Thursday, April 5, 2012

Books: Best Sex Writing 2012

Recently, I was contacted via email by Cleis Press asking if I'd like a free copy of Best Sex Writing 2012: The State of Today's Sexual Culture.  I don't know why it took me so long to say, "Why, yes...please send my that FREE book about stuff I like to read about...I will gladly review it!"  Sheesh.



Anyhow, I now have the book in my hot little hands.  Haven't read much of it yet, but I must say I am impressed by the variety in the table of contents.  I think when I saw the initial email, I only looked at the main title, not the subtitle...and that's why I wasn't jumping all over the keyboard to get it.

I don't usually love erotica compilations.  In my experience, commercial erotica is just too superficial.  There isn't enough back story or human interest.  It's just sex, sex, sex.  And while there is certainly a market for that (a lot of people just want to get to the "good parts" and could care less about the literary quality of a text), I personally prefer my literature to be just that...literature (which is why I tend to stay mired in the classics).  There is a big difference between sex stories, smut, romance, and literary erotica.  It kind of annoys me that so little attention is paid to the differences.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm glad people are writing about sex, no matter in what regard or what medium.  I don't have to like it all.

But...I'm getting off track here.  Back to what I DO like.  And that is non-fiction about sex.  Love, love, love to know about people's opinions, personal experiences (memoir is at the top of my voyeuristic list), likes, dislikes, fetishes, concerns, etc.  It's why I love personal blogs.

So, I am looking forward to this little collection.

Anyone who is in the Portland area tomorrow (not me, unfortunately) should stop by Powell's books.  Rachel Kramer Bussel will be "kicking off" the book tour for the anthology.  Here's a little article about it from Just Out:

Sex Nerds Unite:  Rachel Kramer Bussel Kicks Off Best Sex Writing 2012 Book Tour at Powells

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