So That's Where That Good Book Scent Comes From...

My friend and colleague Andrea sent me a "wall post" with a quote from "Perfumes: The Guide," that she thought -- rightly! -- that I would enjoy. I think I have mentioned here that I -- like many of you, I am sure -- love the smell of books. This quotation says that there is a substance in trees called lignin, which "is a polymer made up of units that are closely related to vanillin. When made into paper and stored for years, it breaks down and smells good. Which is how divine providence has arranged for secondhand bookstores to smell like good quality vanilla absolute, subliminally stoking a hunger for knowledge in all of us." So there is a scientific reason that old books smell so good! I don't think I had identified that smell as being related to vanilla, but it makes sense, as vanilla is such a soothing, feel-good scent.