false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255747750m/6996781.jpg 91842 11 Finally, a how-to guide, in the guise of a Q&A advice column, for marching, flying, or slithering into the battle of the sexes, whatever your species. In this entertaining and informative book, evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson presents "letters" from sexually frustrated animals, birds, and insects who ask "Dr. Tatiana" to explain some sexual oddity. For example, "Don't Wanna Be Butch in Botswana" writes, "I'm a spotted hyena, a girl. The only trouble is, I've got a large phallus. I can't help feeling that this is unladylike. What's wrong with me?" Each question leads Dr. T. into a fascinating explanation about the sex life of this species, sprinkled with sprightly stories about other species with similar attributes or behavior. You'll learn why one stick-insect copulation lasts for 10 weeks (to prevent other males from gaining access to the fertile female) and why the black-winged damselfly's penis has bristles (to scrape out his rival's sperm). You'll learn that male and female orangutans masturbate with sex toys fashioned from leaves and twigs, that slugs are hermaphrodites with penises on their heads, and that females in more than 80 species eat their lovers before, during, or after sex. You'll also ponder human sexuality when you learn that "monogamy is one of the most deviant behaviors in biology" (although jackdaws, chinstrap penguins, California mice, and some termites swear by it) and "natural selection, it seems, often smiles on strumpets." Highly recommended--you'll read this through just for the fun of it and have plenty of odd facts with which to dazzle your dinner companions. <i>--Joan Price</i> 370638 book 2002 Dr.Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation total:457|5:141|4:199|3:96|2:19|1:2| 457 1829 676 118 5 2 false false Wed May 07 13:26:07 -0700 2008 Wed May 07 13:29:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Dec 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 17 08:12:52 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 06:58:04 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Wed Aug 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 22 21:22:09 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 22:53:00 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Mon Nov 24 06:03:55 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 06:03:55 -0800 2008
Olivia Judson side-steps this issue nicely by adopting an alternate persona of a sort of tv confessional show host as her authorial voice, an...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 20:36:26 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 20:37:09 -0700 2009 For this book, she takes on the persona of Dr. Tatiana, a Dear Abbey-like sex therapist, who...more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Feb 01 03:44:47 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 11:11:51 -0800 2009 many more...]]> 3 1 true false Fri Feb 27 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Aug 21 08:33:11 -0700 2007 Mon Mar 02 10:13:14 -0800 2009
Amusing and educational; would have preferred the omission of the lectures. Just because something is normal for bugs or snails doesn't make it so for humans. And I prefer not to have thinly-disguised anti-religious screeds tacked onto ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 15 21:10:55 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 15 21:14:20 -0700 2009
It's really fun to compare what we know of human sexual habits with the habits of the creatures in this book . . . and it really seems as though humans are still in flux, still experime...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jan 05 22:13:20 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 14 11:57:17 -0700 2009
Dr. Judson (aka Dr. Tatiana) uses a fictional advice column to introduce a species with differentiated sexual cha...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Sep 03 12:26:45 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 05 10:44:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 10 10:07:09 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 09:45:35 -0700 2008
I admit that I did not read it thoroughly. Nevertheless, I was impressed at the unique and amusing approach to explaining the evolutionary biology of sex. I don't think just anyone could have pulled it off. The author obviously knows her stuff,...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 06:01:21 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 06:08:41 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Wed Nov 21 07:06:36 -0800 2007 Wed Nov 21 07:07:21 -0800 2007
Each "column"...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 19 12:40:43 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 09:39:42 -0800 2008
"Dr. Tatiana's" is framed as a sex advice column written by an evolutionary biologist for the benefit of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and even invert...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jun 26 13:06:43 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 26 13:25:04 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 18:58:23 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 02:59:44 -0700 2009
Packed with fabulously interesting information, I read many sections at least three times, including the entire chapter called Eve's Testicle, and will read through the book several more times because my little brain cannot retain that much awesome...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 07:16:31 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 05:11:05 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 15:38:21 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 15:41:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 13 13:21:19 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 13 13:33:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Jan 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 03:30:46 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 02:59:12 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/1?book_id=6996781 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/3?book_id=6996781 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/2?book_id=6996781 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6996781 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/4?book_id=6996781 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/5?book_id=6996781 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/6?book_id=6996781 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/7?book_id=6996781 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/9?book_id=6996781 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/10?book_id=6996781