Bonk

Did I mention I love Mary Roach's writing, her puns and the overall ease with which she pursues her topics? Because I do.
Bonk is after Stiff the second book of her I read, and it is even more fun and light-hearted (probably due to the fun and light-hearted topic). Nevertheless it's interesting, well researched and has given me a lot of insight into what's going on in bedrooms all over.
The quote which struck me the hardest and will probably stick with me for a while was: "American manhood would not abide the sexually sophisticated (i.e., demanding) woman, and it fought back hard." That happened in the 1950s. Seems like some of them are still fighting today.

I don't know what it says about me that I found Bonk much more cringeworthy gross than Stiff or Gulp. But it's true. I found myself crossing my legs and making uncomfortable faces more than laughing guiltily through it, like I did through Mary Roach's other work. Perhaps part of that is that the lurid fascination with sex in society meant that a lot of her insights were less novel than in her other books. Perhaps Roach had not yet found her narrative voice. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood.

Nonetheless, Bonk is a decent book and would perhaps be even more well-liked by those new to Roach's work, with preset high standards. Roach certainly knows no limits in taking an active role in journalism, going so far as participating in a study on 3-D ultrasounds during intercourse. But I agree with my goodreads friends, who felt like Bonk had fewer "Wow!" moments than Roach's other works.

Bonk is a look into the history and study of sexual physiology. Mary Roach takes an interesting and humorous look into the world of sex research, exploring the weird methods used and the evolution of the field of study. Mary Roach has a unique style that has turned her into a household name. From a book about cadavers (Stiff), to more recently a look into the digestive track (Gulp).

This is my first Mary Roach book and I was immediately drawn to her writing style. I have never read her before, but I have heard so many good things. It was a toss-up between starting with Bonk or Stiff, but I am happy to finally have a chance to experience her writing. The blend of humour while teaching about science makes her an author I need to read more from. She has a style that I have always been interested in adopting for my blog; a balance between teaching and entertaining. Sadly my blog has been nothing but book reviews lately but I hope this will change in the near future.

I remember reading Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us by Jesse Bering a few years ago and found it completely fascinating. I wanted to learn more about the research side of sex but never read anything since then. While Perv looks at the psychological study of sex, Bonk focuses more on the physiological. There are so many topics to cover on the topic, so my biggest problem with Bonk is the fact that it was a very ‘broad-strokes’ approach to the topic. Although this is a good starting point to understand the science.

I was a little horrified with all the setbacks that happened in the study of sex. Whether they are religious or cultural reasons, there has been a lot of times research falls years behind just to save face. This topic alone would be an interesting one to explore, not just about sex but research in general. I am sure there are many times where science suffers due to public opinion. I wonder if there is a book that covers this topic (if you know of one let me know).

I am glad to have finally read Mary Roach and Bonk, I have discovered a new favourite author and a topic I need to learn more about. The more non-fiction I read, the more I wonder why I had an aversion towards it for so long. It was a non-fiction book that got me into reading and I am pretty much a non-fiction writer. I have so much to learn and I plan to learn more; hopefully this will reflect on my blog in the future. If you have an interest in reading about the research of sex both physiologically and psychologically, I recommend both Bonk and Perv.

This review originally appeared on my blog; www.knowledgelost.org/book-reviews/genre/non-fiction/bonk-the-curious-coupling-of-science-and-sex-by-mary-roach/

I picked this up because I very enjoyed Roach's book on the digestive system (Gulp) and it's only convinced me to pick up her other two books also. As with Gulp, she reviews vast amounts of scientific research on her current topic and then summarizes it in a very readable and often humorous form.

Bonk is about sex; it's not a sexy book, but it's a book about all the existing scientific research and knowledge about sex that the author could find, in great detail. I can't imagine there is anyone could read this book without learning something new. Fascinating reading (or listening). Can't wait to start her book on cadavers next.

Perhaps its gender bias, but I was more interested in the clitoris chapters than the penis ones. Eventually lost interest altogether, but that's a statement on my attention span more than Roach's work.

The best book about scientific research you will ever read. How can you not love a book that lists all the things that have been removed from people's anuses? I mean really.

Some funny anecdotes in this and I definitely learned some relevant things. I picked it up at SFO on my way to Costa Rica and it was a nice quick read (read it at the pool over two days of a few hours of sun). Always good to support a local SF author too!