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Can anything beat the smell of an old book? The scent can be delightfully musty, with grassy notes of smoked wood and delicate chocolate. It has the power to transport readers to a far-flung time and place, to the oak-paneled library of their dreams.
The odor is caused by a flurry of volatile organic compounds such as furfural or benzaldehyde that drift off the yellowing pages as the text ages. Books, after all, are made from organic materials such as leather and paper, which naturally decay over time. (Books also do an excellent job trapping the stench of their environment. It’s said that Mark Twain’s personal collection is still redolent of the humorist’s tobacco smoke.)