Below is a selective, rather than comprehensive, collection of transdisciplinary perspectives on aroma, smell, and olfaction, and taste (literal and figurative) that I frequently reference in my own writing, teaching, and workshops. 

Aroma, smell & taste: sensory culture readings

Aftel, M. (2001). Essence and alchemy: A natural history of perfume. New York, New York: Macmillan.

Aftel, M. (2014). Fragrant: The secret life of scent. New York, New York: Penguin.

Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. (R. Nice, Trans.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Classen, C., Howes, D. and Synnott, A. (1994). Aroma: The Cultural History of Smell. London: Routledge.

Corbin, A. (1986). The foul and the fragrant: odor and the French social imagination. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Drobnick, J. (Ed.). (2006). The Smell Culture Reader. Oxford: Berg.

Henshaw, V. (2013). Urban smellscapes: understanding and designing city smell environments. London: Routledge.

Howes, D. (Ed.). (2005). Empire of the Senses: The Sensual Culture Reader. Oxford: Berg.

McBride, M., & Nolan, J. (2018). Situating olfactory literacies: An intersensory pedagogy by design. In V. Henshaw, K. MacLean, D. Medway, C. Perkins and G. Warnaby (Eds.), Designing with smell: practices, techniques and challenges. New York: Routledge.

Miller, W. I. (1998). The anatomy of disgust. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Patterson, D., & Aftel, M. (2017). The art of flavor: Practices and principles for creating delicious food. New York: Penguin.

Suskind, P. (1986). Perfume: The story of a murderer. (John E. Woods, Trans.). New York: Penguin.

Scientific perspectives on human perception, smell and the senses

Gilbert, A. (2008). What the nose knows: The science of scent in everyday life. New York: Random House.

Martin, G. N. (2013). The neuropsychology of smell and taste. London: Psychology Press.