Awesome sex guide from Nina Hartley
First of all, I must admit that I am addicted to sex books. I love books, I love sex, and the marriage of the two, when done right, can push this self-proclaimed sex fanatic to the limit. It is phenomenal. I could take a photo to show only a portion of the sex-related books and DVDs (yes, I have them too) that I accumulate, but you would think that I am a sex addict. (I don’t mean to say it isn’t, but if I am, I haven’t fully accepted it, so I’ll admit there’s a slim chance that I deny it.)
Either way, I ran into Nina Hartley through an interesting conversation with a friend of mine. He is an open-minded sexually free spirit, so I tend to trust his opinion on these matters. When she mentioned her name, I was reminded of all the times I flipped through a Playboy Store catalog or “store bought” sex material on Amazon and completely skipped their products. With our sexually wild kindred spirits in mind, I decided to take her advice a bit and took a look at Nina Hartley’s Total Sex Guide (a book, though I preferred the DVD). Needless to say, I was not disappointed.
Quick summary:
Nina Hartley, bisexual adult film star, discusses the ins and outs of sex for a general adult audience wanting to improve sexual awareness and performance with one lover (or two, and maybe three or more at once) or by itself themselves. The chapters are broken down to discuss various sexual topics in a detailed and unhurried manner that aims to provide a comprehensive description of the topic that can enhance, update, or illuminate the reader’s current knowledge.
Nina Hartley’s Guide to Total Sex: Candid Book Review
Nina Hartley’s Guide to Total Sex was one of the most comprehensive and entertaining sex-related readings I have experienced in quite some time. Hartley and his co-author, IS Levine, clearly know how to describe and explain the teachings of the sex goddess in a lighthearted, friendly, and sometimes even comical way.
Pros:
* Blatantly pro-sexual and liberating. Hartley, a self-proclaimed “cheeky sexual liberator,” encourages taking erotic responsibility for your “sexual actions and intentions,” which is empowering, especially if you’ve dealt with negative social and cultural conditioning on what sex and sexuality should be like.
* Encourage “know yourself” beyond mirrors and masturbation. We have all received the proverbial suggestion to “look in the mirror and engage with your vagina”, along with “masturbating frequently” as the main way to discover your sexuality. There is nothing wrong with this, however, the most powerful sexual organ of all, your brain, is ignored. Hartley goes beyond this useful but relatively superficial advice, directing you to openly address your own sexual identity, as it is “vital to establishing an erotic bond with a compatible other.”
* Organized, entertaining and detailed. As an adult bisexual performer, Hartley writes literally from experience in an intelligent and heartfelt way that is peppered with personal anecdotes and boils down to cliches. Fully written and detailed, GTS is over 350 pages, divided into 18 chapters that are broken down and organized into 3 sections: Basics (including orgasms, masturbation, foreplay, sexual positions, and anal sex), Extras (toys, swings, threesomes) , and Options (BDSM, and each letter has its own chapter). It is an interesting reading or coffee table accessory.
Cons:
* Too much information for too general an audience. Although Hartley’s book provides an excellent resource for the general public, I prefer specialist reading in most cases. It might have been helpful for her to have three separate books, one for beginners and novices, one for intermediate lovers, and to put her quirky writings in a completely separate book. Some of the information is sometimes too basic and sometimes too shocking, which, even if separated, can confuse the reader.
* There are not enough images. In fact, there are really no images, which could break the monotony of the consistent (but completely engaging) text that this 350-page sex manual included. On the other hand, to be honest, I hate blurry black and white photographs; they make a book look 10 years older than it actually is.
Final word: Nina Hartley’s Guide to Total Sex is almost a must-have for any sensual connoisseur’s shelf. Witty, honest, engaging, and informative, Hartley’s paperback provides an almost perfect intersection of sexuality, education, and intelligence that can’t be found so easily these days. While some chapters may be too hot for some precious eyes and ears, Guide to Total Sex is one of the most authoritative and trusted guides on human sexuality that you can find.