The View From My Knees

There was a time when the public believed that women entered the world of adult films as a result of abuse, coersion, and addiction. But over the past two decades women like Jenna Jameson have taken the image of the poor, pathetic porn star and squashed it with their 8-inch platform heels. A new generation of powerful women have taken the reigns of their sexuality and their careers. As one of the most successful adult film actresses to date and frontwoman of her own production company, Teravision, Tera Patrick has certainly embraced the image of the empowered porn mistress. But a peek between the covers of her new book, Sinner Takes All: A Memoir of Love and Porn, shows a more vulnerable girl beneath the surface that falls somewhere between the meager women of yesteryear and the Girl Power proponents of today.

Amidst the pages of black and white and full color photographs of the beautiful star, the reader learns about Tera’s early estrangement from her mother, the disappointing and disturbing loss of her virginity, and her spiral into pot and valium addiction as she attempted to make it as a model overseas. But her entry into the world of adult modeling and films marks the beginning of her road to empowerment and, eventually, to love. In fact, the entire second half of the book reads more as a love story than a porn memoir. While there are titillating descriptions of weekend-long rough sex marathons with husband Evan Seinfeld that prompt worried neighbors to call the police, the sex in this book isn’t as graphic as Tera’s fans may expect (or hope for). What they get instead is a touching tale of how love pulled her through some difficult times and helped her become the strong woman we know and lust today.

If you’re looking for an erotic read, you won’t find it here. The sex in this book is downplayed by the love, heartbreak, and true human element. However, if you’re a fan of Tera Patrick or the porn industry in general, I think you’ll really enjoy getting under the surface through this page-turning account of the star’s life and career.

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Did you read this book for the Naughty Book Club? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. If you haven’t read this book and would like a chance to win my copy, leave a comment with a suggestion for the next Naughty Book Club selection. The best suggestion will receive Tera’s book and valuable Babeland.com coupons!

Unlike many books about erotic art, Ars Erotica is more than just a bunch of (really hot, really beautiful) pictures. Ars Erotica walks you through the history of erotic art and promises an in-depth look at the way the medium has been changed and been changed by society over time. With chapters focusing on the male form, the female form, masturbation, group sex, and many more, I am excited to learn whatever this book has to teach me. And let’s be honest: I can’t wait to look at all the beautifully dirty pictures.

So if you can appreciate lovely pictures of naked people (and I assume you can, judging by how often you classy perverts look at my galleries), then pick up your copy today and start reading with me.

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Ask anyone in an open relationship to recommend a book on nonmonogamy and 9 times out of 10 you’ll get the same answer: The Ethical Slut. Since it’s publication in 1997, The Ethical Slut has been widely adopted as the poly bible. But now there’s a new challenger for that title. Bestselling author, sex educator, and feminist pornographer Tristan Taormino tackles the wide-ranging and often misunderstood world of open relationships in her 2008 book, Opening Up: A Guide to Creating And Sustaining Open Relationships. Unlike The Ethical Slut, Opening Up is not a personal memoir packed with advice from the author’s own experiences. Instead, Taormino held in-depth interviews with over 100 women and men, resulting in a wide range of anecdotes, advice, and opinions.

Section one deals with starts out with a brief history of nonmonogamy. It’s not exhaustive, certainly, but it is interesting. However, if you’re looking to jump right into the meat of the issue, you can probably skip this chapter. In the next few chapters, Taormino helps the reader determine whether an open relationship is the right choice by debunking common myths about nonmonogamy and providing several self-evaluation methods, including actual exercises to be done by you and your partner. She also delves into some of the reasons other people choose nonmonogamy, using stories and anecdotes from her interview subjects.

Perhaps the most interesting portion of the book is section 2 in which the different types of nonmonogamous relationships are explored, from swinging to polyamory to polyfidelity, and all the flavors in between. Each chapter explores the terms of the relationship type and the potential downfalls, and ends with a profile of an actual couple living in this type of relationship. I remember being fascinated with the vastly different ways in which people who are all lumped under the nonmonogamy umbrella choose to practice the ideal.

Section 3 delves into the mechanics of creating your open relationship and making it work. Taormino explores the challenges and problems that commonly arise in open relationships, including an entire chapter devoted to jealousy. She also examines coming out to friends and family, safer sex, legal issues, and raising children in a nonmonogamous household.

Taormino’s approach to the subject is informative, unbiased, and entertaining. This book is helpful to those thinking of entering into the mysterious world of nonmonogamy as well as those that have been doing it most of their life. I also think it should be required reading for those close to people in nonmonogamous relationships to help them understand the benefits and challenges their loved ones are facing so that they can more easily accept a lifestyle so different from their own. All in all, I think this is the best book on nonmonogamy out there and leaves The Ethical Slut in the dust.

