The Multisensory Experience of Handling and Reading Books

Abstract

The failure of e-books to take over from the traditional print format, as was so confidently predicted would happen only a few years ago, highlights how there is more to reading than merely the content of what we see. In fact, like any other object, the experience of interacting with a book, especially an old or historic volume, offers the reader the potential for a multisensory encounter. One that involves not only what the book looks and feels like, both the weight of the volume and the feel of the pages, but also the distinctive smell. In fact, one might also want to consider the particular sound made by the pages as they are turned over. However, it is the smell of older, and seemingly more olfactorily-redolent, works that appears to be especially effective at triggering nostalgic associations amongst readers. It is therefore only by understanding the multisensory nature of handling books, as stressed by this review, that one can really hope to fully appreciate the enduring appeal of the traditional format in the modern digital era. Several recent exhibitions that have attempted to engage their visitors by means of exploring the multisensory appeal of historic books or manuscripts in their collections are briefly discussed. While the multisensory mental imagery that is typically evoked by reading is unlikely to differ much between the print and e-book formats, there is nevertheless still some evidence to suggest that physical books can occasionally convey information more effectively than their digital counterparts.

From Smelly Buildings to the Scented Past: An Overview of Olfactory Heritage

“…While valuable reflections on olfactory heritage are taking place, much of the knowledge that could advance our understanding of this field is still developed within disciplinary boundaries. For example, the smell of old books and historic libraries, a scent identified as of heritage value , has proved of interest to chemistry and heritage science (Strlič et al, 2009;Cincinelli et al, 2016), architecture and conservation, psychology and sensory science (Spence, 2020a), literature and cultural studies (Groes and Francis, 2021), sensory geography (McLean, 2017), public engagement (Wiggan, 2020) and olfactory art (Inoue, 2017). In spite of this varied interest, there is little integration of the knowledge and methods involved in these pieces of research, and limited interdisciplinary interpretation of findings.…”

Experiencing literature on the e‐reader: the effects of reading narrative texts on screen

“…Reading involves interaction with a device with specific interface affordances, and reading entails physical (in particular, manual/haptic) interaction with the reading medium (Mangen & van der Weel, 2016). Recently, Spence (2020) referred to the multisensory experience of handling and reading books, highlighting the emotional and nostalgic associations that are triggered while interacting with a physical book and the lack of nonvisual senses in the reader's experience when reading digitally.…”

Commercializing Sonic Seasoning in Multisensory Offline Experiential Events and Online Tasting Experiences

“…idiosyncratically, often to stress the physicality of the medium (see Brennan, 2020 ; Thompson-Bell et al, in press ; cf. Spence, 2020d ). A potential drawback to the live performance of sonic seasonings is the possibility that the performance itself shifts the focus of the taster’s attention away from the food or beverage to the performance itself (see Spence et al, 2013 ).…”