Learning to decipher words had only added to the pleasures of holding spines and turning pages, measuring the journey to the end with a thumb-riffle, poring over frontispieces. Books! Opening with a crackle of old glue, releasing perfume; closing with a solid thump.

John Crowley
About This Quote

Books! Opening with a crackle of old glue, releasing perfume; closing with a solid thump, the smell that lingers for days, the scent of leather and wood. The sight of words in print, their page-turning sound. The warm brown of paper, the cool white of ink, the smell of dust on spines. Books! Growing up in a house without books but with lots of spines.

Spines with words on them. Words printed on them. The smell of cardboard and glue.

Source: Little, Big

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