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Did you read this book for the Naughty Book Club? I’d love to hear your overall opinions of the book, as well as some of your thoughts on individual stories in the comments below. And remember, one lucky commenter will be randomly chosen to receive a free copy of next month’s book just for participating in this month’s Naughty Book Club discussion!

For this month’s selection we’re taking a break from erotic fiction and delving into the mysterious world of Open Relationships. In her new book Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships, renowned sex author Tristan Taormino digs into the nuts and bolts of non-monogamous relationships. Even if you’re not in a non-monogamous relationship, or never plan to be, I encourage you to read this book with us to learn more about communication and honesty in any relationship, as well as to see how the other half live. Taormino has been applauded for her excellent books on anal sex and her lesbian erotica collections, so I’m really looking forward to seeing her take on open relationships.

Often when you read a collection of themed erotica, you find that the stories focus much more on the theme (such as politics or science) than on the sex. While the theme may be interesting, you’re left unsatisfied by the erotic nature of the stories. In Do Not Disturb, Rachel Kramer Bussel has taken a theme that is almost synonymous with sex – hotels – and added more sex. It works out beautifully. All of the stories have the hotel setting, but each explores it in a unique and very erotic way. As with any collection, a few of the stories didn’t do much for me, but most of the adventures in this book were hot enough to make me read one-handed. A few of them even gave me a few naughty ideas to try out. Do Not Disturb is one of the better erotic collections out there, and possibly the best themed collection I’ve read yet.

Unlike some of the other anthologies I’ve read, there wasn’t one story that stood out from the rest as my favorite. However, if I had to select the story that turned me on the most, I’d probably choose Stan Kent’s From Russian With Lust. This tale of a business traveler who spots a hot couple going at it in a hotel room across the courtyard was really well-written and, most importantly, it was hot. By the time I’d finished reading it I couldn’t keep my hands off of myself. Tess Danesi’s The Royalton – A Daray Tale also got me hot and bothered, despite the heavy BDSM overtones which usually don’t interest me. It goes to show that really good writing can be erotic regardless of the subject matter. Fortunately, Lucky was sitting next to me when I finished this one and it inspired some very hot sex.

There were a few entries in the anthology that left me completely cold. I thought the writing in the first story, Welcome to the Aphrodisiac Hotel, was a bit clumsy. The story had a few good spots but overall did nothing for me. And Maxim Jakubowski’s G Is For Gypsy was almost unreadable. This story of a heartbroken lover who, by coincidence, stayed in the same hotel room where he and his lost love had made so many memories was pathetic and, worst of all, very poorly written. The majority of the story is told through an email the main character writes to his former lover, where he recalls their first meeting and several of their sexiest encounters. This type of storytelling is a cheap plot device and is completely unbelievable. There was simply no reason for him to tell her about all of these stories; she lived them. And speaking of unbelievable, I had a little trouble enjoying Alison Tyler’s Tightly Tucked, as well. Tyler’s entry tells the story of a man who visits a hotel with his uptight girlfriend who spends more time cleaning their hotel room than getting dirty with him. While she is out sightseeing one day, the hotel maid knocks on the door and, for no reason whatsoever, falls into his arms. They have some very hot sex, but without any motivation for the maid to fuck the main character, it all felt a little cliche.

But aside from how well or poorly written any of the stories were, there were a few stories in this collection that were unexpectedly thought-provoking. Kristina Wright’s The Other Woman actually got me somewhat angry in the beginning. This was the story of a woman who had been pestered into a threesome by her asshole boyfriend. She wasn’t looking forward to it and was only doing it to please him. She hoped it would “get it out of his system” and she’d never have to hear about it again. I was annoyed by the attitude of the woman, but mostly because I feel that this is all too common in real relationships. Perhaps my anger at the situation is a credit to Wright’s writing, in that she was addressing a real life situation and doing it well enough to get under my skin. And then, as the story went on and the two women began to explore each other, my anger turned to amusement, and even arousal. This one was certainly one of the better stories in the collection , and I’m curious if anyone else had a reaction similar to mine.

Overall, Bussel’s cleverly named collection of stories was a great example of what a themed erotic anthology should be. While all the stories won’t please everyone, I think that most people will find this book a welcome addition to their erotica collection. I give it an enthusiastic thumbs up, and can’t wait to check out more work by some of the authors involved. Well done, Rachel!

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Did you read this book for the Naughty Book Club? I’d love to hear your overall opinions of the book, as well as some of your thoughts on individual stories in the comments below. And remember, one lucky commenter will be randomly chosen to receive a free copy of next month’s book just for participating in this month’s Naughty Book Club discussion!