--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He flicked through the yellowed rough-cut…" description: "\"“He flicked through the yellowed rough-cut pages and breathed its musty smell. It filled him with a strange excitement, as if he'd caught a whiff of an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/joan-london-64903_bibliophilia_he-flicked-through-the-yellowed-rough-cu_2642705.jpg" --- # He flicked through the yellowed rough-cut pages and… ![“He flicked through the yellowed rough-cut pages and breathed its musty smell. It filled him with a strange excitement, as if he'd caught a whiff of ancient, buried cities.” quote by Joan London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/joan-london-64903_bibliophilia_he-flicked-through-the-yellowed-rough-cu_2642705.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/joan-london-64903_bibliophilia_he-flicked-through-the-yellowed-rough-cu_2642705.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/joan-london-64903_bibliophilia_he-flicked-through-the-yellowed-rough-cu_2642705.jpg) > ““He flicked through the yellowed rough-cut pages and breathed its musty smell. It filled him with a strange excitement, as if he'd caught a whiff of ancient, buried cities.”” [Joan London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-london/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He is the old books, feeling excitement as if discovering ancient cities. **In simple terms:** He feels excitement from old, musty books. Key Takeaway Seek wonder in historical artifacts. Themes books history excitement Mood nostalgic inspired Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - libraries - archaeology - personal reflection Key Concepts nostalgia discovery Questions to Reflect On - How do old books inspire imagination? - What does “ancient cities” symbolize? A Different Perspective May romanticize decay. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bibliophilia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bibliophilia/) ## Related quotes > [“ Buried Cities During the Roman Empire, wealthy Romans took vacations in the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The people in these towns did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-f-blashfield/buried-cities-during-the-roman-empire-wealthy-romans-took-vacations/) [Jean F. Blashfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-f-blashfield/) > [There is, however, a strange, musty smell in the air that reminds me of something...hmm...yes...I've got it...there's a VMS nearby, or I'm a Blit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/there-is-however-a-strange-musty-smell-in-the-air-that-reminds-me-of/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [The musty smell, the bugs, the lonliness, this room, which is part of the street outside-this is all I want from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/the-musty-smell-the-bugs-the-lonliness-this-room-which-is-part-of-the/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [“But I find it strange that her excitement over a new child in her life was so explosive, so vivid and yet there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-perry/but-i-find-it-strange-that-her-excitement-over-a-new-child-in-her/) [Vicki Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-perry/) > [“But there was something else, too, a strange excitement at the idea of playing normal, and every time he tried to untangle how he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/but-there-was-something-else-too-a-strange-excitement-at-the-idea-of/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [They knew that love snatched in the face of danger and death was doubly sweet for the strange excitement that went with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/they-knew-that-love-snatched-in-the-face-of-danger-and-death-was/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [I had gone to no such place but to the smoke of cafes and nights when the room whirled and you needed to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-had-gone-to-no-such-place-but-to-the-smoke-of-cafes-and-nights-when/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“This is incredible. This is quite amazing because who you're honoring tonight is not only myself but the ghost of a lot of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/this-is-incredible-this-is-quite-amazing-because-who-you-re-honoring/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Should he give free reign to his desires, the bibliomaniac can ruin his life along with the lives of his loved ones. He'll often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikita-brottman/should-he-give-free-reign-to-his-desires-the-bibliomaniac-can-ruin/) Mikita Brottman > [“Earlier that day, a typewriter bomb had exploded at a black market skin house over on Eel Street, sending words raining through the cardboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-padawer/earlier-that-day-a-typewriter-bomb-had-exploded-at-a-black-market/) Craig Padawer > [Open the book. (The gilt rubs off the edges of the pages and pollinates the fingertips.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/open-the-book-the-gilt-rubs-off-the-edges-of-the-pages-and-pollinates/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [We stopped to browse in the cases, and now that William - with his new glasses on his nose - could linger and read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-stopped-to-browse-in-the-cases-and-now-that-william-with-his-new/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“Things turn up in strange places all the time. For example library books, which possess a disconcerting ability to move from place to place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/things-turn-up-in-strange-places-all-the-time-for-example-library/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“Until you opened it, the book was nothing that an untrained eye would look twice at.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/until-you-opened-it-the-book-was-nothing-that-an-untrained-eye-would/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it. It is like falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/there-is-no-mistaking-a-real-book-when-one-meets-it-it-is-like-4/) [Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/) ## More by Joan London > [“And in this matter, Gold, he’d said, rolling his eyes towards Frank, we have had an early advantage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-london/and-in-this-matter-gold-he-d-said-rolling-his-eyes-towards-frank-we/) [Joan London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-london/) > [“She limped, unaided around the house, like a bird with its wing broken. Tame, because it couldn’t fly away. All her time was taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-london/she-limped-unaided-around-the-house-like-a-bird-with-its-wing-broken/) [Joan London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-london/) > [“city, but still it lingered, like a tune or an aroma, set in motion whenever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-london/city-but-still-it-lingered-like-a-tune-or-an-aroma-set-in-motion/) [Joan London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-london/) > [“the large black birds swirling and dispersing over”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-london/the-large-black-birds-swirling-and-dispersing-over/) [Joan London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-london/) [Explore all 5 Joan London quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-london/) ## More Bibliophilia quotes > [Open the book. (The gilt rubs off the edges of the pages and pollinates the fingertips.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/open-the-book-the-gilt-rubs-off-the-edges-of-the-pages-and-pollinates/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [“Should he give free reign to his desires, the bibliomaniac can ruin his life along with the lives of his loved ones. He'll often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikita-brottman/should-he-give-free-reign-to-his-desires-the-bibliomaniac-can-ruin/) Mikita Brottman > [“This is incredible. This is quite amazing because who you're honoring tonight is not only myself but the ghost of a lot of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/this-is-incredible-this-is-quite-amazing-because-who-you-re-honoring/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it. It is like falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/there-is-no-mistaking-a-real-book-when-one-meets-it-it-is-like-4/) [Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/) > [“Earlier that day, a typewriter bomb had exploded at a black market skin house over on Eel Street, sending words raining through the cardboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-padawer/earlier-that-day-a-typewriter-bomb-had-exploded-at-a-black-market/) Craig Padawer > [We stopped to browse in the cases, and now that William - with his new glasses on his nose - could linger and read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/we-stopped-to-browse-in-the-cases-and-now-that-william-with-his-new/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“Things turn up in strange places all the time. For example library books, which possess a disconcerting ability to move from place to place,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-willig/things-turn-up-in-strange-places-all-the-time-for-example-library/) [Lauren Willig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-willig/) > [“Until you opened it, the book was nothing that an untrained eye would look twice at.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/until-you-opened-it-the-book-was-nothing-that-an-untrained-eye-would/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“I've never known any trouble that an hour's reading didn't assuage”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-never-known-any-trouble-that-an-hour-s-reading-didn-t-assuage/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 10 Bibliophilia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bibliophilia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He flicked through the yellowed rough-cut pages and breathed its musty smell. 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