nothing goes together quite like candles and reading
January 23, 2019 8:55 AM   Subscribe

Millennial, Book and Candle, the new-old reading trend. [NY Times]

And in case you were wondering if you can make your room smell like Jane Austen, 9 Candles That Smell Like Books To Help You Set The Perfect Reading Atmosphere.
posted by betweenthebars (34 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
I guess the one industry that millenials aren't ruining is the candle industry.
posted by vespertinism at 9:02 AM on January 23, 2019 [10 favorites]


Sponsored by Big Ophthalmology
posted by chavenet at 9:08 AM on January 23, 2019 [19 favorites]


Just to head it off - this is not about reading by candlelight, it's about candles scented like books to read with books. I had to do a quick hate reorientation and I'm still a little frazzled.
posted by Think_Long at 9:15 AM on January 23, 2019 [20 favorites]


And vigorously opposed by Big Fire Insurance.
posted by Mogur at 9:16 AM on January 23, 2019 [9 favorites]


Well, as long as millenials don't turn into the "dozed off while reading, now my tiny and extremely expensive apartment is an ash-covered shell" generation.

We have a rule among my housemates - no candles unless you're having a dinner party with candles. I've lived with too many forgetful people over the years to trust anyone with an open flame in a private space.
posted by Frowner at 9:26 AM on January 23, 2019 [7 favorites]


Have any of these people actually tried to read by candlelight?

Also, spermacetti for life. Go whale or go home.
posted by misterpatrick at 9:27 AM on January 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


An $89 candle, seriously?

As a marker of candle popularity, a bit south of where I live is the Yankee Candle factory in Deerfield, Mass., which is huge and runs three shifts around the clock — the parking lot is always full. (This is separate from the factory store, which is up the road a piece.)
posted by beagle at 9:29 AM on January 23, 2019 [6 favorites]


Now I’m reminiscing about the countless fine and interesting used books from yardsales I couldn’t finish (or even start) reading because they were too smelly. Some I would stack on the porch and they were still bad after a couple of weeks!

Mold, tobacco, mothballs, weird chemical-y smells...I’m not even very sensitive to fragrances but man, some books stink!

Not something I need in a candle, thanks.
posted by The Toad at 9:54 AM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


A pleasantly scented candle might help you relax, but in case you want to lean into your despair, the Byredo Apocalyptic scented candle has you covered:
A landscape of ashes and despair, this candle was set on creating an unknown scent.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 9:54 AM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


Light it up when reading Cormac McCarthy.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 9:57 AM on January 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


Mold, tobacco, mothballs, weird chemical-y smells...I’m not even very sensitive to fragrances but man, some books stink!

I have a friend who does indoor air quality remediation work (mould, asbestos, Legionella...) who once said to me "You know that old book smell? Yeah, well, that's mould."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:09 AM on January 23, 2019 [7 favorites]


"You know that old book smell? Yeah, well, that's mould."

While I've definitely encountered moldy books I wouldn't want to smell, for that matter, so's blue cheese and I can't live without it, either. And I confess that old-book-scented candles hit a real sweet spot in me. I'm not bougie enough to spend 89 dollars on one, but I am totally bougie enough to spend 10 or so. Now I must have one.
posted by octobersurprise at 10:29 AM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm not bougie enough to spend 89 dollars on one

Happily "bougie" means "candle" in french, so that bibliotech candle literally says "Bougie Parfumee" on the package.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 10:34 AM on January 23, 2019 [21 favorites]


A lot of old book smell is acid-bearing paper literally consuming itself. You know how the pages on old books are brittle? That's how they get before they just disintegrate. I can tolerate mild mildew/ mold or acid from old books, and after many years working in bookstores, it's kind of comforting. I mostly read in bed before sleep, candles not an option. Most of the people I know who are serious readers read in line at the grocery, in waiting rooms, on commuter trains/ buses, planes, of course, lots of places where a candle is nope, and setting a scene is a bit laughable. Lots of people read in the bathroom, where a scented candle is a fine idea. Once in a while, a long bath, a book that's okay to get damp, some candles, a glass of wine.

