Customer Reviews

The Guide to Getting It On! A New and Mostly Wonderful Book About Sex for Adults of All Ages

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I can't think of a better, more enjoyable, or more comprehensive general sex book. "The Guide" has tons of information on a number of subjects. Much of that information is basic, but that's what a sex book is for, isn't it? And that certainly doesn't mean it isn't common knowledge; unless you've tried everything, you're going to learn a bunch. For you know-it-alls out there, it has a gargantuan listing of additional references (most of which are quite respectable, if not downright fun and sexy). If you're interested in kinkier, more unusual activities, this book will at least get you started in the right direction; if it doesn't tell you all you need to know, it will tell you who will.

Content aside, this book's winning feature is its style. The Guide approaches sex the way we all should (and usually don't): with intelligence and a healthy sense of humor and play. The language is familiar rather than cold or condescending, and reading the book is like talking to a close friend. It's a fun read, either by yourself or with a loved one, and it's best read all the way through.

And you're probably not going to find cooler pictures anywhere.

One drawback is the book's organization: although it has numerous chapters that appear well, something you'd expect to find in one chapter may turn up in another, and on some points the book gets unneccessarily repetitive. It's a very small price to pay, but it can be an annoyance from time to time.

This book is open, clever, honest, and funny. Whether you're a neophyte or an expert, you'll learn something new, and hopefully, your perspective on sex and sexuality will change a little. And you'll enjoy every page of it.

I was looking for a birthday present at a bookstore when I ran across this title and laughed at it and took it to show a friend of mine who was there with me so she could laugh at it too. This must be the trashiest sex guide in the world, I thought.

Then I started flipping through it.

It was intelligent. And informative. And funny. And contained details and suggestions that I had actually never heard of. (The oral sex section in particular contains the most straightforward, clear and thoughtful instructions on this topic that I have ever come across, and I have not led a sheltered life.)

I bought it right away as the birthday gift I was looking for, but then ended up reading most of it before I gave it away. Now I'm back to buy another copy for another friend. The guy who gave this just one star probably was expecting another clinical social sex review with funny anecdotes, and not a guide that gives you detailed sexual advice that you can actually use. This is also not simply a book of positions, or a book of thinly disguised porn with deep-throating instructions. The advice given here is realistic, honest, and very, very useful.

I'm replacing my old copy with the new version, because this publication is my first choice for beginning sex-ed with my stepdaughter.

This book doesn't demonize consentual sex at all. It's about making consentual sex pleasant and safe for both participants, and it does a great job. It covers topics other books haven't even touched! For example, one picture flatly demonstrates that a partner who helps out with the housework is far more likely to get sex than one who doesn't. How many books touch that third rail???

There are pictures showing the differences between circumsized and uncircumsized penises, as well as genitalia (male and female) of different shapes and sizes. I firmly believe that these will prevent emotionally painful experiences for many young adults beginning to have sex. The information is accessible, and having read the book before I know it will break the ice for the more detailed sex talk with my stepdaughter with both humor and seriousness, while at all times giving vital information.

I seem to have accumulated a collection of "sex manual" books. Some are funny, some are academic, etc. _The Guide To Getting It On!_ is fabulous. From a woman's point of view - there's a lot of men out there that could benefit from reading this book. I'm not putting down men, either!! I just haven't read such a simple and straightforward approach about women and sex before. Plus you just can't help laughing out loud every once and a while.

The chapter about explaining sex to children is fabulous, too, and I'd highly recommend it to parents.

That's what my friends all said when they picked up this book, right before they sat down with it and were immediately engrossed. After having read the first edition many, many times, I was a big fan of the Goofy Foot Press's work. The second edition is even better, with more tips, more chapters, and some extra special added pictures. This book is honest and refeshingly humorous without being silly or patronizing; in fact, it's a lot like talking to a friend about sex. One of the best parts of the second edition is the personal quotes from readers. This book offers hints, tips, and ideas that you might not have thought of before. I know I didn't. It's an easy and fun read to share with your partner. Good luck, kids, and remember, it's more than just pictures! ;)

