Of reading old,backless brownish classics

If I were to ever get the chance I would create a fragrance of two things: 1. The smell of the earth after the first rains 2. The smell of a rustic, old, drawn out book lying in a cellar. The first one is very obviously a perfume candidate, however the second one is more of a  i-like-it-so-i-want-a-perfume-of-it desire. Coming back to that smell...its origins took place,in the old raddiwala shop near granny's house, where i would go and wander about aimlessly. All the while, a patient uncle used to teach me bargaining skills and I used to turn a deaf ear and marvel at the thought of how many people would have read these books,for the pages to be that 'un-ironed' . Call me a book fanatic or whatever...reading is who I am ...and I have the same feeling for hand me down second hand books that I have for stray dogs. As long as a dog is with its owner people love to coochie-coo it and call it pretty names, but the minute its on the street, its everybody's punch bag. With books, its rarely that harsh. Other than the sophistication and cost factor of a plush hardbound novel from Oxford or Landmark, there is nothing exciting about expensive novels. They might adorn your coffee tables and bookshelves and look posh in the train commutes but the rustic feel, the inimitable 'cries' of a lone book at a second hand book stall steals my heart away. These old, already read books, give a lot of peace to the voracious reader soul that I possess and I bask in the joy that in the age of Internet and e-books, there are people who still read the old-fashioned way!Financially, brand new novels burn a hole in my pocket, so my heritage reading does a lot of good to my bank balance. This idea of finding some note or getting a to know a book that was once read by another person somewhere in the vicinity or in some other land, has been converted into a fun website. Bookcrossing.com is a website that has converted this game into a reality. All you have to do is to leave a book 'accidentally' in a coffee shop or a park or at a public place with a sticker that contains an ID. Once the recipient has found it, he/she will enter the ID on the site and register the place where the book has reached. The book can then travel the world and find new readers all the time.. Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting--Aldous Huxley

To a feeling and a friend

That comfy old feeling of an old shirt... Honest truths that kids sometimes unknowingly say... Laughing in the train at Wodehouse jokes Listening eagerly to the 'plop' sound of ice falling in water Tickling mom and running around the house.. None of the above give more joy than coming home to another's heart... To a friend and his new found soulmate...may you have eras of joy and blessings.. Love has no desire but to fulfill itself. To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. ~Kahlil Gibran