The smell, that musty scent that lingers softly in the air, overtakes me.  I open the pages further, hearing them creak against their binding, and stick my nose right into the crease.  Inhale.

Mmmm…

This is the smell that I want my children to know.

But, thanks to the rise of technology, I’m scared it that will fade.  Eventually, my generation will be the last ones with our walkers navigating the aisles and scanning books out on loan.  Kevin keeps suggesting that I download books onto my iPod to read and I keep saying, “NO!  I want to turn a page.”

I still buy books.  I pile them in my bookshelf with pride because books are…books are smart.  I even have a stack of children’s books and old encyclopedias from my grandma.  They’re classics and I love them so much.  In my dream house, I will have a library room lined with shelves and a grand piano in the center and a window seat against the outside wall, much like the library in the board game Clue.

So, no, I won’t be joining the digital reading generation anytime soon.  I much prefer burying my head in real pages that smell so rich and earthy.

As for the library aisles?  They continue to lure me in like a kid in a candy store and I just want to sit on the floor between all those books and close my eyes.  It’s peaceful.  It’s quiet.  It’s warm.  It’s a beautiful place to be.