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Working Stiff: The Misadventures of an Accidental Sexpert
A twenty-two-year-old perennial virgin, Englishman Grant Stoddard didn't know what to do with his life in America—until he won an X-rated online contest, the prize being intercourse with an infamous married sex columnist. He consequently wound up delivering mail at Nerve.com but accidentally found his calling as a gonzo sex reporter who would try any and every lurid activi...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
January 9th 2007
by Harper Perennial
(first published January 1st 2007)
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Grant Stoddard is only interesting because of his former job writing for Nerve. He knows this, so the book starts and ends with his unusual and perhaps metaphoric final assignment. Unfortunately, he can't write about his job, since he is/was engaged in a dispute with his former employer about who owns how much of those experiences.
Instead, in the pages in between, Grant tells us about being a loser who wants to score but can't in high school, then about being a loser who wants to score but can't...more
Instead, in the pages in between, Grant tells us about being a loser who wants to score but can't in high school, then about being a loser who wants to score but can't...more
The only way I can describe it is it was absolutely incredible (albeit incredibly raunchy, however that was exactly what I was hoping for when I picked it up at Urban Outfitters for a whopping $1.99)- but ended rather abruptly and left me feeling pretty unsatisfied. Which I guess could be what he was going for with the whole theme of the book. Going into each 'assignment' as a bundle of nerves and ending it feeling shocked and bewildered, but ultimately unsatisfied. But hey, at least he's got hi...more
While waiting for books I ordered online to arrive in the mail, I decided to stop at the store and pick up a "quick read" for time filler until my books came. So I picked up "Working Stiff" by Grant Stoddard because it looked hilarious and a funny read seemed to be exactly what I was hoping for.
Grant Stoddard was a college-age British man when he wondered over to NYC and after couch surfing and girlfriend hunting stumbled upon sex writing at Nerve.com. Grant's job was to try a variety of unique...more
Grant Stoddard was a college-age British man when he wondered over to NYC and after couch surfing and girlfriend hunting stumbled upon sex writing at Nerve.com. Grant's job was to try a variety of unique...more
This book was hilarious. Even for those of us who may not consider ourselves exactly - ahem - "vanilla," this book goes way beyond that - and then some. That Stoddard was a perennial virgin to all things beyond the vanilla only adds to the hilarity and ability to relate to his thoughts as he put himself in increasingly crazy sexual situations, all for his column in Nerve. His exploits are deliciously outlined here, and I loved every bit of it. I read Dan Savage's column regularly, and there were...more
"Working Stiff" is the amusing tale of Grant Stoddard, a rather normal English guy with an unsuccessful love and sex life who moved to NYC in the 1990s and stumbled into a job with Nerve.com as a sex writer, basically acting as a guinea pig for the site by placing himself into a number of crazy sexual situations.
The author is very self-deprecating and the book an amusing light read. Recommended to me by my girfriend as a vacation read, I was not expecting much from the writing, but found it to...more
The author is very self-deprecating and the book an amusing light read. Recommended to me by my girfriend as a vacation read, I was not expecting much from the writing, but found it to...more
Not going to lie, this book was nothing like what I expected. I don't even remember how I came across it at the book store and definitely not why I decided to buy and read it. That said it was interesting - funny, disturbing, and simultaneously informative. It was a very shocking and rare perspective to write from especially in a society that shuns anything remotely sexual. I didn't love the book as it made me increasingly uncomfortable, but that is also why I loved it. It's really hard to descr...more
I didn't like this book as much as I hoped I would. It sounded like a great idea, following the exploits of a guy who gets paid to report on crazy sex acts. But there's too much of his everyday trials and tribulations and not enough about the craziness. It's a promising set up: inexperienced British guy moves to the US and pretty much lucks into a job at Nerve that has him meeting people for all manner of sexual activity. And the things he is willing to do for the sake of his job range from a bi...more
I originally had this rated at 4 stars, but I decided to drop it down to three. It was a very well written memoir, very funny, but it started to get pretty labored as it went on. If it had held my interest all the way, it would have kept it's fourth star, but as is, I found myself just wanting to be done with it. Maybe that's just due to my addiction and not wanting to wait to get onto the next book, but there you go.
Actually, I've only perused this book, but, the fact is, life is short and the list of wonderful books is long. I see no reason to waste anymore precious minutes on Stoppard's tedious descriptions of his youthful antics, unremarkable neighbors, and "sexpert" job. Because, honestly, despite what he believes, Grant Stoddard isn't that interesting, special, or even funny.
Hard to describe this book. I was explaining the plot in an IM to a co-worker and I only managed to make the book sound like a sexcapade! I did find it was missing something and even though I'm not squeamish, some of his antics made me squirm. I have no inkling whatsoever to find out what he's doing now.
