Please choose one from the books below:
1. The Science of Orgasm (Komisaruk & Whipple; very interesting book but long & heavy on science so only choose it if you’re into that)
2. Sex Made Easy (Debby Herbenick) – 100 common sex Q&A; targeted more toward females than males
3. Sexpertise (Robin Sawyer) – hundreds of common sex Q&A; written by a human sexuality professor from the University of Maryland.
2. Because It Feels Good: A Woman’s Guide to Sexual Satisfaction (Debby Herbenick)
3. The New Male Sexuality (Bernie Zilbergeld; excellent for men or people who partner with men; also long; if you choose this book, I am okay with you reading 4-5 chapters for your assignment)
4. The Coregasm Workout (Herbenick; relatively quick read because much of it is an exercise program, but also includes real-life stories from women and men who experience orgasm while exercising)
5. The Kid (Dan Savage; chronicles the author’s experience adopting a baby as a gay man with his boyfriend; funny and a quick read)
6. The Vagina Monologues (Eve Ensler; very quick read; probably appeals more to women than men but a lot of guy students have loved this book)
7. Read My Lips (Herbenick & Schick; medium to long; probably appeals more to women than men; we included crafting ideas in each chapter)
8. Secret Sex Lives (Suzy Spencer; chronicles the author’s experiences emailing with, and meeting, people around the country who enjoy non-vanilla forms of sex and relationships)
9. Paying For It (Chester Brown; this is a graphic novel which is basically like a very nicely made comic book for adults, and is about the author’s thoughts on sex work/prostitution)
10. The Orgasm Answer Guide (Whipple & Komisaruk)
11. Galileo’s Middle Finger (Alice Dreger)
12. When Sex Hurts (Goldstein et al)
13. Becoming Orgasmic (Heiman & LoPiccolo; an older book but still very helpful for women who want to learn to experience orgasm, something that is relevant to many young women)
14. The Male Couple (McWhirter & Mattison)
15. Sexual Fluidity (Lisa Diamond)
16. Stone Butch Blues (Feinberg)
17. The Whole Lesbian Sex Book (Felice Newman)
18. Come As You Are (Nagoski)
19. Coping with Premature Ejaculation (McCarthy)
20. Fun Home (Bechdel)
21. How to Bottom Like a Porn Star (Miller)
If you would prefer to read an alternate book, please check with me first. I do require that you choose a book that is generally considered to provide accurate or helpful information – other than that, I am open to your suggestions and ideas. Also, please note that there are no extra “points” or favoritism for reading any of the books I’ve written.You should read a book that interests you. Please don’t read a book written by me just because I wrote it.
Steps to complete:
First, read the book. Please do not just skim the book; actually read it and take notes about things that you have learned and/or that interest you.
For your paper, please do the following:
1. Provide a brief (1-2 paragraph each) summary of the book, what it’s about, and why you chose each book.
2. Identify the intended audience of each book (e.g., college students, gay men, elderly people, women or men of a certain age, policy makers, academics, etc) and describe why you feel this is true.
3. To what extent do you feel that the information in each book is credible? Why or why not? What kinds of information are used – for example, personal stories, scientific evidence, the author’s personal experiences, policy, historical documents, or opinions? Is this kind of information reliable enough for you? What would make the book “stronger” in its ability to convey reliable, valid, trustworthy information to you?
4. How does the book relate to course topics (if at all)? I assign your choice of books because most textbooks, and many web readings, just don’t address real life situations that many people have questions about. To what extent do you feel like the book you chose addressed questions that you and your friends (or other college students) might have? Or experiences and perspectives of interest to people like you?
5. What did you learn from reading the book you chose, if anything? Provide about 3 examples of new information you learned or new perspectives you considered. If you learned nothing, describe why you think that is. Be honest.
6. What types of people would you recommend the book to? If you would not recommend it to others, why would you not?
7. What did you like or dislike about the book?
Suggested length: About 1500 words, submitted on Canvas. 1 point will be deducted for each day that papers are late. Just copy and paste your paper into the box for submission on Canvas. No papers accepted after 3 days late.