| There’s nothing like a sexy book to say, well, "You deserve a great, sexy book." Here are some suggestions for the naughty yet "scholarly" on your list.
· Written in the Flesh: A History of Desire
(University of Toronto Press)
Author and medical historian Edward Shorter proves that history needn’t be boring in this chronicle of what people like to do in bed and how it has changed through the centuries. Shorter argues that desire is hardwired and tells a compelling story of how Christian Europe put a damper on the more expansive sexual practices of the ancient Greeks, Romans and Chinese, turning sex from a total body experience into more genital-focused sex until the late 19th century when increased privacy, prosperity and good health freed us to once again expand our sexual appetites.
1. According to The History of Desire, when did deep tongue-kissing become popular?
a) Depictions of it can be seen on ancient Roman artifacts.
b) During Victorian times when sex between young lovers was scorned.
c) When it first appeared on film.
d) During the French Revolution.
· 21st Century Kinky Crafts
(Greenery Press)
Why buy sex toys when you can make your own? This updated version of Janet W. Hardy’s do-it-yourself S/M toys handbook (I first wrote about it in 1998) still includes classics like the bubble-wrap dildo (roll up an eight-inch square of bubble wrap, bubbles out, slip a condom over it and secure with duct tape – practice your Kegels by trying to pop the bubbles) and the artificial pussy (cut the ends off an empty soup can, fold a tube sock over one end and secure it with an elastic band, fill the tube sock with a plastic garbage bag and some lube and off ya go). The updated version also includes more elaborate instructions for braces, belts, whips and ball crushers. Make a bondage rack out of an old futon frame or a motion-detector vibrator using a motion-detecting floodlight fixture, some nuts, bolts and a plug-in vibrator.
2. According to Kinky Crafts, what were Victorians believed to have done with ginger?
a) Made tea.
b) Rubbed it on their genitals.
c) Made the first ginger ale.
d) Inserted it in a person’s butt.
· Sexploration: An Edgy Encyclopedia of Everything Sexual
(Amorata Press)
This book by Suzi Godson (illustrated by Peter Semmler) is less an encyclopedia and more a basic sex guide with information on everything, well, not from A-Z, as it isn’t in alphabetical order (except for an A-Z glossary of terms). The book does cover a lot of sexual ground and is peppered with tips and real-people quotes as well as some odd statistics, like a stat from 1990 on how many heterosexual women had non-vaginal sex in the previous year (60.2 per cent).
3. What is Ophidicism?
a) A sexual practice involving snakes.
b) A sexual practice involving rodents.
C) An obsession with women named Ophelia.
d) A sexual obsession with princes.
· Wild Side Sex: The Book of Kink (Daedalus Publishing)
My favourite Fetish Diva has collected her writing, thoughts, advice and general observations about sex and kinky people from 1997 to 2005 and the result is classic Midori. She brings her signature cheek, wit and enlightened world view to subjects like "Why SM?," "The Sexual Turn On of Objectifying Women" and "How to Get Lucky at Fetish Parties." She even includes a quiz to help you determine if your "prospect is a proper pervert," along with practical advice on SM etiquette, getting into SM Online and questions to ask yourself to determine if you want to be a "slave" or a "dominatrix."
4. The Violet Wand is:
a) A type of cane used to whip someone.
b) A toy used in electricity play.
c) A toy used in role-playing.
d) Used to make real perverts disappear.
· The Ultimate Guide to Sexual Fantasy (Cleis)
Author of "The Ultimate Guides" to cunnilingus, fellatio, adult videos and more, Violet Blue turns her attention here to sexual fantasy, helping readers turn theirs into reality with advice on everything – how to role play without feeling silly, how to have sex in public without getting caught, how to make your own porn and how to have threesomes, foursomes and moresomes. Practical advice ranges from how to deal with a reluctant partner, to how to ask for a spanking and what not to stick in your butt (I know, you think it’d be obvious, and yet…). The book also includes a safer sex activity chart plus handy resources for toys, books and websites where you can find, oh, I dunno, the best firefighter (www.fireoutuniform.com), football captain (www.hitrunscore.com) or, yes, even priest getups (www.zieglers.com).
5. Ejaculating in someone’s nose puts you at high risk for:
a) HIV
b) A sinus infection.
c) Herpes
d) Suffocation.
· The Merry XXXmas Book of Erotica
(Cleis)
"Replace visions of sugarplums with visions of sex toys[…] and make the concept of elf sex sound like a good idea" with this book of Noel-inspired erotica edited by Alison Tyler and sent to me by my friends at Come As You Are (www.comeasyouare.com). For a chance to win a copy, along with Best of Best Lesbian Erotica, edited by Tristan Taormino (Cleis), and Best of Best Women’s Erotica, edited by Marcy Sheiner (Cleis), can you tell me what’s in a "Joy to the World" cocktail? Send answers to letters@joseyvogels.com. I’ll draw the winner from your correct answers.
Answers:
c) Edison’s 1896 kinetoscope "The Kiss" shocked viewers by showing actors kissing on screen for the first time.
d) Ginger was supposedly inserted to stop a person from tensing his or her butt cheeks during a spanking.
a) Inserting of eels or snakes tail-first into the vagina and masturbating while they wriggle free.
b) Introduced 80 years ago to cure everything from bad auras to baldness, it’s zapping makes the skin tingle.
c) Not sure why you’d want to do this but it also puts you at risk for chlamydia, gonnorrhea, hepatitis B and syphilis. |
Copyright ©2005 FFWD. All rights reserved.