sev's kinky book reviews

I've got the first edition and I'm damn glad the 2nd is out; this book seemed to be constantly in and out of print (the original publisher, Richard Kasak/Masquerade books, is now defunct). It's been my favorite beginner's book since I first got it in '96. This is a basic s/m book, emphasis on sensation (at least in the edition I have -- the 2nd edition has four new chapters I haven't read yet).

The examples are shockingly heterosexual. (well, shocking to me. I mean, this is Pat Califia we're talking about, here, whose other fiction is more pansexual than nearly any other author whose work graces my shelves -- or at least among the top three[*].) I guess the target audience is largely heterosexual couples, though one of the reasons I recommend it so strongly is that it's less from a strictly heterosexual viewpoint than most of the other beginner's books I've read.

Sensuous Magic includes:

• sexy little vignettes, scattered throughout. They strike me as cute rather than erotic, for the most part...while the book as a whole does encourage me to reach for my vibrator, it's the nonfiction portions that actually get my motor running. The fictional vignettes are more for illustrative purposes, I think. Speaking of illustrations, I can find exactly one drawing in my copy, and it's of a panic snap.
• communication tools including fifty-item yes/no/maybe checklist
• exploration of the line between vanilla sex and s/m, a fun alternative to the the typical (and intimidating) image of a sadist with an arsenal of specialized toys. Not that I have anything against specialized toys :) -- but I think it's good for people to know they don't have to go spend a lot of money in hard-to-find stores in order to play with these fantasies.
• discussion of sex during play, including safer-sex information and very concise summary of fisting
• glossary
• a reading list ("This therapist seems to be very fond of labeling almost all of her patients sadomasochists, for reasons I cannot fathom, and she has a very strange relationship with her little dog.")
• real-life resource list (which, in my copy, are entirely out of date, as they're from eight years ago. Look for a new, updated list in the second edition)

As I mentioned, it's my favorite beginner's book. Do I think everybody should read it? Well, anybody who wants to learn about s/m, at least. If you're a seasoned bdsm player looking for a refresher or a few new ideas, I'd point you to Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns or better, the usenet newsgroup soc.subculture.bondage-bdsm (and the alt.sex.bondage archives from '96 and earlier, when the newsgroup was still (mostly) readable. If you read closely enough you can see what I thought about this stuff when I was in my early twenties & just starting to figure it out).

[*] Califia among the top three most pansexual fiction authors on my bookshelves: the other two would be Laura Antoniou and Carol Queen.