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It makes perfect scents to me

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

I recently discovered that it really is true that if you search hard enough there is a solution to just about any problem – even if you didn’t realise it was a problem in the first place. I am referring, of course, to E-book readers and their lack of ‘bookiness’ (a highly technical term I just made up). Personally, I’m all for the idea of fitting hundreds of books in the space of a slim paperback – hours of endless pleasure right there in the palm of your hand! – but you have to admit that despite their undisputed cleverness, they are just not quite as comforting as a good old-fashioned hardback. Until now, that is. Not only can you get a leather jacket for your high-tech E-reader to give it the feel of a well-loved tome from the days of yore, you can now – wait for it – buy an aerosol spray to give your gadget that distinctive musty, dusty smell reminiscent of old-fashioned libraries packed to the rafters with old favourites. (Available from Smell of Books)  Or, if you prefer, there’s a ‘new book’ scent and, my favourite, ‘Scent of Sensibility’ (The scent of violets, horses, and potpourri. It’s like living in a Jane Austen novel!). So now it seems that a lack of paper (which is one thing I really can’t see a solution to) is the only real difference between a book and an E-reader. Isn’t modern technology wonderful?

These aerosol cans came out earlier this year, but now an author has gone one better; a perfume especially created to capture all the scents mentioned in her novel. Marina Fiorato’s new novel The Madonna of the Almonds, set in 16th century Tuscany, now has a perfume to match, created by Floris (you can order it online here). I love this – what a truly fantastic idea! A quick spritz of perfume and you’ll instantly be transported to the Tuscany you’ve read about and fallen in love with. I’m not sure it would work for every book – ‘metallic blood’ or ‘gunpowder residue’ perhaps aren’t the most appealing of scents – but how about a lovely floral fragrance combined with the unmistakable smell of money for Molly’s Millions by Victoria Connelly, or the lovely fresh outdoor scent of a summer garden for Mary Nichols’ The Summer House ? Ooh, and there’s a whole bouquet of delicious floral spies in Lauren Willig’s novels, which I’m sure would smell just divine! ‘Smellyvision’ never took off, but perhaps this will…?

What scents would you like to capture from your favourite books?

Louise Watson, Editor

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