Books

Steamy, Sexy... Science? 6 Books That'll Turn You On

Ahhhh, "beach reads", the hallowed grounds of illicit summer affairs, flowery accounts of romance, and plots so basic you could spell them out with refrigerator poetry magnets. Never fear! We've got you covered with books that are scandalous, titillating, and come with an added side of brain food. The more you know!

by Caitlin Van Horn

Read These: Steamy, Sexy... Science?

Ahhhh, "beach reads", the hallowed grounds of illicit summer affairs, flowery accounts of romance, and plots so basic you could spell them out with refrigerator poetry magnets. Never fear! We've got you covered with books that are scandalous, titillating, and come with an added side of brain food. The more you know!

'Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex' by Mary Roach

It takes an author with a big dedication to science and a bigger sense of humor to have sex with her husband in an MRI machine with doctors watching — for science! Roach manages to find some of the most titillating scientific research, from paraplegic masturbation to the creation of niche sex toys, and presents it all with a wry smile.

'Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships' by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha

This book is where evolutionary biology gets snarky and saucy. Jetha and Ryan reveal the possible genetic basis for human's exceedingly sexual behavior. Think "exceedingly" is an overstatement? The amount spent on porn in 2006, according to Sex at Dawn, exceeds the net revenue of Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, and Netflix combined.

'A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World's Largest Experiments Reveals about Human Desire' by Sai Gaddam and Ogi Ogas

There's a reason Google's Incognito exists, and it's to prevent the people who share your computer from gathering information on your sex life the way Gaddam and Ogas did on a giant chunk of the population. Scooping up data from search engines resulted in curious insights into porn (for instance, did you know porn featuring hermaphroditic transexuals is most sought-after by straight, cis men?) that make for a surprising and addictive read.

'Sex and Punishment: Four Thousand Years of Judging Desire' by Eric Berkowitz

I'll freely admit, this doesn't sound like something you'd zip through poolside (in fact, "sexual law" sounds like the exact opposite of that), but where else are you going to learn fascinating tidbits such as: the Holy Inquisition was totally okay with lady-lovin', provided there were no "instruments" involved? Berkowitz has a gift for turning historical court cases into lurid and salacious scenes that could match any tabloid cover.

'Love in the Time of Algorithms: What Technology Does to Mating and Meeting' by Dan Slater

If you're curious about how OkCupid is shaping the future of love and sex, you'll blitz through Slater's book faster than an unsuccessful speed date, all while wondering if you should trust your the rest of your love life to a computer with a math program.

'Secret Sex Lives: A Year on the Fringes of American Sexuality' by Suzy Spencer

Spencer is, first and foremost, a true crime writer, which means Secret Sex Lives doesn't shy from ripped-from-the-headlines steamy details of the swingers clubs she visits and phone sex lines on which she listens in, but her poignant analysis makes this memoir a go-to for anyone who likes a little self-reflection in her summer reads.

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