Wearing the smell of old books
A legendary bookstore says they’ve captured the smell of old books — in a perfume! Our prayers have been answered! Right?
Well… I don’t know about that.
I inhale the old-book scent regularly, as I rummage through my paper stash for collage materials. Lucky for me, my friends and collectors enable my habit; I just received a delicious haul from Tess the other day. Perfect timing to find out how “Powell’s by Powell” unisex fragrance holds up to The Real Thing.
You might be familiar with the chemistry behind old-book scent: it’s even been formally studied in a lab. But this quote from “Perfume: An A-Z Guide” is far more evocative:
Photo credit: Patrick Tomasso/Unsplash
And yes, the Powell’s fragrance does smell like vanilla, with some woody notes — but not like a favorite old book. It did, however, bring a vivid image to mind. This must be what it’s like to chew an overflowing mouthful of vanilla-scented sugar crystals, followed by a shot glass of wooden splinters. It doesn’t transport me back to libraries I’ve loved, or books I’ve read until they fell apart in my hands.
I want to love this fragrance… I really do. But it would be more satisfying to drive a few hours and then walk into the actual Powell’s Books, just to hyperventilate the air inside. The perfume is missing something. Maybe a hit of printer’s ink?
Genesis, Exodus: when is it time to leave?
“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to…” bail out of a pariah nation, I suggest we leave in style.
Dirigibles feature prominently in the latest altered books I’ve finished. Not just because I’m a fan, but because all the old “signs of the apocalypse” jokes feel way too real these days. There is just. So. Much for African Americans to leave behind: climate change floods and fires, the coronavirus pandemic, white supremacists in general, police brutality in particular…
Remember why Black Lives Matter protesters faced off with Seattle police in May? Credit: Kelly Kline/Flickr
It’s gotten me thinking about #Blaxit again. (Think Brexit, but with Black people leaving the U.S. instead of Britain leaving the European Union.) If you haven’t savored the brilliant essay by Ulysses Burley III at The Salt Collective yet, I highly recommend it. Once your laughter subsides a bit, proceed to the absolute genius that is Awesomely Luvvie’s take on Blaxit.
In my version of Blaxit, we’re still debating whether to leave or stay. But if we go, we’re taking zeppelins out of this nightmare, fully stocked and ready for space travel. I’ll post the altered books very soon (right after I’ve had them properly documented) so watch my Instagram account for the upcoming first look.
How much time do you have left?
I’ve calculated exactly how much time you have left, down to the very last day.
The deadline to apply to “Between the Fold” is in nine days. In other words, you have two weekends plus a full work week to finish your book art and submit your application. Then it’s up to the jurors — me and Mighty Tieton co-founder Ed Marquand — to choose the stand-out artworks. All right, we’ve chatted enough. Upload your work and press send — it’s later than you think….