Best of the Best Lesbian Erotica [Paperback]

Tristan Taormino (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2000

The Best of Best Lesbian Erotica offers the steamiest collection in the series to date, collecting the hottest, and most thought-
provoking lesbian sex writing available. Contributors include Dorothy Allison, Heather Lewis, Pat Califia, and Cecilia Tan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 345 pages
• Publisher: Cleis Press; 1st edition (May 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573441058
• ISBN-13: 978-1573441056
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tristan Taormino is an award-winning author, columnist, editor, and educator. She is the author of four books and editor of eighteen anthologies, including the Lambda Literary Award-winning series Best Lesbian Erotica. Her popular Village Voice column 'Pucker Up' is nationally syndicated. Tristan has been featured in over 250 publications including The New York Times, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Entertainment Weekly, Details, New York Magazine, and Men's Health. She has appeared on The Howard Stern Show, Loveline, Ricki Lake, and on HBO, CNN, MTV, and The Discovery Channel. She lectures at top colleges and universities and teaches workshops around the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT EROTICA BOOK, May 20, 2001

By 

Tammy (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of the Best Lesbian Erotica (Paperback)

I had to do a thesis in one of my physcology classes. My professor gave us three choices to pick from, lesbians, gay men or STD's. I choice lesbians and read many books, saw several documentaries and even did some interviews. I learned so much about lesbians and started reading wonderful books such as this one.

This exquisite collection features some of the finest erotic writing around, and shows why the series has grown by leaps and bounds since its first edition was published in 1996. Every single story here is top notch, full of extremely sexy writing that also has something to say about life. Some are authors who are extremely well-known (and well-loved): Pat Califia, Joan Nestle, Cecilia Tan, Kate Bornstein, Jane DeLynn; others are newcomers or authors whose names may not be familiar yet, but whose work assures that they will be.

The level of their work proves that this truly is the"best of the best." I'm talking about classic stories, like Cecilia Tan's "Penetration," stories that are just so brilliant, they deserve to be read over and over again. Tristan Taormino has culled from the previous year's collections those stories that are full of all the heat, spark and sizzle of lesbian sexuality. She has also gone beyond the bounds of what is traditionally known as "erotica" -- some of these stories don't feature naked flesh pressed up against naked flesh, though most of them do. Some of these stories are sad, wistful, angry, confused. Some are subtle in their meaning, reaching for nuances far beyond the typical porn orgasm. Taormino also extends lesbian eroticism to encompass butch/femme, S/M, and transgender sexuality in a way that is truly remarkable.

Heather Seggal's story, "When He Was Mary," is one of the sexiest and most moving examples of transgender erotica I've read, capturing the narrator's conflicting feelings over her lover's transformation from female to male as well as the love they still share. In Toni Amato's excellent entry, "A Girl Like That," a butch teaches a lesson to a hot femme who's been strutting her stuff.

I reread some of these stories many times, especially the ones I'd already fallen in love with in previous collections. They stand out as truly original, sexy, provocative writing. Who could not remember "Just Drops," where a bottom learns just how dangerous water can be? It's this creativity, the capturing of the ordinary and the extraordinary and turning each into sexual fodder, all with writing that truly takes the reader into the heart of the story, that sets this collection apart. This volume is an excellent introduction to the series or a welcome addition to a well-stocked erotica collection. I heartily recommend this it to any fan of erotica, lesbian or not. You will surely find something here that will turn you on and leave you hungry for more.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, January 25, 2002

By 

Mevima (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of the Best Lesbian Erotica (Paperback)

Despite the title, involving 'lesbian erotica', this book is not just porn, as you may think. The short stories are very involved and wonderfully thought out- some don't have any sex at all, just a short plot that sets a characterization. Of course, when there *is* sex (which, honestly, happens very often), it's very well-written and hot... just what you'd expect a 'best of the best' to be. If you're looking for this sort of book, I'd definitely reccommend this over any others.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ummm, maybe not the best choice for a newbie., April 15, 2002

By 

Elizabeth (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of the Best Lesbian Erotica (Paperback)

I'm 19, and I bought this book last year just as I was coming out. I guess I wasn't quite ready for it; I was a bit shocked at some of the agression, slang, and weird roleplaying that went on, like power games or something. If you're into that, then go for it. For those just starting to test the waters, you might want to try something like Early Embraces.