The Sweet Smell of Books

I have been reading The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon for weeks. I loved The Shadow of the Wind by the same author, and I expected to love this new book as well. And I do. The language is so rich and the use of words so unusual, that I just have to walk slowly through the story. I have tabbed pages and underlined passages. It is one of those books that makes you want to linger over the last pages so you will not have to say goodbye.

Both of Zafon's books have made me want to visit Barcelona. The city is such a strong presence in both books. Zafon's other obssession in both books is books. He writes with such passion about books and writing and the love of reading. For a bookseller/librarian, he hits the right note with his respect for the written word and those who sell it. At one point one of his characters enters into a bookshop and he writes: "He held the shop door open and showed me in. I stepped into the bookshop and breathed in that perfume of paper and magic that strangely no one had ever thought of bottling."

Oddly enough, earlier this week I had been reading another book blog (which I would link to if I could remember where I found it) and found out that someone has actually made a perfume based upon the smell of books. A company called CB I Hate Perfume has bottled a scent called "In the Library" which is described by its creator as "English Novel taken from a Signed First Edition of one of my very favorite novels, Russian & Moroccan leather bindings, worn cloth and a hint of wood polish." I may just have to do a little shopping......