What I'm Reading: Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach

There are some rather exciting books coming out in the next couple of months. I have been lucky enough to get a hold of a few of them. Here's a few of the books that make up the very special stack that sits beside my reading chair.

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
By Mary Roach
April 7th, 2008

Few things make me as giddy as the release of a new book by Mary Roach. Her past titles include the immensely popular Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (once featured prominently in a plot on Six Feet Under) and Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. With Stiff, Mary took an unprecedented look into the sometimes stomach-churning uses for human bodies after death. It is fascinating, horrifying, incredibly informative and oddest of all, funny. With Spook, Roach looked at the history of clairvoyants and psychics and the human preoccupation with forging contact with the beyond. Roach is a detective who will stop at nothing to make the right connections in order to get unbelievable access to the subject at hand.

For that last two weeks I have had nothing but a smile on my face and it isn't purely because the holidays are over (at last). The reason is that Mary Roach, who I occasionally email and feel flattered every time she responds, sent me an advanced copy of Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex! Mary and I had chatted about the release of this book for several months and so when it arrived in a small package I was elated. Bonk, which is due to be released in April of 2008, is about the history of the scientific research of sex. Roach writes about famed American biologist and sexologist Alfred Kinsey as well as a slew of other scientists who have worked hard and heavy to understand some of the more subtle aspects of human sex and how things work.

I am happy to report that Bonk is every bit as good as Mary Roach's two previous books. Those not fully comfortable with the human body and some of the more biological aspects of what happens during coitus should probably think twice. Anyone who appreciates science, history, and a witty look at sex will find that Bonk includes tons of information that should have been included in the talk about the birds and the bees. I will be finished with the book in a matter of days! Loaded Questions will be doing feature on the book and author Mary Roach in March which will include an author interview with the author. Click here to read an interview I conducted with Mary Roach a year ago.

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex can currently be pre-ordered with a sizable discount here.