Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

It's not often a nonfiction book has me laughing out loud, but this one did it. This is the first of Roach's books I've read, but her voice makes me want to read everything she's ever written! Bonk is the story of sexual research - how scientists have made discoveries about a topic that is awkward at best, and taboo or even criminal at worst. Roach takes research seriously, volunteering as a research subject more than once (and convincing her husband to help, in at least one case!) Her wordplay is clever and her footnotes are HILARIOUS - this was a nonfiction book I kept having to pause and read to my husband between snickers.

Even her chapter titles are giggle-inducing - with titles like “The Princess and Her Pea - The Woman Who Moved Her Clitoris, and Other Ruminations on Intercourse Orgasms” and “Re-member Me - Transplants, Implants, and Other Penises Of Last Resort.”

Roach writes about some truly awkward sexual encounters in the name of science:

On the bed are a man and a woman. They are making the familiar movements made by millions of other couples on a bed that night, yet they look nothing like those couples. They have EKG wires leading from their thighs and arms, like a pair of lustful marionettes who managed to escape the puppet show and check into a cheap motel. Their mouths are covered by snorkel-type mouthpieces with valves. Trailing from each mouthpiece is a length of flexible tubing that runs through the wall to the room next door, where Bartlett is measuring their breathing rate. To ensure that they don't breathe through their noses, the noses have been “lightly clamped.”

Another passage mentions two gymnasts who have sex in an MRI tube. (For science!) I'm impressed these people can perform under these conditions at all!

There's only one passage that squicked me out a little bit - there's a few paragraphs describing a urologist performing surgery on a penis and it's...a little disturbing. That aside, though, this is a delightful book on an uncommon topic. It's an easy read, which I don't say about much nonfiction. It might be awkward to explain why you're snickering over this book, though!

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

I don't know what it says about me that I found Bonk much more cringeworthy gross than Stiff or Gulp. But it's true. I found myself crossing my legs and making uncomfortable faces more than laughing guiltily through it, like I did through Mary Roach's other work. Perhaps part of that is that the lurid fascination with sex in society meant that a lot of her insights were less novel than in her other books. Perhaps Roach had not yet found her narrative voice. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood.

Nonetheless, Bonk is a decent book and would perhaps be even more well-liked by those new to Roach's work, with preset high standards. Roach certainly knows no limits in taking an active role in journalism, going so far as participating in a study on 3-D ultrasounds during intercourse. But I agree with my goodreads friends, who felt like Bonk had fewer “Wow!” moments than Roach's other works.

Fascinating stuff! Vast amounts of sheer geekery about sex, science, and the intersection thereof. If you're looking for sex tips or salacious reading, look elsewhere. If you're looking to howl with laughter without being able to explain WHY to most people, this is your book.

Okay, one might glean the occasional sex tip, but I don't think they're anything that common sense couldn't tell you. And you'll have to wait for the very last chapter for the best bit.

I'll be adding more of Roach's diverse works to my to-be-read stack soon!