365 Erotic Secrets for Sensational Sex - book discontinued by Amorata Press - review by giggled

The book is essentially an encyclopedia of all things sex. It's not entirely clear who the audience is meant to be, though it seems to be organized consecutively, going from the most tame to the most outrageously strange. The "secrets" are organized loosely by categories, e.g. "Sensational Seduction," or "Sensationally Advanced Sex-Play."

Each "secret" is written in a clinical fashion, which is common for psychologists who specialize in the field of sex to take on as a way to make sexuality safe and approachable for people on all levels. That said, it's a little creepy at some points, for instance, the entry for Dogging or "Airbed Antics."

I'm always wary of books with numbers in the title, as invariably the author feels pressured to meet that quota. For Dr. Spurr, this becomes apparent with entries like, "Pearl Necklaces and Other Sexy Stuff," or "Mystery Sex," (which is surprisingly vastly less interesting than it sounds).

The book is a modestly bound paperback, small enough to be considered a pocket book, though I don't know that it would actually fit in any pockets, it will fit into a smaller purse or bag easily. It fits nicely in the hand, but it's not the kind of book that one sits and reads through cover to cover. Instead, it's more of a sex encyclopedia. The only trouble is that it doesn't have an index, making reading through it either time consuming or serendipitous.

The sex quotient quiz is odd, as it it asks you to pick "yes or no" to questions or statements, the trouble of course being that in English, a statement can read as a yes OR a no answer, depending on how it's phrased.

For instance:

1. You WOULDN'T fake an orgasm: Yes / No

No, I wouldn't fake an orgasm. Or YES, as in, yes, that's true, I would not fake an orgasm. Another funny twist is how the questions are clearly directed at men:

21. You would be honest if experiencing premature ejaculation.

Likewise, whether it was a failure to edit the book or just a lack of full, experiential knowledge of some of the subject matter, Dr. Spurr does her readers a disservice with entries like "Get Spiky" which encourages the S&M novice to test her partner's pain-pleasure zone on his back by "gently and carefully" walking on him while wearing stilettos.

"Obviously," she writes, "he has to let you know when it crosses into being too painful."

Obviously.