 2008-11-08 - Newly discovered Mary Roach, and glad I did!
"Bonk" is funny, enlightening, fascinating and, oddly, sexy in a way. Mary Roach makes her topic speak to the reader in way that keeps interest and makes her work very hard to put down. I will be reading more of Ms. Roach.
2008-10-31 - Fun and funny, don't miss the point!
This book is very funny. The point of the book is sex research, what they do and did, where, when, how, etc... not about the act, about the research and researchers. Mary is funny and writes in a funny manner. Don't get it to learn about sex get it to learn about what people have been doing for centuries to learn about sex.
Great read, fast, and enjoyable as all of Mary's book are.
2008-10-14 - For a good time, read Bonk
Mary Roach has created her own genre of writing, more understated than Hunter S. Thompson, but every bit as innovative and unique, perhaps even more so. She tackles touchy subjects and does it in a way that is honest and always very funny. Science, derived from the Latin, "to know," forms the central thesis of all of her books. Truly fun if you want to torture your dear husband with horror stories about penile implants and impotence cures. Every other day you hear some politician decrying the lack of interest in science. By reminding us that we primates always want to know more about our world, Mary Roach may have done more to promote science than many a million dollar grant. But don't read it because it's good for you. Read it because it's funny and bizarre and supremely entertaining.
2008-10-05 - Thanks a hell of a lot, Ms. Roach
I laughed and laughed over Roach's first two...and gave them to my mother as gifts. She also laughed out loud at them. So I was hoping to get some easy xmas shopping done here and get her third book for mom...but obviously that is not going to happen. This third book is just as funny and interesting, but hell if I can get it for my mother. Thanks a lot, Mary, and you owe me a mom-appropriate gift idea this year.
2008-09-24 - 4.5 Stars for a Humorous Quest on the Life of Sex Scientists
I read the British paperback edition of 2008. Mary Roach, who has tackled Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife in a popularly funny and fascinating way, now takes a close look at what scientists have indulged in, when it comes to sexuality. There may be some enlightenment on sexuality itself, however, this book is more about what various scientists from around the world have concerned themselves with and how they have approached their sexual agendas. Which covers about anything from electroshocks against wet dreams to electroejaculation. From human upsuck stimulation of sows to the nagging question wether dead people may have an orgasm. Some questions remain unanswered, others are never asked, but this book doesn't intend to be a complete guide to human (and beyond) sexuality. It is more of a personal quest of the author, seeking a look at what sex scientists keep themselves busy with. As such, it is funny by subject matter alone, for example, when it comes to the past millennium-long European thought process that the uterus would be an independent creature within a woman. Also some still contemporary myths get debunked, such as the dogma of various branches of religion that ejaculation and/or orgasm causes ageing. The opposite is the case in reality. Mary Roach decided to include humorous remarks in addition. A lot of them. Personally, I thank her for that. This makes a welcome departure from the many dry textbooks I am reading. And laughing is also prolonging life expectency. I don't find her humor all that adolescent as some other reviewers, especially not if compared to the usual Hollywood juvenile sex comedy. But then again, different people, different humor.
Which also seems to apply to the use of footnotes. Usually, I detest them. Mary Roach is the first author of whom I find them fun to read. In her books they are unnecessary for the main text, but bring a moment of joy to the reader who shares my sense of humor. Here's a tip for those who feel distracted even by these footnotes: You may chose to ignore them. No harm done.
You may also be interested in The Science of Orgasm (little overlap only) and specific quests like Female Ejaculation and the G-Spot: Not Your Mother's Orgasm Book! (Positively Sexual).
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