Bonk
by Mary Roach
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Read in April, 2008
okay i didn't REALLY read the *entire* thing. But I read like 85% of it and skimmed the rest. And for the most part it was pretty hilarious. I had some problems with it thought. I felt like I spent the whole book waiting for her get to the point about people having different kinds of sex. The book, supposedly, is about sex. But it's never really clear how she defines sex. She (and scientists) seem to be working mostly from a sex-as-intercourse assumption. This was most clearly illustrated when s...more
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Read in April, 2008
It's a common list to keep: your ideal dinner party guest list. Trying to balance who would work together conversationally, thematically. Seems like all my invitees would be authors - Bill Bryson, Neil Gaiman - and Mary Roach. I can't imagine a group that here sense of humor and take on life wouldn't fit into. Not one that I'd like to attend, anyway.
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex is Roach's latest book, and continues kind of a theme. Her first book was Stiff: The Curious Lives...more
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex is Roach's latest book, and continues kind of a theme. Her first book was Stiff: The Curious Lives...more
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Read in May, 2008
Following her success with Stiff and Spook, Mary Roach continues her success with Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex. Far and away funnier than I anticipated, this titillating foray into sexual research, diagnosis and treatment is not for the squeamish or faint of heart. It is, however, a rare book indeed that can convey scholarly and incredibly thorough research in a hip and hilarious manner that is both factual and fascinating.
In one of my favorite passages...more
In one of my favorite passages...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
adults with a scientific turn of mind
Mary Roach wondered, who studies sex? how do they go about it? and what do they learn? Her readers get to go along for the ride from a California-based sex toy maker to an Egyptian doctor who risks severe consequences if his work is discovered by the prudish authorities in that country. She also takes us into history to learn more about Kinsey, and Masters and Johnson.
In one episode the scheduled subjects cancel at the last minute, and Ms. Roach and her husband take their place. That's dedic...more
In one episode the scheduled subjects cancel at the last minute, and Ms. Roach and her husband take their place. That's dedic...more
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One in every 5000 women is born without a vaginal canal.
who knew?
this is the kind of fact mary roach loves to ferret out of medical journals and research papers--and then, she loves to create puns and laugh out loud smarty-pants remarks about the sexologists and their crazy ideas and inventions. she's a science writer for the masses who footnotes like a fiend.
but hey, it's not all penis cameras, pyrex tubes and statistics about ER visits for 'object retrieval'. Roach visits impl...more
who knew?
this is the kind of fact mary roach loves to ferret out of medical journals and research papers--and then, she loves to create puns and laugh out loud smarty-pants remarks about the sexologists and their crazy ideas and inventions. she's a science writer for the masses who footnotes like a fiend.
but hey, it's not all penis cameras, pyrex tubes and statistics about ER visits for 'object retrieval'. Roach visits impl...more
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Read in April, 2008
A book about science and sex written by Mary Roach really should have inspired me to more than three stars, but I felt she was so amused by the little tidbits that she was constantly wandering away from her own topic. And for all the times she was laughingly talking about how early sex scientists stripped their research of any titillation, I found this book very dry as well. As Mary states several times in the book, science has mostly found that the best sex is decidedly more than simple bodily ...more
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Read in April, 2008
Who are these people who let themselves get strapped up to sex machines with cameras inside them and wires attached to their nipples? Anyone? Admit it!!
I still like Roach's style, but I wanted her to go deeper (oh my god, I didn't intend that double entendre, there).
I still like Roach's style, but I wanted her to go deeper (oh my god, I didn't intend that double entendre, there).
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17 comments
Read in February, 2008
It pains me to give Mary a 3, but I just can't justify a 4. Her sense of humor was still there, and her delight in the embarrassing little things that are part of life but no one likes to talk about is as strong as ever, but something was missing.
It's entirely possible that the difference was in the subject itself - while sex is interesting, and god knows that we as a culture are obsessed with it, I'm not sure if it was the best topic for Roach to take on.
I felt like she went back and f...more
It's entirely possible that the difference was in the subject itself - while sex is interesting, and god knows that we as a culture are obsessed with it, I'm not sure if it was the best topic for Roach to take on.
