The Family

OK, first, happy Odd Day to everyone.

Things to do on Odd Day: It’s a great day to do your odds ‘n ends, give a friend a high-five, root for the odds-on-favorite, read the Wizard of Odds, watch the Odd Couple, say aaaahd in the doctor’s office, look for sea odders, find that missing odd sock, and beat the odds

There’s a prize if you can out-odd that.

OK … now, since it was noticed, a report on Bonk.

If you didn’t go look it up on Amazon, Bonk is about the scientific study of sex. Not gender … sex. The study of, the treatment of, the studies of the treatments … it is very interesting, but not for the squeemish. Or for those upset by proper (and sometimes casual) use of the terminology.

For the most part, Bonk stays pretty close to that mission. However .. well … as she says, you just can’t get permission to observe some of these studies. So she volunteered for them. I can see why this is necessary .. and while it fills out many more chapters than one could manage otherwise, it sometimes plays against the tone of the book as an enthusiastic general introduction to science.

Like the one where she and her spouse do it (yes, it) inside some imaging medical thingy (modified MRI) that takes detailed 3-d movies of how all the pieces interlock. Fascinating stuff on the study of how the pieces interlock and how science used to think they did and how that was cleared up .. and how some of it isn’t yet cleared up. But then … She shares the details of how they’re all wired up. And positioned. The odd moments when technicians ask them to freeze so a clear image can be taken.

It is fascinating, but as you can see, the detached-author-voice, observer thing goes right out the window. And at times there’s even a somewhat creepy voyeuristic feeling. It’s a very approachable text, reads like a conversation with someone who’s got this fascinating stuff to tell you .. but it is rather awkward fascinating stuff, and the awkwardness is there at times. The times where she’s sharing something from personal research.

So. So the book is good, but it occasionally and by necessity veers into something other than just an examination of the scientific investigation of sex. It says the author took 2 years to research it. I think, perhaps, if she’d then let it sit for another few years, and gained some perspective and some distance from what she’d observed and experienced, then perhaps it could have maintained its focus on the research, rather than veering so often into the personal experience of the research.

I think Stiff (which is about the various things that happen to dead bodies, which was really fascinating. Way beyond organ donation and forensic decomposition farms) is a better book to get to know the author’s style. (I haven’t read Spook, so I can’t say anything about it). Actually, personal opinion and all, I think she did a better job with Stiff . With Stiff, she was able to maintain the air of fascinated detachment. She was obviously interested, and made it all very interesting, but never made it seem like a report of her own experience (even when it was .. but her experience as an observer, so it came across as observation).

Anyway, if you like Stiff, think that the author is someone you would enjoy hanging out with at a dinner party that goes on too long and then you find yourself having had a little too much to drink and it’s 2 am and you’re suddenly talking about things you’d never tell anyone … if you read Stiff and think, sure, I’d enjoy hanging out with this author …. and if the concept of Bonk interests you, and you don’t mind standing in a library or bookstore line holding a sex book … Or if you’re just fascinated with Bonk and think that the more personal voice isn’t going to bother you at all ..

Well, then, it is a very fun book and has lots of very interesting stories.

And yes, I do have to tell you some of the stories.

For the ladies – In early France a female with scientific leanings and unsatisfactory orgasms decides to approach her problem scientifically … so she takes to measuring people. Not the guys … the girls. And determines that there is an optimal span from one lady bit to the other lady bit, and decides that hers is too far away, thus the unsatisfactory nights … and so she has an operation and HAS HERS MOVED. But just the nub, not the whole internal organ that they don’t know about; and this is the first time said doctor has ever tried to do such a thing …. so it doesn’t help much. Oh, and her husband is gay. That probably isn’t helping either. But then she meets Dr. Freud and … well, then it just gets sad.

For the guys – ok, fair play. Author observes (overseas) an operation to stiffen a limp member. Viagra’s not doing the trick. So they start by slicing and then peeling away the outer skin. (this makes even me uncomfortable) Then there’s some tube inserted, a tube with an exterior saline pump you can use at will to achieve desired rigidity (which then stays at said level until unpumped). But the tube is a set length .. that part never retracts .. so you’ll spend the rest of your life somewhat .. permanently stretched. And here’s the kicker … this operation is done under local anesthetic. Not general … local.

Now, my laugh-out-loud scene was where she was talking about Kegel exercises for men. She got the instructional video. It’s a guy .. unclad .. laying down .. filmed from the nether angle … demonstrating the exercises. OK. So she’s watching the video. Serious voice is seriously explaining what parts you need to lift and flex and hold while unclad guy demonstrates. Now .. in the next room is the husband. Knows there’s some sort of movie playing .. and then he hears serious voice ring out “Tighten! Tighten! Tighten!” Except, without context, innocently making his sandwich in the kitchen and all, he hears “Titon! Titon! Titon!” and wonders what cheesy sci fi movie is going on in there, and opens the door and walks in. She describes the moment where he freezes, having suddenly and unexpected walked in on a video of .. of not what he was expecting. She describes it rather well.

Well, that should give you an idea of the book. It is extremely interesting.