Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Sex and Science
Mary Roach
Nonfiction/Journalism/Science

Summary

In Bonk, the best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and insight on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Why doesn’t Viagra help women-or, for that matter, pandas? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Mary Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm-two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth-can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to make the bedroom a more satisfying place.

Less taboo than you might think

Let’s just get this out of the way–it’s a book how sex works and what science knows about sex. It’s not erotica. Yes, it talks about erections and orgasm and arousal and all kinds of body parts. But it’s quite tasteful, for the most part. Any adult could read this book and not feel guilty.

The Curious Genius of Mary Roach

I was first introduced to Mary Roach in Reader’s Digest, I think. And I read part of Stiff, which I thought was brilliant. Roach is oh-so-funny, insightful, and always straightforward without being clinical. I think her writing is genius and I would like her job when she dies.

What will you get out of this book?

Well, I’m not you, so I don’t know for sure. But probably you’ll learn a little more about sex, in the this-is-what-science-knows way, not the I-read-Cosmo way. I think you’ll also learn a lot about the limitations of research and how much we still don’t know.

But I think you should read it. If nothing else, it’s good to know more about how your body functions.