For The Love Of Literature

I love the smell of libraries.  Some may think they smell musty, but for me the smell of old books is intoxicating, full of imagination and potential.  It is the smell of old favorites, ready to wrap me in comfortable familiarity.  It is the smell of unread novels, patiently waiting to entice me into their pages.  It is the smell of new ideas and rich stories waiting to be shared.  I love to walk down the rows, breathing in the scent, letting my fingers glide over the spines of the books until one grabs my attention and invites me to immerse myself in its words. 

Today I went to the library and had a brand new experience.  When I walked into the library that opened just three days ago, I was greeted by the heady aroma of new books.  New books have a very different smell from their aged counterparts.  Instead of an old, quiet aroma, new books have an eager, fresh, impatient scent.  With their crisp, never-turned pages they stand at attention, seeming ready  to jump off the shelf in their excitement to be read.  Stiff spines and bright white paper beg to be held and cherished.  While I find it difficult to resist any book, new books are like an addiction.  My arms were full long before my fingers had run over the spines of even one shelf of books and still I longed to choose just one more.

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, my new library and me!