One book on the list:Perfume by Patrick SüskindRead about Number One on Feigel's list.
This list would not be complete without Perfume, which is a classic piece of smell writing. Süskind is the doyenne of olfactory prose and this novel includes some virtuosic descriptions of the stenches of 18th-century France and the extraordinary aroma of a beautiful girl whose scent resembles "a piece of thin, shimmering silk" combined with "pastry soaked in honey-sweet milk." Süskind's name is everywhere at the moment with the release of Tom Tykwer's film, which sadly doesn't quite live up to the novel in its power to evoke smell, so read the book before you see it.
--Marshal Zeringue
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