adds to the whole experience!