Hot Reading

Books never go out of season and this year, there’s something very every sexy bookworm on your list.

For the person with more than enough love to go around: Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships by Tristan Taormino (Cleis) $16.95

Turns out this author, columnist, sex educator and bum sex expert is also an expert on open relationships and her book on the subject covers everything from monogamy with benefits to nonmonogamy, partnered nonmonogamy, swinging, polyamory, polyfidelity, solo polyamory, mixed orientation marriages, and beyond. Makes plain old monogamy seem downright dull doesn’t it? Using her usual sass, Taormino helps readers decide if an open relationship could be your thing. She dispels myths and offers practical advice on how to create responsible, fulfilling nonmonogamous relationships with tips on communication, negotiation, jealousy, boundary setting, and conflict resolution. Candid first-hand stories from real people – including a woman with two husbands, a suburban swinger couple, polyamorous parents and a gay male triad – make this the must-have book for anyone ready to explore the life beyond monogamy.

For the science nerd: Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach (Norton) $24.95

Popular science writer Mary Roach follows up her studies of cadavers in “Stiff” and the afterlife in “Spook,” with a foray into the world of sex research, past and present. She travels the world to uncover the extremes scientists will go to in an attempt to unravel the mysteries of sex. She even convinces her husband to travel to England with her to have sex in a lab so a scientist can observe by ultrasound what’s physically going on during the act. From Latina factory workers hand-staining dildo tips to Columbian researchers who’ve discovered that prostitutes orgasm easier than feminists, Bonk is a funny and revealing look at our scientific fascination with sex.

For the chronic masturbator with impeccable taste: The Erotic Treasury by Susie Bright (Chronicle) $35.00

The design of this absolutely beautiful cloth hard-covered collection contained in a slipcover box marked simply with the cut-out letter X is enough to turn you on. Inside are 40 steamy stories from all of Susie’s favourite erotica writers from Carol Queen to Robert Olen Butler. As Bright’s introduction says, the book is like a pirate’s treasure chest full of stories about lovers: heartbreakers, foxes, maniacs, romanticists, and virgins – freaks, love bunnies, hell-raisers, and utter bandits.

For the prurient cultural anthropologist: Me Sexy: An Exploration of Native Sex and Sexuality compiled and edited by Drew Haydon Taylor $22.95

From the life of a native stripper to why Cree is the world’s sexiest language whether native people have more of less hair “down there” Taylor’s anthology offers a wide-reaching, passionate, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant picture of native sexuality. Contributors include writer Lee Maracle, playwright Tomson Highway and painter Norbal Morrisseau to name but a few.

For the hot to-be mama: Your Orgasmic Pregnancy: Little Sex Secrets Every Hot Mama Should Know by Danielle Cavalucci and Yvonne K. Fulbright, PhD (Hunter House) $12.95

That’s right, pregnant women can still be sexual! In fact, authors Cavallucci, a pregnancy coach and fitness trainer as well as a new mama herself, and Fulbright, a sexuality educator, assert that maintaining an erotic connection during pregnancy offers real benefits for mama, mate and child. Be it the war between baby, sex and partner, feeling sexy during pregnancy or Third Trimester sexual improvisation, this guide goes where most pregnancy guides do not.