STOP! and Smell the Books

     I don't know if it's the same for you, but I'm obsessed with the smell of books. Is that weird? Not for me, it isn't. Every one of them has a different smell (books in the same series smell the same, obviously) and it's always so good. Sometimes, when I'm reading, I stop for a second and just sniff the pages.
     Once, I was reading a book called 'Inkheart' and one of the characters, Mo, told his daughter that our memories cling to the pages of our books and I think that's true. Every time you open the book, you remember that little boy or girl you were when you first picked it up and opened the covers. Books are a truly wonderful invention. I don't know what I'd do without them.
     One of my friends told me that she has this special bag and if there's ever a fire or emergency, she would dump all her books in there and run. Yes, they're that precious to her. And I have a duffel bag that serves the same purpose. I can't live without books.
     So next time you open that book you read in sixth grade, stop and smell it for a moment. Or at least remember that younger version of you, sitting in the same bed, staring out that window and reading those same words.