Famous e-book Luddite won over by Smell of Books—while meantime a patent suit MAY be in the works
Take that, Booksquare!
Maybe you’re ridiculing the Smell of Books breakthrough. But the odor is convincing enough for Sven Berkshire, previously a noted e-book skeptic, to reconsider, given all the progress that has been made in replicating the print experience.
So stunning is the new technology that a patient suit just may be in the works—between the makers of Smell of Books and jealous researchers at CafeScribe, which released a previous book smell product for E.
"I’m absolutely convinced that Holden Caulfield would have found the technology alluring, and hence would have tried harder to please his teachers at Pencey Prep," Berkshire, the author of The Gutenberg Calamity revealed in an exclusive TeleRead interview.
"Caulfield at least already had an interest in words. Now think how much more eager a student he would have been with a mix of the new technology and the authentic smells associated with literacy. Furthermore, imagine the ramifications here for ordinary students."
The power of smell as a navigational aid
Ever concerned with navigation issues and with books as sensual objects, Berkshire rejoices: "One can even make the smell change to reflect the position in the book, successfully compensating for the lack of tactile experience in flipping pages. Nothing is more powerful than olfactory senses, and with this new advance, electronic books have finally come of age."
Berkshire’s feelings jibe with the results of a poll by CafeScribe—showing that "College students are most likely to characterize smell as the physical quality of books they most love."
In fact, CafeScribe in 2007 unveiled "a scratch & sniff sticker with a certifiably musty ‘old book’ smell.’" I have a call into CafeScribe now. Is someone getting ripped off? Will there be a CafeScribe-vs.-Smell-of-Books patent suit? Those are the rumors, and given the strong odorlap between the two products, they just might be true.
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