Can You Smell Those Books?
By Angie Ditsler
Photo by guldfisken - click on photo for link
Russ told me once that his earliest memories as a child are of his mom walking him to the Crescent Hill Library every week to read to him and let him pick out books to take home. He told me that even as an adult he still vividly remembers the smell of the books in that library, and they conjure up fond memories for him every time he drives past it to this day.
Needless to say, this has led to ongoing jokes in our family about “smelling books.” Whenever I can’t decide which book to pick up next to read, Russ’ typical response to me is usually something like “Well, which one smells better?”
On a more serious note though, we’re both grateful to have been instilled with a love for reading in our childhood. Evening routines for us usually involve a glass of wine and a good book, and one of our favorite things to do on Sundays is to peruse the aisles of Books-a-Million or Barnes and Noble then relax and read until the store closes.
An aspiring writer himself, my husband devours books at about twice the rate I do. Russ accomplished a long-time goal of his when he recently published his first novel, a political thriller called Agent of Influence. He spent six years researching and writing his book, and the past year and a half has really been a team effort as we’ve worked together revising, editing, and trying to get it published. Being exposed to books at an early age has really inspired us and honed our talents in different ways: I always remind Russ that he is the creative genius in the family, while I have eye for detail.
Now that I get to work on various Success By 6 initiatives in my professional life, the importance of exposing young children to positive and healthy experiences early on like reading really hits home for me. One thing that my husband and I agree on is that when we have children of our own some day, we want them to grow up smelling books the same way we did. Who knew that a memory like the smell of a book could have such an impact on someone’s life?