My weakness as far as Cannonball goes is I read much faster or more often than I sit down to write up reviews of said reads. For my next review, of Mary Roach’s Bonk, I will have to think back to January to recall my sentiments. I should really review my books when I finish them, then I wouldn’t have this problem. Mary Roach is a delightful science writer whose books have covered topics from death to digestion and a lot in between. Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, is a thorough and interesting exploration of human sexuality, all explored from a scientific (and often humorous) point of view.
I enjoyed this book as much as I ever enjoy non-fiction. Roach writes in such a way that you can often feel like you’re sitting down with a girlfriend over coffee, just talking about weird scientific things. There were definitely some times where I had to force myself to get through a chapter, but overall I think this is a quick and satisfying read. Sadly, the chapters on male anatomy and satisfaction (ostensibly with which I am biologically less familiar) were the least interesting to me. Any of her chapters on female response and desire were more fascinating, though they weren’t necessarily revealing anything I hadn’t previously thought. I’m not sure I could ever be such a dedicated science writer. Roach (and her husband) willingly submitted to some tests that I’d have been way too uncomfortable to participate in. For example, they had sex in an MRI machine.
I think my favorite part was learning about all the folks that actually study sex and sexual response. Can you imagine cocktail party small-talk if that were your job?
“What do you do for a living?”
“I watch women masterbate.”
“Oh that’s nice. How interesting! Oh look, I’m out of dip!”
In any case we’re all interested in sexuality, so I recommend giving Bonk a try.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.