The article is better than most ads, but it's definitely an ad more than "all the news".
posted by theora55 at 10:53 AM on January 23, 2019 [5 favorites]


My personal favorite is old-comic-book smell, actually. There's a subtle distinction between that and used-bookstore-generally.
posted by praemunire at 11:02 AM on January 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


The chemistry behind Why do Books Smell So "Good"? (quotes mine)
posted by librarianamy at 11:06 AM on January 23, 2019


$32.95 for a single candle? $55? $85?

Once again, the New York Times keeps an eye on its core readership.
posted by doctornemo at 11:37 AM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


(I was going to post about years spent working in a used bookstore, and how I learned to kill book mold by carefully storing a book in plastic within a freezer, but am now too steamed by that price-gouging.)
posted by doctornemo at 11:38 AM on January 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


Meanwhile Gen-X is here under the covers with a flashlight and Lois Lowry
posted by fluttering hellfire at 11:58 AM on January 23, 2019 [16 favorites]


> Once again, the New York Times keeps an eye on its core readership

It's got a significant overlap with the AskMe readership, which loves a $50 candle. Maybe that's just how much candles cost.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:41 PM on January 23, 2019


I'm not going to say that they're not an indulgence, because obviously on an absolute scale they are, but most of those candles are meant to burn for 60 hours or more. They're not, like, little tealights that burn down over one evening, or even wax pillars that will take a few lightings. I buy one and it lasts me the whole winter.
posted by praemunire at 1:12 PM on January 23, 2019 [4 favorites]




If I want an indulgent experience that goes with reading I will drink hot cocoa. Since I am a grownup now it will be fancy hot cocoa and I will put some liquor in it.
posted by madcaptenor at 2:08 PM on January 23, 2019 [3 favorites]


This was such a hate read for me. What $75 candle should I have lit while reading it?

There's zero evidence this is a trend or anything specific to millennials, it's one freelance book reviewer and what, a couple people who work at book stores and candle makers talking about how popular candles with literary themed scents have become?

The book reviewer's most recent blog post also got an eye roll: How (and Why!) I Take All My Own Instagram Photos. Want to step up your IG game? Today I’m teaching you exactly how I take my own photos for the ‘gram!
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 2:31 PM on January 23, 2019 [4 favorites]


There's zero evidence this is a trend or anything specific to millennials

Shh let the olds have their two minutes harrumph. The NYT Style ecosystem depends on it.
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 2:49 PM on January 23, 2019 [8 favorites]


are people linking to bustle now, just like it's a normal ok website? I know it seems like there are an awful lot of bad Bryans in the world these days, too many to keep track of, but

there are plenty of expensive candle rec lists that aren't from there
posted by queenofbithynia at 3:49 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


are people linking to bustle now, just like it's a normal ok website?

If that's an actual question and not simply a disingenuous one intended as criticism, you could always start a MetaTalk about it. In this case, it popped up when I was trying to find out how many candles an Austen character might use in a drawing room, and I remembered that I'd recently seen the New York Times trying to make candles a thing and I always find their trend pieces funny.
posted by betweenthebars at 5:46 PM on January 23, 2019


I’m disappointed that this wasn’t about some trend of reading by candlelight. I like reading by candlelight because it makes 1 AM feel more properly like the dead of night. If I’m going to be up late, I want it to feel late.

I like book smell, but I can get it for free by sniffing a used paperback.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 5:48 PM on January 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


I’m disappointed that this wasn’t about some trend of reading by candlelight.

I'm about to turn off my devices and read by candlelight, and I'm sure that if enough of us post about it, the Style section will find out and make it a trend.

(I have pricey gift candle that needs to be used up before I move and I have an overdue library book--time for reading by candlelight.)
posted by betweenthebars at 6:04 PM on January 23, 2019


I actually have a rather small bedroom and wide window sills with plenty of room for candles so I have lain in bed with a half dozen candles burning and read by candlelight. It’s still an eye strain, tho, and not as soothing as reading on a back lit phone.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:00 PM on January 23, 2019


It's inefficiency and/or inconvenience as signal/badge. We've seen this for audio, with vinyl (which has worse frequency response than CD-quality audio but sounds warm and fuzzy and Authentic) and then cassettes (which have even less going for them sound-quality-wise), and for bicycles (fixed-gear bikes, and then unicycles/tandems/impractically tall bikes). The first phase for light sources (artisanal Edison lightbulbs with big chunky filaments) has already gone mainstream in bourgeois cafés/bars/brunch spots, so now it's only natural that we see an escalation.
posted by acb at 2:39 AM on January 24, 2019


It's inefficiency and/or inconvenience as signal/badge.