Jul 08, 2008
Sarah Emily
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
frequent flyers
Shelves:
disappointing
I wanted a book that could hold my attention through a day of airports and airplanes. in that sense, the book succeeded. however, several times I thought to myself that this sex columnist didn't seem to have picked up many writing tips during his exploits. Stoddard is amusing and brings a level of sincerity to his sex adventures, but the book gets a bit lost when he's not describing those adventures and detailing other topics like emotions, citizenship, and post-Nerve.com plans. but I'll stand b...more
An enjoyable read. Light and silly, as expected. The author, is a virginal Britt who comes to America, and finds himself working at a kinky website. Hilarity ensues. Almost. The book left me feeling a little cheated. Throughout, the author tries to make sense of his crazy life, and find his niche in the wacky American Dream. But by the end of the book, he seems frustrated, and so was I. I feel like it could have been better if he would have written it ten years later, and been able to say, "this...more
Straightforward, chronological memoir of Stoddard's arrival as a sex writer with Nerve.com. Interesting for me as he is a Brit who always felt more affinity for the US than his home country. I can completely relate to his attitude to the UK and how he is treated by fellow Brits he meets here.
The prose is matter of fact and self-depricating and in places, very funny. Can't help feeling that the sort of things he gets up to ultimately leave him unsatisfied, lonely and sad. This is probably what he...more
The prose is matter of fact and self-depricating and in places, very funny. Can't help feeling that the sort of things he gets up to ultimately leave him unsatisfied, lonely and sad. This is probably what he...more
Very funny. His columns are still on Nerve.com, and are a fun read as well!
You really have to have had a preexisting affinity for this guy to really care about the book. My thoughts going into the book were that he was going to detail a bunch of his experiments, and yes he touched on a couple and yes some of it was interesting, but then he talked about his struggles in New York and about his deal with MTV or VH1 or whatever network it was and then it just devolved into this list of people he had worked with throughout his burgeoning career. I think fans of his work wil...more
Fun so far, like a British guy's take on Sex and the City.
I never read any of Grant's columns on Nerve, but I really like the premise. Erica's right -- he's a bit heavy-handed with the "but I'm just a simple virgin boy from England" stuff, but he does seem pretty likable and his discomfort in unusual situations is palpable. I think the PS section helps the book a lot -- it might've been better to cut in his actual articles with the chapters, though Nerve probably wouldn't have gone for it. Also, where is he now? I haven't bothered googling.
Apr 06, 2013
Ashli
added it
So much fun!
Jan 03, 2013
Marija S.
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nevermore-nevermore
Hatte Goddard überhaupt einen Redakteur? Dieses Buch könnte viel besser sein.
I started reading this book after hearing the author on a radio talk show. He was funny. I though the book would be fun—and at times it was. But mostly it was like watching Springer: You realize that your life is so much more normal, and——at the risk of passing judgment here——ultimately better, than some of the weird folks out there.
It's amusing enough, but nothing phenomenal. The strange sex situations become passe as per the author's intent and the whole bit ends up as a memoir of the author's journey from virgin to perv; sometimes it's a bit hard to care, sometimes it's wry and funny. I recommend it as a light read.
Get's overdrawn towards the end.
Get's overdrawn towards the end.
This book isn't terribly well written. He wanders from his subject a little too often and fails to tie all these side-steps into any kind of overall journey. That said, this book is fun and worth picking up. It's really funny and when he is talking about his fish out of water sexcapades, it's excellent.
Jan 08, 2008
Suzanne Portnoy
added it
If you're looking for a great, fast holiday read, pick up a copy of Grant Stoddart's very funny book. Grant's story about accidentally getting the job of 'sex scientist' for nerve.com is full of witty anecdotes. Having been an active member of nerve for a while, I recognised many of the characters.
The back cover says it will make you blush, and trust me, it will. This guy gets himself into so many awkward and interesting new positions (yes, they are sexual). The non-sexual part of the book that deals more with his life and the timeline are a little hard to follow.
interesting memoir, in the same vein as "i am not myself these days" but not as much fun to read.
As I was looking through my Goodreads list, I suddenly thought "Hey! I already read this!" The fact that it took me months to realize that I'd read it is, I think, telling. Not aggressively bad, but not overly gripping, either.
What makes Stoddard's memoir so engaging isn't his motley collection of sexual exploits, but his wry, self-deprecating style. That said, as Stoddard becomes more sexually confident, the book loses some of its momentum.
Hatte mir vom Titel her fast noch n bißchen mehr versprochen..
Der Anfang ist echt etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig und nciht wahnsinns spritzig - doch es zieht an und allgemein gesehen: Lesenswert!
Der Anfang ist echt etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig und nciht wahnsinns spritzig - doch es zieht an und allgemein gesehen: Lesenswert!
Hilarious, but perhaps not to be read at work, unless you are 100% confident that your face will NOT broadcast to your coworkers that you are reading about Grant Stoddard's experience at BDSM camp.
Quite a letdown. This memoir by a feckless narcissist grates on just about every level, including the horrible copy editing: distain for disdain, wretch for retch (twice), and countless others.
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