Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine discussion

This question didn't seem to fit completely in the other topics- but seemed like a fun topic to think about and talk about. Throughout the book scents obviously play a huge role in Emmeline's life (and her parents), it got me thinking about what scents played an important role in my life. What are those scents that immediately trigger a memory?

For me a camfire smell is the biggest one, the different types of wood can bring me right back to a place, whether it's backcountry in Wyoming or camping in my own backyard in NY. Someone who smells like a good campfire is immediately interesting to me.

Another one is my grandma's perfume- I have no idea what brand it is because it was kept in an antique bottle on her desk that never seemed to go empty. Now it sits on my vanity, I never use it (since it doesn't actually smell that good), but I do open it up every once in awhile when I want to be reminded of her.

I was also REALLY interested in Emmeline being able to smell the weather- that's something I can do and I never really realized it was weird until I smelled a huge storm while taking our students camping and managed to get them out of the river before it became too dangerous. When the other adults were baffled as to how I knew the storm was coming, I was actually surprised they hadn't been able to smell it! That said- I love the smell of a storm coming, and now it always reminds me of that very close call.

What about you guys? Does anyone have any scent that immediately triggers a connection or memory?

Hi, I'm David, I'm new to the group and glad to be here.

Scents? The mix of garlic, wine, tomatoes and freshly cooked pizza bread does it every time for me. Great memories of some fine Italian restaurants.

The aroma of coffee brewing...the warm scent of animals, a pine forest.

The stench of a gas engine starting up, dog poop, antiseptic in a hospital ward.

The smell of sawdust yanks me right back to the days I used to stand beside my grandpa as he cut lumber for whatever home he was building. He had no education-could not read or write-but the homes he built...there are no words. This smell reminds me that the only limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves. Most would only see the strength in the whole board, but I recognize the power is in the sawdust.

The smell of Barnes and Noble is pretty fabulous as is Starbucks when you first walk in.

There's a scent of wet moss on rock that just brings me back to my family cabin in Wisconsin. There is this large rock next to the cabin that I like to sit on and read, and the smell is so comforting, especially after a rain storm.

Any one else reading these and thinking “yes! Me too!” Barnes and Nobles isn’t a smell I would have said.... but the minute it was mentioned... lol I love the smell of books!

Morning brewed coffee- I didn't drink coffee until my 30s but I have memories from such a young age when we lived in a cinder block house out in a country field, waking up to my mom's pot of Folgers. Safety, simple pleasures, and being surrounded by family = the scent of Folgers.

I think one of life's greatest pleasures in our modern world is the ability to travel far and wide, and bring home new traditions. A few years ago I traveled to Mexico, and I discovered a brand of gourmet vanilla that now has become the staple in my baking. The unique smell, and the rich flavor that it evokes, is absolutely intoxicating. It takes me back to those lazy Saturday mornings of my childhood when I would wake up and the whole house smelled sweet like vanilla and cinnamon and somehow the warm air tasted of the fried crust around french toast. I love the way that scent clings to your clothes and follows you all morning even long after breakfast is consumed. Scent plays such a vital role in how we perceive and experience the world around us. Strong memories attach themselves through the solitary experience of being able to differentiate the aroma's of life. What an beautiful and inexplicable gift we have been given.

I absolutely love the smell of wood burning because it's so nostalgic to me - reminds me of the times I would go to Madeira and my family would burn wood in their stove to bake their traditional bread 'Bolo do Caco' which leads me onto Fresh baked bread which is another smell that I love...

The smell of fresh cut grass, the smell of air after a long ainstorm, the smell of my husbands skin after he’s fallen asleep at night, even if there’s a hint of the cigar he sneaked with he took the dog on her last walk, it smells safe to me.

Line-dried laundry makes me remember my MawMaw

For me, it's Mandarin oranges because they remind me of my grandfather who always had a box on Christmas morning.

Fire- from fireplaces, blown-out candles, cookouts. The smell of almost-burnt toast.
Puppy breath, and the smell of my senior dachshund (who I wish I could hold and smell forever).
Springtime. The smell of sunshine and the smell of rain.
Citrus, shea butter, vanilla.
Sweet smells that make a home feel warm.

I love all the seasonal smells. You know the spring smells of flowers and grass particularly, summers sea water on the beach, and fresh fruit, autumns crisp air smell and apples, winters oranges (don’t know if that’s just here but they smell so nice around Christmas here) and cinnamon, gingerbread and snow.

The air right before it rains, the kids when they come in from outside on a sunny day, garlic sauteing in olive oil, bread baking in the oven, bonfire on a fall evening

The smells of a campfire brings back so many memories with friends and family.

Love this question!! What scents are important or treasured, maybe?, by me...

