I often wonder why books like this are published. Really, does anyone who's having sex really need a guide to it? Okay, maybe there's a term or an action I wasn't familiar with before reading this, but in general, I wonder what kind of audience really buys books like this.
What book am I talking about? Why, it's Gay Sex, A Manual For Men Who Love Men. By making your way through the alphabet with the book, you'll find information on the various ways that men can make love to one another.
What you get to learn about...
What am I talking about? Well, think of this book as more of an encyclopedia of gay sex. As you make your way through each letter of the alphabet, several different words, representing sexual acts, ideas, health and other points are covered. For example, the first chapter, as you'd expect is “A” and contains the following topics:
Age differences
Aging
AIDS
Alcohol
Alternatives to the Bars
Anal intercourse
Anilingus
Animal noises
Anonymous sex
Aphrodisiac
Appearance
Not a completely exhaustive guide to everything gay sex related under the letter A, but it does cover the bases. It continues along like that for each of the letters of the alphabet. What about the entries themselves? The range in length from a few sentences (or even just one referring you to another entry) to a few pages in length. For example, I'll pick something that I didn't know about until I went to college – a dental dam, the book provides about 2 paragraphs on these devices, which allow you to do certain things without direct mouth to body contact (think of it as a flat condom).
Besides the text, there are occasional illustrations throughout the book to further explore certain topics. These drawings are pretty much exclusively for sexual positions or actions. There are also web links to further information located along with most of the entries, though considering this book was published a while ago, I'm not sure how many of the links still work.
At the end of the book you'll find a short appendix that includes information on AIDS transmission and risks during sexual encounters. This isn't anything new, but I suppose it's good to get reinforced and any sexually active gay man should be as aware of the dangers of HIV and AIDS as possible. Following the appendix is a bibliography to point you in the right direction for additional reading.
Is there useful information in this book? Sure, I picked up a thing or two while reading it, but I couldn't say that there was anything in there earth shattering that I didn't already know about. I had purchased the book as more of a gag gift for my partner years ago then anything else. That's probably the reason a lot of these books are sold – I'd think most gay men know most of the information here, but it makes for a fun gift and I suppose it can be a bit fun to read through and catch up on stuff that you might not quite know everything about.
Final Thoughts
While most gay men won't find any earth shattering information in this guide to gay sex, it's a well written and easy to read book that provides plenty of information on gay men's sexual habits and activities.
I'm not sure I'd run out and get it, but if you see it in the discount bin or see a deal online, it's a good book to have and it makes a fun present for your significant other.
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