It's #WorldBookDay today (but only in the UK & Ireland, bizarrely), so here's a reminder of the chemistry behind new and old book smells! https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/06/01/newoldbooksmell/
@compoundchem a few years ago I went down a special interest rabbit hole trying to find out which chemicals in essential oils are psychoactive based on which ones various plants have in common, and which plants are said to have similar effects. And I discovered by accident that you can just go *buy* many of the chemicals that made lemony herbs smell that way.
So if anyone would like an extremely authentic fragrance for making book scented wax melts or something, here's your shopping list. (Please verify whether any of these are unsafe to breathe or get on your skin, first.)
@legumancer @compoundchem I recall reading about someone who made a sort of sticker that you could put on e-readers or whatever device one uses to read digital texts and upon rubbing it would emit the characteristic odour of (old) books.