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Perfumes: The Guide - Newsletter on hold (possibly permanently)

post #1 of 14
7/4/09 at 8:44am
Thread Starter 
Just received this email:

Perfumes: The Guide - Newsletter on hold (possibly permanently)

Posted: 03 Jul 2009 07:05 AM PDT
Thank you to all who supported our experiment in publishing an ongoing online review of 100 new fragrances per season. Unfortunately, we've had to put an end to it for now, since it amounts to a part-time job, which we sadly no longer have time to do properly. No telling whether we'll pick it up again, though we do plan a massive update in a couple of years. In the meantime, please stay tuned for the revamped paperback this fall, from Penguin USA and Profile UK. It adds all the new reviews from the newsletters, revised reviews of a handful of important classics in transition, more FAQs, and an index by brand. You may reach us, as always, at mail@perfumestheguide.com.

Any thoughts?
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post #2 of 14
7/4/09 at 9:59am
One thought: Penguin paperback editions generally suck. They are printed on cheap paper and I won't buy a book like that.
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post #3 of 14
7/4/09 at 10:16am
Thread Starter 
Yes, quite true. That being said, would you say that it's necessary to get further updates (only available via book format), or are their opinions not "required reading"?
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post #4 of 14
7/4/09 at 10:27am
Only on a forum filled with fragrance snobbery could paper snobbery exist.

I won't miss the guide, I follow my own nose, and I disagree with many of its reviews on scents I feel differently about.
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post #5 of 14
7/4/09 at 10:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zeram1 View Post

Yes, quite true. That being said, would you say that it's necessary to get further updates (only available via book format), or are their opinions not "required reading"?

When there is a significant update in hardback, I will get it.

I am interested in what they say, but I don't have to see every review or see them immediately.

I only buy paperback books if a hardback edition is not available and if it is printed/bound decently. I never buy mass-market paperbacks, or mass-markets in trade paperback guise (like every Penguin paperback I have seen in recent years). If this one is better looking than I am presupposing (again, speaking of quality of production), I will consider it.

I find their reviews to be stimulating, sometimes helpful, but sometimes not. Useful but not essential.
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post #6 of 14
7/4/09 at 10:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scentsitivity View Post

One thought: Penguin paperback editions generally suck. They are printed on cheap paper and I won't buy a book like that.

The only important part about a book is its content.
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post #7 of 14
7/4/09 at 11:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sokkou View Post

I won't miss the guide, I follow my own nose, and I disagree with many of its reviews on scents I feel differently about.

Hear, Hear!
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post #8 of 14
7/4/09 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merlino View Post

The only important part about a book is its content.

I cannot agree with that. I love books-- the way they smell, the feel of a leather spine, the weight of a good hard bound edition. I love cover artwork. While reading Robert Heinlein's Friday some 25 years ago, I remember pausing to reflect on some passage and becoming absorbed by Michael Whelan's beautifully rendered portrait. I love turning the dry pages in anticipation of the next word.

I don't own a copy of The Guide, even though I still re-read Turin's old Duftnote columns now and then (and the current ones). I like to be green and wait for used copies to appear (it feels like recycling), so I guess it's time to pick one up for browsing. I'll definitely choose hardcover over paperback, as I typically do for anything I'm buying new (or newish) that I plan to keep. General fiction I buy in paperback from either from a local used bookstore or thru amazon used stores (and then take it to Book Buyers in Mountain View).
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post #9 of 14
7/4/09 at 12:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by an_oud_girl View Post

I cannot agree with that. I love books-- the way they smell, the feel of a leather spine, the weight of a good hard bound edition. I love cover artwork. While reading Robert Heinlein's Friday some 25 years ago, I remember pausing to reflect on some passage and becoming absorbed by Michael Whelan's beautifully rendered portrait. I love turning the dry pages in anticipation of the next word.

I don't own a copy of The Guide, even though I still re-read Turin's old Duftnote columns now and then (and the current ones). I like to be green and wait for used copies to appear (it feels like recycling), so I guess it's time to pick one up for browsing. I'll definitely choose hardcover over paperback, as I typically do for anything I'm buying new (or newish) that I plan to keep. General fiction I buy in paperback from either from a local used bookstore or thru amazon used stores (and then take it to Book Buyers in Mountain View).

