I love books but the smell of lots of old books makes me as nauseous as smelling newspapers. It's sad...but oh well. That doesn't stop me from reading them. xP;

I'm perfectly fine with used books.
Some people are so picky, and hate it if the spine is creased on a book they just bought. But I mean seriously, all you're going to do is just crease the spine yourself, so who cares? D:

And as far as "a smell"... it depends on what kind of smell. If it was just that old-book smell, I wouldn't mind. But if it smelled bad, or like cigarettes or something, probably not. Or I'd just spray an air freshener in the air, and then wave the book in the cloud as it settled.
Folded pages... may bug me. A torn cover may, too. Depending on how bad it is. If it's just a little corner though, no big deal. I'm reading the book, not studying the cover. As long as I can read it without worrying about pages falling out, or wondering if someone let a stinky dog sleep on it, I'm good. :)

I love used books, they just have more atmosphere to them. Besides, I'm just going to read them and bend the spine and love them anyway. When a book has a unique smell, it just brings me into the story more. I love the smell of old books.

I'm super anal about new books but I'm not as harsh on books from Half Price.

I won't buy a book that's got massive spine damage like maybe one or two fine cracks are ok. I hate water damaged books, I won't touch them. Otherwise... a lot of the books I get from Half Price are hard to find anyway and if I didn't want to save money, I wouldn't be shopping there. I don't really smell my books when I'm shopping.
I've never had any problem with weird smells other than this one instance when I purchased a used CD and it reeked of smoke, to the extent that like six people and their pets were probably locked in a small room with the thing for five years chain smoking. I could smell the reek like five feet away. It was pretty nasty.

I only sniff books that I love and books I haven't read yet, but REALLY REALLY want to start reading, like a sequel to a favorite book.

I actually get really really creepy, clutching the book like a mad woman, breathing really loudly in an annoying, disturbing manner and smelling the books and sighing in complete joy every now and then.

Yep, I get really creepy when it comes to the books I love.

I like books that have a smell. Lol. :lol:

I love old books,they usually have something in them that was forgotten by the previous owner!
My mom and I want our own used book store,actually.
I love the wonders of old books,besides,you can always smooth out the pages. Or renew the cover,possibly.
Mangas,are a different story. I have used mangas though. Some are Fruits Basket.^^

I don't really mind if the cover is a bit bashed, but if it's falling apart I wouldn't but it. same with if it smelled. I have a hyper-sensetive sense of smell, so it would probably make me feel ill reading it. hah, so lame.

I tend to just like the smell of books in general. But I've never really smelled a supa old book. New pages of a book just smell really good to me.

The musty smell of old books bothers me greatly..
I'd rather spend the extra money for a new one.

Originally Posted by Lennifer

• Not really XD I like the smell of nice fresh books, I'm not so keen on strange smelling books, but unless it smells like fish or something disgusting, I'm not too bothered ^^ So long as i want the book that is. XD

Question: why would a book smell like a fish? That is so weird. xDDD But yes, nice new books are the better choice in my opinion. I always say to myself before I buy something, "Do I know where it's been?" If I answer myself with the no, I'm not buying it. xD I tried looking at this Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone book but I couldn't stand it because it was all yellow and wet-like. ;___; Read too much, I'm afraid. xD

Personally, I love the way boooks smell- call me wierd but yes, I do sniff books. And yes I enjoy it xDD
Well I'm willing to buy any book that I've been searching for- as long as I can still make out the words then yes I will read =]

I always judge them by condition as well as content. If it looks like a good book, but it's all torn up, I'll just get it somewhere else. Better to wait and have a book that you can enjoy all the aspects of than one with the added distraction of strange smells and dog-eared pages.

Besides, new books smell so good! Why would you forfeit that? I just don't get why some people like used books so much.

eehh...i'd put the book down immediately if
it smelled funny. I remember that happened to me once.
right when i opened it, this gross stench just filled
my nose. x____X i almost gagged. What the heck happened
to that book anyway?!? o_____O;;

i like to get my books brand new. but then again i like all my things brand new.

i don't like second hand unless it's a family heirloom.

but with clothing, that's another matter all together.


but that book sniffing thing... i love the smell of brand new books, and really old antique books.

Usually brand-new books are too pricy for me to buy very often, but on the occasion that I get one, hell, they smell good!
On used books, I don't mind the smell, as long as it doesn't smell of cigarette smoke.

Yes I really try to find a book with a snazzy cover. I can't help it. But I also like to hear what other people have to say about a book then read it. I don't think I've ever even bought a pre owned book. Yes I do like to smell my books.(They smell like a fresh new place to get away in.

I usualy love musty the smell of old books,like the ones I found in my great-grand parent's house after they died...Two of which were latin text books from when my great-grandfather was a kid!I still have them around here,somewhere.But,this one time,my grandma gave me a hardcover book she had gotten at a used book sale,and she had read it and liked it,and the whole time I was reading it,I was trying to figure out why it smelled faintly like rotten potatos...Then,when I'd finnised it,somebody accidently pulled the dustcover off of it,and half of the back cover was full of horrible smelling green mold...Eww!

I don't mind the smell of old books, I like buying second hand books too, especially if they're no longer available brand new at my local store. :)

I like keeping my books neat though, so even if it's old, I'll still use a dustcover for it.

Actually...I adore the smell of old books ^_^ Its really weird and my sister always looks at me funny, but I donno they smell better then new books..its sort of like the smell of New electronics XD they smell good too.Also a new car lol

Hmm, wow, you sniff your books? *chuckles*

I almost never buy my books, I borrow them all from the library. Although, the books from the library aren't always in perfect condition...

But you are one of those neat freaks (in a good way) checking for the books beforehand is a really good way to be efficient. :3

Maybe I'm weird since I kind of like that musty old smell. XD But the scent of crisp new pages can also be quite nice. If it smells like water damage though, I have to draw the line. =/

I'm actually in the market for a book based only on it's cover. I need a book as a prop for a costume in the near future, but it's proving difficult. There are less creamy white books out there than I'd like, and most have ugly font if not more on the cover. It's also not something you can ask a clerk about. "Excuse me, can you show me where you keep your off-white cover books, preferably those with golden designs on the front?"

I can not have a used book unless you can't tell its used. I have a problem were if the binding of the book is....lets say not as it should be then i just can't read it, i know its weird but that's how i am but suprisingly enough i lend my books out to my friends, and i've had to replace many books because they've messed them up in some way. Yea i'm very anal about my books and their conditions.

I love used books - to a certain degree - for both academics and leisure. There's something nice about knowing that the previous owner loved (or at least I hope he/she did) the book.

Slightly frayed pages are fine with me though water damage or tears or stains will annoy me. Little annotations are sometimes fun to read but if they are glaringly large, forget it.

Did I just contradict myself? Haha. Well, I like books to stay in good condition in my care, and if the books are old, even more so.