Bibliosmia Is The Smell And Aroma Of A Good Book

Observed each year on August 9, (and sometimes on the first Saturday in November) bibliophiles get to celebrate on National Book Lovers Day! A day for all those who love to read, National Book Lovers Day encourages you to find your favorite reading place, a good book (whether it be fiction or non-fiction) and read the day away.

Let’s step back in time:

• The very first books used parchment or vellum (calf skin) for the book pages.
• The book covers were made of wood and often covered with leather.
• The books were fitted with clasps or straps.
• Public libraries appeared in the Middle Ages.
• Books in public libraries were often chained to a bookshelf or a desk to prevent theft.

Moving forward:

Book manufacturing’s recent development included digital printing.  Book pages are printed using toner rather than ink.  Digital printing opens up the possibility of print-on-demand,  where no books are printed until after an order is received from a customer.

E-books are rapidly increasing in popularity.  E-book (electronic book) refers to a book-length publication in digital form.  They are usually available through the internet. However, can also be found on CD-ROM and other forms.  E-books are read either by computer or via a portable book display device known as an e-book reader, such as a Reader, Nook or Kindle.

Fun Facts:

• SF writer Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) is the only author to have published a book in nine out of the ten Dewey library categories.
• Dickens’s house had a secret door in the form of a fake bookcase. The fake books included titles such as ‘The Life of a Cat’ in 9 volumes.
• Playwright Joe Orton went to prison in 1962 for defacing library books. One of the cartoons he drew shows an elderly tattooed man in trunks.
• The first book bought on Amazon was called Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought.
• The smallest book in the Welsh National Library is Old King Cole. It measures 1mm x 1mm and the pages can only be turned with a needle.
• The first person Ray Brad­bury asked out was a book­store clerk; they married in 1947 and were together until her death in 2003.
• The word ‘shrine’ comes from the Latin scrinium meaning ‘chest for books’.
• The earliest known written instance of the word ‘book’ is in a book by Alfred the Great.
• ‘Bibliosmia‘ is the enjoyment of the smell of old books.
• In 2007, Stephen King was mistaken for a vandal when he started signing books during an unannounced visit to a bookshop in Australia.
• The most expensive printed book in the world is the 1640 Bay Psalm book from America. It sold in November 2013 for $14.2 million. It is also the first book printed in the North America.

Sources: 

National Day Calendar

Interesting Literature