Baking bread made with my family's 100+ year-old yeast.
Cinnamon rolls and orange rolls baked using my grandmother's recipe that refers to scalded milk, orange zest and a scant 1/2 cup.
Patchouli, just because. It reminds me of youthful days in college. And my college roommate with whom I've sadly lost touch.
The earthy smell of the west Texas desert - the Chihuahua Desert - on which I live after a short lived rainstorm.
Toe jam between the toes of my grandbabies.
Clean sheets.
Thank you for asking!

- Fresh cut hay - even though it makes me sneeze
- Rose scent - is probably the earliest scent I remember from my great-grandma's dressing table when she lived on the farm I think her's was a powder (she moved to town when I was 4)
- Barns - all the different scents from hay, straw, dirt, animals, manure it just sends me back to the farm where I grew up
- My kids - each one has their own unique smell
- Spring and Fall - they each have their own unique smell and I love them, crisp mornings, wet dirt, and falling leaves, miss them now because I live where they don't have that specific smell anymore.
- Gravel roads always mean I am back to the farm.

Missy! Your list reminded me of so many more things I’d add to mine. I grew up with horses (lots and lots of horses) and that smell- especially a barn first thing in the morning when the horses are not quite awake so it’s still quiet- it’s such a good one!

Campfire-spending time with kids and husband just talking by the fire light

The first rain of the year after months without (California)
The smell of my mother’s berry pie
The smell my husband gets in his hair when he is excited *but not out and out sweating
The first peach of the year which reminds me of summers growing up and the first and last stolen peach
My sister’s perfume on the clothing she has handed down to me which I have washed many times

There is a scent that Dominican Republic has. I don’t know how to explain it. Sometimes I get the scent when I’m here in the US and it brings me back there. Or when a family member gets back from there and I smell their clothes in the luggage bags it makes me so happy.

I’m in love with the smell of old books that hold so much history and stories of all their owners and somehow ended up on a library shelf for others to enjoy. I also love the smell of hot coffee and the smell of the ocean right before he sun rises.

I love smelling snow coming in the air. When there's a fresh blanket of it on the ground, that scent makes me feel like a kid on a snow day every time!

Caitlin - I totally know what you mean. The smell and also the way the clouds look just before it snows. Love it!!!

Missy wrote: "Caitlin - I totally know what you mean. The smell and also the way the clouds look just before it snows. Love it!!!"

Ooh yes the clouds too!

Freshly brewed coffee in the morning.
Any dessert that I am baking.
My husband's cooking (especially if it's pasta).
Lavender oil, which calms me.
And the smell of my pets. Sometimes, they stink. I don't mind it.
They are my babies. But god forbid, if I mention the word "shower", my pup will hide.

The smell of summer: coconuts, the ocean, salty skin. It’s summer now in the Philippines but since we’re all on quarantine, I just daydream of the beach by spraying my summer perfume all over.

Comforting scents: the smells of books & coffee.

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The smell of the air just before it rains, pine, garlic.

Noo

Around 80% of the flavors we taste arrive from what we smell. Ever wondered why you can't taste food as well when your sinuses are acting up?

My Balance Now

Roses and vanilla. :)

Coffee and Vanilla

Angel Perfume because I am allergic to it and it sets off alarm bells because it gives me an instant migraine heAdache.

peppermint, garlic, fresh lemons

Coffee beans being ground up.
And creosote being painted onto a wooden fence. Do people use that anymore?
Oh, one more - sliced onions and garlic being slowly softened in olive oil over a medium heat.

fresh brewed coffee, baked cookies and musky vintage furniture reminds me of my late grandma. the combination of scents brings back to her cosy home, two arms holding you tight.

i have a whole collection of essential oils that i have been using for the last year and a half.. aromatherapy it truly helps

1) The scent of musk, cinnamon, tangerine.

2) Smells are a different territory of seasons-

- Pickles
- Burnt Asofetida, garlic, curry leaves.
- Freshly brewed coffee
- Wet mud & grass, rains
- New book
- Dhuni ( a form of incense used in indian festivals)
- Fire in the wood
- Fermented foods

Certainly, these scents & smells have their own share of impactful memories.

The smell of soil after the first rains signalling the end of summer, the smell of onions frying - that is the smell of dinner, and freshly baked biscuits. The cooking smells are all associated with home , I guess so goes in with favourite s

Cut grass in the summer, honeysuckle blossom,rose as it reminds me of family members but love to wear myself. The fresh air when clean fresh mornings, the smell of fresh rain! Baking of fresh bread! Moringa and Jasmine oil!

Citrus scents, such as lemon, orange, and grapefruit

Coffee in the morning, jasmine and vanilla, ysl black opium, fresh cut grass, freshly baked cookies, new shoes, peppermint, snow angel by philosophy

Lavender - reminds me of my son
Cut grass and sunscreen - summer as a kid
Old spice- my dad
Eucalyptus trees smell not the oil totally different scent- living in California
love spell- Jr. High