Yeah, I think the misreading here is the assumption that a choice of "inefficiency" is a "signal"—which suggests that said choice is trying to communicate something to you—rather than an aesthetic, a fashion, something chosen simply because it looks cool/pretty or feels pleasant or fun.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:43 AM on January 24, 2019


I've paid $100 for a candle multiple times, and will do it again in the future. Would other people? Maybe not. But just as there is a difference between grocery store sushi, and what I'd get at Sukiyabashi Jiro, there is a genuine difference between my fancy candles and the ones that I can get at Bath & Bodyworks and, say, Cire Trudon.

Specifically:

- Fancier candles don't have a metal core in their wicks like many cheaper candles do to save money -- to maximize burn time, it's important for a candle wick to be absolutely straight up and down, but it's hard to make paper/cotton stand up straight. So instead of using better pouring techniques or wicks, cheap candles solve the problem by wrapping paper/cotton around a metal core. Voila! Straight wick! But when you blow them out, you get a bunch of black, greasy smoke that smells absolutely terrible, like a cross between industrial-strength cleaner and motor oil. And I can smell it in the air for hours afterwards, particularly if I've been burning the cheap candle for a long time.

- Fancier candles burn smoothly -- this tends to be less of a problem with big brands like Yankee Candle who have good quality control and a lot of technical know-how, but when you buy fancy candles at, say, a farmer's market, it's pretty darn common to start burning it, and then all of a sudden, a chunk of it will collapse in on itself for a variety of technical reasons. Or it'll turn out there was a big air pocket that means you paid for less candle. Or the wick won't be centered, so you won't get maximum use out of the candle. Or the wick won't be big enough, so you won't get good fragrance projection. And so on.

- Fancier candles have smells that cheaper candles don't. This candle legitimately smells like rain on hot asphalt. This candle smells like mossy walls. I guarantee you will not find anything in Bath & Bodyworks that smells like this.

- Fragrance projection tends to be u-shaped -- cheap candles like at Yankee Candle have great throw, and fancy candles have great throw. It's the stuff in between, which tends to market itself as being 100% soy or handpoured this or that where you can be standing a foot away when lit, and you can't smell it, in part because making soy candles project Real Smells is Hard, both on a technical pouring level and a material-engineering level.

- A fancy candle in the $100 range easily lasts sixty hours. That's about a buck fifty an hour, which is actually cheaper per hour than, say, the silly, fluffy cozy mystery that I'm reading while I burn the candle, because I picked that up for $5 and will whip through in an hour and a half if I'm focused, two hours if I'm taking my time.

tl;dr: I've got a bunch of Bath and Bodyworks candles that I picked up at, like, 3 for $15 at the annual sale, but I also have multiple fancy-ass ones that I paid $100 for. I actually still have my 2018 fancy candle, which was this perfumer's idea of the last Empress of France, complete with symbolic scent references to the Napoleonic bee.

And at the end of the day, my fancy candle cost less than what Red Dead Redemption 2 is currently going for on Amazon ($150). And I get an equivalent amount of pleasure for an equivalent amount of time for it.
posted by joyceanmachine at 9:11 AM on January 24, 2019 [10 favorites]


Flagged for fantastic, joyceanmachine! I've seen your other informative comments about candles, too, and I think my favorite thing about Metafilter is that we have people who know a lot about a subject and are passionate about sharing the knowledge. Thank you!

And I apologize for my overly snarky "what $75 candle should I have burned while hate reading this?" comment because I don't mean to imply that spending money on candles is stupid in any way, yet I know my comment did that. (I do maintain that the NYT's claim that it's an actual millennial specific trend to read by candlelight is bullshit.) As you point out, the pleasure you get over the hours they last is quite reasonable and comparable to other entertainment options. We all get to decide what's worth spending money on.

I'm too paranoid to light candles because I worry a lot about fire and my cat and dog spend approximately zero time worrying about the same when they have zoomies, but your description of some of those candles sounded so delicious that I'm going to keep an eye out for the brands you mentioned in stores, specifically "Concrete After Lightning." Swoon. Worth putting the cat out of the room for, it sounds like.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 9:27 AM on January 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


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