How to clean books?

[CanadianJohn]

I'm cleaning a house in which the former inhabitant smoked. There are lots of books, which probably have absorbed the smike smell.

How do I clean books? All I can think of is vacuum each book separately.

Any thoughts?

Old books? Hardback? Paperbacks?
If they are older/fragile/ valuable then gently brush the dust off the top edges from the spine towards the open edge. You can buy a special shaped soft brush to do this.
Leather bindings can be cleaned with special leather dressing.
You can buy supplies from Shepherds bookbinding.
Home - Shepherds London (bookbinding.co.uk)

Average ordinary-type books you could hoover on a low setting with a soft brush head.
Cigarette smoke smell is a total pain. I've had to deal with this once and I propped the books, fanned open, outside in the sunshine. They still smelled, but slightly less.

Thanks for your post. My wife was both an avid reader and an avid smoker. The books are mostly 'just' novels, half paperback, half hard cover. I'll take a look thru, probably dump/donate most of them.