My daughter loves the smell of books. She will put her nose in them, take a deep smell and look at me and say
"You want to smell my book crack?"

Love books of all shapes and conditions.

Yes. I’ve got this sick thing about books. When I was an undergrad, I’d go to the fifth floor of my university stacks — where really old books were housed — and walk really slowly through the stacks, inhaling that old book smell, dragging my fingertips across the bindings.

I buy second hand and love finding margin notes or passage highlighting from previous readers.

Sometimes I imagine the dimension of understanding my kids might get from reading my old books, my margin notes, my highlighted passages....but, then, silly me. I know I’ll get rid of everything I own as I age. Don’t want to leave a big irritating job to clean up after I die.

Ah well. Someone might get a smile one day from my nutty margin repartee.

My basement is basically a used book store. I have hundreds of books passed down to me by my family. The smell is so relaxing! The feel of the books is so grounding. It's my favourite place in the world.

I love the smell of really old books,
Those leather bound ones.

Oh there is nothing better. I always think about the previous lives that particular book touched. Hands and eyes on pages. Maybe a few tears. Where the person might have been while reading it. Were the feeling the same things I am? How did the people and scenery look to them. Used books are just...lovely.

Since I've retired cost cutting has been a priority for me. If I hear about a book that would interest me I first check Amazon for used issues. Sometimes even bestsellers after a few months are cheaper than new. I enjoy doing it and reading what someone has written in it gives incite to who previously owned.

I have every Agatha Christie ever written, including plays, in paperback. Carefully keep lists of the ones most falling apart, read them sparingly, love seeing them there!

Love the stairs. Yes there is something nice about prel-oved books. Like you are going to share something nice with somebody that you have never met and never will.

Yes, I much prefer reading a book to a Kindle, and I prefer an old/used book to a new one. It's almost as if you can feel something of the people who have read it before.

Yes. Was at an estate sale today. So many old books . . . Got a 2 volume Roman history for my son.

There is nothing quite like reading preferred paperback books. The idea of just touching one and getting that old paper fragrance and the texture is the most comforting feeling one cannot get from a digital book. I will always be from the old school of real paperback book readers.

I owned a used/new bookstore for 25 years if that helps. My living room is full of books, some dating back to the 1600s.

Hi, I believe a way to sterilise the books is to wrap them in plastic bags and place in a freezer for a period of time, not sure how long.

It doesn't matter to me if it's new or pre-loved (which my assumption is that you meant pre-owned) ..... Regardless, once I work with it and scribble notes down all over the place, that book is mine forever until the day I die. Those notes become valuable to me and no one else. Reason being, over time we evolve and change.... what I wrote on a book years ago reflects who I was then, which is not necessarily how I feel today. Now, if you wonder if I let anybody borrow my books then the answer is a sound no.

I used to until I heard a story about someone who'd bought a second hand book from a charity shop.

When they got home they flicked through the pages and whilst doing so something dropped out. They dismissed it and thought nothing of it.

Fast forward several weeks. This person was having disrupted sleep and so decided to investigate to see if their bed was broken. Lifting up the mattress they were horrified to discover thousands of bedbugs crawling about.

It took six months and the price of a near nervous breakdown to get rid of them.

I'm very wary about buying second hand books because of this. As a precautionary measure a simple routine can be employed. When getting a used book home, examine the book and flick through the pages over a bathtub. Anything suspicious that drops out can be flushed away.

It may sound over cautious but it's infinitely better than having to deal with an infestation.

I love books! I know just when I fell in love with books! Watching sword in the stone at maybe 6 yrs old, Merlin brings wort to his home, and there are Books Everywhere!

There's something comforting about pre-loved books. They've been around, as we have in life.

I always buy used books and keep them. I read on the loo and mostly about human brutality like serial killers.there are much more books than this. I made these shelves especially for them.

Did you guys have Paperback Exchange in Oz? You would have been in heaven. Or come to New York and visit Strand Books.

What a wonderful picture!
You have collected several bibliophiles... (no, at least in my case, bibliomaniacs) with your post, @Susurrus77 . I'm addicted. Mom bought me Jack and Jill's mag, Children's book club, Classics Illustrated...
Blame her.

I've got some old texts from college that look like that and even a Black Panthers newspaper.

I love the look and feel of them. They are nice ti have around. But I have fallen in love with audiobooks! Reading gives me eye strain and nausea (weird I know but true) so listening to stories is better for me. I have a 30 minutes commute each way from work so I get an hour to listen to my books each day.

Yes. I love browsing used-book stores. My long time friend who died 2 years ago ran one called The Bookcase. My favorite one currently is called Dog-eared books. Says it all!

I like Thriftbooks.com ! Love them really! Fast service, intelligent suggestions for books. Good prices like ABE books that way!