I felt like she went back and f...more
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Read in May, 2008
Bonk is a well-researched, quirky read. Through the book, it is evident that Mary Roach pursued her research diligently, and with some of the obsessive spark that she asserts is necessary in all successful researchers. The book explains in layman's terms the physiological responses of human sexual response and orgasm, or, more accurately, the various theories and hypotheses that researchers, past and present, have. I definitely liked the fact that Roach didn't present certain findings ...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone who finds sex interesting
Not that sex is not already an interesting enough subject, Mary Roach manages to takes it an extra step with her new book. Taking a look at the historical and modern scientific happenings and research of sex, Roach found all sorts of interesting, frightening and hilarious knowledge about everyone's favorite taboo subject. She hits on Kinsey and M&J, naturally, but also looks into those brave souls that came before them, and those today that are proving some of those finding wrong or are ex...more
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Read in April, 2008
I wanted to read this book because Mary Roach's Stiff, which explores what happens to the human body after death, is one of the best books I've ever read. I did not enjoy Bonk quite as much as Stiff, but it was still very good. Mary Roach is a delightful writer--highly articulate, funny and sometimes snarky, but always treating her subject with respect. In reading this book I learned some things I kind of wish I hadn't, like how to increase the likelihood of pigs getting pregnant when artific...more
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Read in March, 2008
Mary Roach is alright. She could save both of us a little worry by not making EVERY easy joke possible (and maybe in the finished copy some of the more cringe-worthy quips will be removed). Bonk tends to hover around subjects rather than delve into them, which makes the transitions easier to handle. However, it does seem like a bunch of this material would fit better into the Findings section of Harper's.
The book has proved ultimately very useful in ruining nice little evenings with my ...more
The book has proved ultimately very useful in ruining nice little evenings with my ...more
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Read in May, 2008
i so wanted to give this 4 or 5 stars. but alas...it's just not worthy.
i find it incredibly surprising that a book about SEX, by this author especially, could end up being so dry. disappointing.
it started off great. hilarious, in fact. there were several passages i just HAD to read aloud to the SO. as for the book as a whole, it fell a bit flat.
it was interesting for the most part...but something was missing. can't quite put my finger on it.
definitely still worth the read. de...more
i find it incredibly surprising that a book about SEX, by this author especially, could end up being so dry. disappointing.
it started off great. hilarious, in fact. there were several passages i just HAD to read aloud to the SO. as for the book as a whole, it fell a bit flat.
it was interesting for the most part...but something was missing. can't quite put my finger on it.
definitely still worth the read. de...more
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Read in March, 2008
The best thing you can say about Mary Roach is that she has an uncanny sense of whats interesting. Her footnotes alone will push you through her pages. The worst thing you can say is that she wanders through her subject without the strong organization that her emphasis on "science" would suggest. The problem in this book is that detail trumps larger picture - its a great read, but she doesn't get to larger points on this important subject. Read it for fun, and then back up your kno...more
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Read in April, 2008
I might have said this on an earlier review, but Mary Roach is on the top of my list of interesting people to have dinner with...or actually maybe dinner isn't the best idea. Maybe we could just hang out in a non-food-related setting.
This is a woman who is truly dedicated to her work. I won't go into the details, but wow.
This is a woman who is truly dedicated to her work. I won't go into the details, but wow.
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Read in March, 2008
A style much like Bill Bryson's in terms of hilarity. She finds the most incredible anecdotes -- from the earliest treatments for impotence in the 1600s to Kinsey's research (and that of some of his knock offs) in the middle 20th century to contemporary dildo factories. Sometimes almost a little to chatty, but it doesn't matter because she is so funny. She should have called it "Stiff." Or "Stiff II." Or perhaps "Stiffy."
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It turns out there is quite a bit of variability in the distance between the clitoris and the vagina.
Princess Marie Bonaparte -- great grandniece of Napoleon and an accomplished amateur scientist -- discovered this tidbit of information in her doomed quest for the elusive vaginal orgasm. Bonaparte measured the genitals of 243 women and concluded that women with a shorter span between their clitoris and vagina were more likely to orgasm during sex.
read more ...
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2008/0......more
Princess Marie Bonaparte -- great grandniece of Napoleon and an accomplished amateur scientist -- discovered this tidbit of information in her doomed quest for the elusive vaginal orgasm. Bonaparte measured the genitals of 243 women and concluded that women with a shorter span between their clitoris and vagina were more likely to orgasm during sex.
read more ...
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2008/0......more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
john b
The always delightful Mary Roach trains her eye, her pen, and her puns on the science of sex. Having enjoyed her previous works, especially Stiff, about the science of death (a very poor choice for airline reading, by the way--I had to skip the chapter about crash investigations as I winged to Sin City.) Roach is probably the most accessible science writer I've run across, so I'm able to comprehend the studies she cites, and frequently laugh right out loud at her footnotes and asides. Highly ...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Stephanein. by:
EvieThis review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in May, 2008
Written with a wry wink and a smile, Roach's account of the science of sex is a well written book of popular science. She looks at the history of sexual studies like the Kinsey Report and the research of Masters and Johnson, and also recounts the cutting edge science of fertility and erectile dysfunction. The best part of the book is her dry sense of humor, never taking her subject too seriously, but never ridiculing it either. Fans of either popular science or sandpaper dry humor will enjoy thi...more
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