Don't pass this one by because of the jocular, "youth" jargon of the chapter titles or the comic book style illustrations, this book really has some important information to pass on. More than that, those who have taken a little bit of time to read some this book realize that the style of the titles and art employed wonderfully well to expose those catch-phrases and idealized images that float throughout our culture playfully. Make no mistake, this book pushes past such stereotypes to take a broader and less judgemental view of sex than most other available texts--it is precisely by returning to address specifically the misconceptions commonly held about sex. Also, ideas about sex are rarely stated in "answer form" (i.e. "This is what people think, this is what is really true.") but rather keeps the discussions about various issues more objective by bringing in several viewpoints. There are no "answers" about sex, but this book will help you catch yourself where you have been deceived by culture or have deceived yourself. Congratulations to this team for putting together a book that keeps to the topic of discussing of informing about many key issues of sexuality rather than prescribing for the reader a particular sexual worldview.

The second edition almost doubles the size of the first, incorporating many personal comments from readers, contributors, etc. Though some of the artwork could be considered "goofy/humorous", some may consider it erotic. Many of the techniques are right on, and some may lead to many an erotic adventure. Always couched in medically sound cautions, this book will open new horizons for either gender of any persuasion. Beware, it is absolutely frank and blunt, but that's what you want! I prefer the first edition as it is easier to read, but all the information is included in the second. --Future editions will contain ongoing feedback and comments submitted by readers via the web page set up by Goofy Foot Press. Highly recommended! --Could be a great Valentines Day gift for lovers, or future lovers. -- Be prepared to spend many a night curled up with this one!

A better title might be "A Guide to Getting it on for Young Guys Who Never Have". Early in the book we are told that it is for both sexes and all levels of experience. Not True. The comic book illustrations make clear who is the intended audience. I noted that chapter nine is "What's inside a girl", not "What's inside a woman". After assuring us that no publication has "more respect for its readers" the author goes on to patronise,condescend, and insult your intelligence on nearly every page. The author states the importance of having a brain attached to the penis but at no time assumes the reader has the afore mentioned brain. A book about sex for beginners is fine. But no experience does not equal no brain. If you have some sexual experience, have done a little experimenting, have read any helpful sex ed books, then the Guide won't offer you much new. Nonetheless the old stuff is presented as if the author is savy to sexual secrets we poor slobs who bought the book aren't privy to. He patiently, if crudely, tells us what we already know, then leads us to the correct conclusion (No, I won't shove my fingers. No, I won't make her gag.) The author is desparate to be funny and hip. He is unable to convey information without gratuitous vulgarity. His humour and sensitivity have been mentioned by others. It is unclear whether his statement that he preferred a warm shower to some vaginas was a funny bit or a sensitive bit. Our author, existing on an exalted sexual plane, informs us that not all vaginas feel alike. He goes on to explain(always patiently) that the ones that feel the best don't necessarily belong to the best looking women. Yes, he really felt it was necessary to state this. The author is ceaseless and tireless in sharing his insights(which can be summarised as the bloody obvious). There is page after page of talking down to the reader. (Yes, I know vagina is not synomous with vulva. Yes, I know that clitoris has two pronunciations. Yes I know that the sheets can be laundered if soiled with menstrual blood.) On and On. I quit reading when once again "ureatha" was followed by the parenthetically enclosed "peehole". I gave up . I really have nothing to learn from a man who thinks he has to repeatedly define ureatha to me. I don't know if the author thinks he is smarter than everyone else or just those who buy his book. If you want to learn explicit, sophisticated techniques without being bludgeoned with the obvious and stupefied with relentless lame humour, then try a book by Barbara Keesling or the Brauers. If you don't know your genitals from a hole in the ground, want to see how a Marvel Comics artist would draw a penis, and are still not sure what an ureatha is--this is the book for you.

This book was sensitive and encouraging in places I didn't expect it to be. It also gives good pointers. I laughed nearly all the way through it. If you buy one book about sex, buy this one.

I picked up this book as a gag gift for a friend but we all loved it so much that it has been on loan for the past 6 months. I finally broke down and bought it for myself. It is interesting, humourous, easy to read and covers every thing that you could possible have questions about in a staight forward but tastefully blunt way. It is the absolute best book on sex!