I receive a number of bookish newsletters. One of those is by Neil Pasricha. In his latest newsletter, he made an unusual recommendation. As the third book he recommended this title. When he picked it up at a bookstore in Ottawa and browsed the table of contents he “could feel internal aversions and curiosities, and knew I should probably pick it up to learn more.” That piqued my curiosity, so I borrowed it from my library.
Each chapter covers a different fetish, such as “Feet”, “Spanking”, and “Orgies”. They open with a frank discussion of what they are and a compassionate look as to why people enjoy them. I appreciated this approach, especially for the chapters I was less comfortable with like “Consensual Nonconsent”.
I highly recommend this book for those whose only exposure to kinks is mainstream movies or porn. Both show fetishists as out of touch weirdos. From this book, I learned that there is much more to what turns people on than the surface understanding that comes from such sources. It is a real exercise in understanding the motivations of others. And that is a valuable experience regardless of the subject matter.
My rating: 4/5