Well, that's looking at a book as if the construction is a work of art. Of course I agree that it's nice to have an old version of La divina commedia or The Canterbury tales, but not buying a contemporary title like Perfumes: the guide because it's not printed on $$$ paper and leatherbound is just stupid, imho. Books like La Coscienza di Zeno or Ulysses didn't get famous because of the paper they were printed on.

(I'm a lit major and I've spent too much time studying books, underscoring important passages and generally abusing the books to care about a book's appearance )
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post #10 of 14
7/4/09 at 12:44pm
The book is a "must have" for the serious frag person, especially at current prices. However, I wouldn't feel all that bad if that was it (along with the supplements to date), because we know how they look at frags (those who read the book from cover to cover) and we can just say to ourselves, "LT (or TS) would probably say this about ___________." Because their reviews rarely discuss technical aspects, it's more of a peek inside their minds. And after you've done that once, do you need to revisit it?
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post #11 of 14
7/4/09 at 1:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sokkou View Post

Only on a forum filled with fragrance snobbery could paper snobbery exist.

I won't miss the guide, I follow my own nose, and I disagree with many of its reviews on scents I feel differently about.

I follow my nose and will miss the updates. Agreeing or disagreeing with the reviews is wholly irrelevant. Do people actually get upset if someone experiences a scent differently? The value of the Guide and updates is in presenting scents to me that I otherwise may not have known about or tried. I can't count how many times a review sparked me to sample something, and even if I didn't like it I'm all the better for having tried it. The Guide and updates are a unique and valuable resource.

It looks like T/S were a tad over-ambitious trying to review 100+ scents per quarter, plus all the time acquiring, writing, and editing. Oh well, it is what it is.

On a side note I see a lot less fragrance snobbery on BN then I'd expect to see. I see discussions every day of low-end scents with no unfair criticism (i.e. "that stuff is cheap..buy x niche"). Honesty is not snobbery, and having preferences - whether in paper or scent - is not snobbery. To me snobbery is rejecting and devaluating opinions different from your own.
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post #12 of 14
7/4/09 at 3:05pm
I am sorry to say I am unfamiliar with the Guide. I cannot say yea or nay to it since I have not read it.

However, I am happy to have our basenote reviewers that ( for the most part) are accurate and truthful.

Too bad we couldn't elect by majority poll our favorite reviewers here at BN and have them fill the void.
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post #13 of 14
7/5/09 at 6:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merlino View Post

(I'm a lit major and I've spent too much time studying books, underscoring important passages and generally abusing the books to care about a book's appearance )

Oh, that's not abusing books, that's OWNING them! Some of my favorite books are the ones from my old literature and humanities courses, where I've highlighted and scribbled my thoughts in the margins. I appreciate every bit of wear and tear they exhibit because it shows the love I have for them, dragging them around campus, and still pulling them off the shelf now and then.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Merlino View Post

not buying a contemporary title like Perfumes: the guide because it's not printed on $$$ paper and leatherbound is just stupid, imho.

I'm not stupid, just cheap and environmentally sensitive. I'm not "not buying" the guide because it's not luxuriously made; rather, I'm not buying it because I'm waiting until I can pick up someone else's pre-loved copy at a bargain price. I just noticed that this time has arrived. I like buying and selling used books because it feels like recycling and preserving them for more people to enjoy. I'm not one of those people who has to be current with "the next new thing." I can wait a while; I've got plenty to do and sniff and read in the meantime.
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post #14 of 14
7/5/09 at 7:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by an_oud_girl View Post

Oh, that's not abusing books, that's OWNING them! Some of my favorite books are the ones from my old literature and humanities courses, where I've highlighted and scribbled my thoughts in the margins. I appreciate every bit of wear and tear they exhibit because it shows the love I have for them, dragging them around campus, and still pulling them off the shelf now and then.

Agreed

Quote:
I'm not stupid, just cheap and environmentally sensitive. I'm not "not buying" the guide because it's not luxuriously made; rather, I'm not buying it because I'm waiting until I can pick up someone else's pre-loved copy at a bargain price. I just noticed that this time has arrived. I like buying and selling used books because it feels like recycling and preserving them for more people to enjoy. I'm not one of those people who has to be current with "the next new thing." I can wait a while; I've got plenty to do and sniff and read in the meantime.

That remark was targeted at another user who literally said that he wouldn't buy it because it was printed on cheap paper.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Perfumes: The Guide - Newsletter on hold (possibly permanently)