Tristan Taormino wasn’t kidding when she named her latest book “The Big Book of Sex Toys!” The book is huge! Well, not huge as in you can barely carry it to your coffee table, but massively packed full of more knowledge than you can shake a dildo at (and don’t worry, you’ll learn exactly how to shake it just right).
While this beautiful hardback book with tasteful, full-color images and easy to navigate organization gets 10 points for being stylish, smart and sexy, that’s really just the surface. To sum it up – this book is a book about sex toys that is so much more than a book about sex toys.
From the first page, Taormino’s relaxed writing and wit take the taboo out of the topic and lets the reader really explore sex toys from the ground up – starting with breaking stereotypes and (my personal favorite) a quick brush up on genital anatomy. I love that Tristan (sex writer/educator extraordinaire) makes sure to work from a solid foundation before moving on to materials and toy types. I mean really, you don’t want to be explaining clitoral vibes to someone who has no clue where their clit is…
When Taormino gets into the heart of the book – going over each type of sex toy out there – is where her real work begins. Along with the types of toys, she makes sure to explain how to incorporate each type into partnered sex – completely with specific position instructions. You don’t get more thorough than that without her coming into your house! And each type of toy has suggestions on what actual toy to get, along with a rough price estimate.
More beginners’ guide than expert manual, this book goes from the basics of dildos, vibes and anal toys to light bondage, sex furniture and swings, hitting everything i
n between with vibrant pictures and easy to understand explanations.
As much as I really enjoy and recommend this how-to handbook, there are a few downsides that were a little difficult for me to miss. The biggest one for me is that the entire book seems to be hetero-normative. I’m not sure I saw even one mention about sex that wasn’t between a man and a woman. While I definitely get that it was probably written primarily for an audience that has type of sex, as a queer chick, I found myself having to extract the information and modify it to work for the ways that I have sex, which was a little frustrating at times.
Secondly, though I really appreciate that Taormino offered specific toys to buy and named them by name, I wonder if that is going to date the book. Will it still feel current five years from now? I can honestly say I’m not sure. The information is all accurate, yet the latest toy inventions and developments won’t be there. I’m not even sure if that matters, but it seemed a worthwhile concern to put out there.
Overall, this is an easy-to-read gem that’s classy enough for coffee tables and still sexy enough to bring into the bedroom. It’s a must have for anyone that wants to explore the wonderful world of sex toys.
Get your read on!
Main Theater
Hetero TheaterLesbian Theater Queer Theater Gay Male Theater
I will definitely have to check this book out and recommend to my newbie toy friends.
Good point about the specific toys dating the book though.
I must say I’m relieved that I wasn’t the only one weirded out by the heteronormativity. I also didn’t like all the stick-thin people in the pictures. Otherwise, it’s a decent book.
I just bought it recently, but I personally thought there were too many pictures. I’m sad like that, though. I didn’t see any non-hetero pictures either. Which is weird considering she works in sexuality matters. Great review.