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Books to Read Together: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, The Emperor of Scent, Perfumes: The A-Z Guide

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About a man with an obsessed olfactory system and the red-headed virgins he cannot resist, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer was written in 1985 by the hermetic German, Patrick Suskind. The film, out in 2006, is also sensational (but, as you know, you must read the book first). Follow this potion with Chandler Burr's The Emperor of Scent: A True Story of Perfume and Obsession -- one of the best pieces of science non-fiction on the shelf -- which rattles the cages of the establishment in a daring exploration of how we create smells, how we are able to smell, and how we do science. Finally, meet Luca Turin, the eponymous Emperor, again in his own (co-authored) guide to 1,800 fragrances. You'll never smell the same again.