Top 16 Books About Sex Updated 04 /2024

It has to be written by someone you trust and not be too scientific or dry to read. As we did research for our own book, The Sex Issue, we found guides from interesting experts that were both useful and easy to read. Over the years, we've found a lot of these guides.

There are two dream vibrators, one with a rumbling wonder ball and one that heats itself. There is also a herbal supplement that helps us keep our libido healthy. Isn't sex the subject of our new Netflix show? Sex, Love and Goop

The Wild Woman’s Way by Michaela Boehm

Michaela Boehm, an expert on sex, intimacy, and Tantra, talks about how important it is to pay attention to our bodies. She says that the mind-body connection is the key to deeper, more satisfying pleasure. When she talks about embodiment, she says that it's about paying attention to our body's messages. She says that we should move our bodies in unstructured ways through practical exercises that get us back in touch with our feelings and senses.

Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel

Even after years of marriage, how do you keep the flame alive? Esther Perel, a couples and sexuality therapist, has a lot to say about the possibility of a better sex life in this very funny and insightful look at love and lust.

Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski, PhD

One of the best-known books on the science of women's sexuality is by Emily Nagoski, a sex educator and former researcher at the Kinsey Institute, who talks about how we feel pleasure in this book. Nonjudgmental: It's based on scientific research and data that shows how sexual desire can be good or bad. It doesn't have to be hard to have an orgasm, and having a good sex life isn't just about what happens between the sheets.

Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown

Maree brown is an author, activist, and doula. She says that having fun isn't just important to stay alive during a revolution, but it's also a revolution in itself. She thinks about everything in life, from physical movement to friendship to work. As a reward, she'll drop off your homework assignments for you.

Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein

Peggy Orenstein's research into high school and college hookup culture is very interesting. She interviews students, academics, psychologists, and a wide range of other experts about how modern sex and relationships are hard to understand. If you're an adult who has a stake in the next generation, like a parent or a teenager, this book is a must-read.

 

Boys & Sex by Peggy Orenstein

Boys & Sex is the result of more than two years of research and more than 100 interviews with boys between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two. It's a companion to Orenstein's Girls & Sex. He does the same thing in Girls & Sex. He presents data in a way that makes the text jump off the page.

The Ethical Slut by Janet W. Hardy and Dossie Easton

For ethical nonmonogamy, The Ethical Slut is known as the bible. It shows how to keep everyone in a relationship, whether it's just two people or a network of sexual partners, on the same level. Most of the best advice is general, like learning to be honest with yourself, communicating clearly with your partner, and having a healthy sense of self-esteem.

Becoming Cliterate by Laurie Mintz, PhD

In Becoming Cliterate, Laurie Mintz, who is a sex therapist and psychology professor, makes the case that we should pay more attention to the stimulation of the clitoral area. The book has a lot of information about the clitoris, but the main point is that there is a big difference between how men and women enjoy having sex. Mintz has a practical and insightful way to close that gap.

Love Worth Making by Stephen Snyder, MD

Psychiatrist Stephen Snyder thinks that being mindful may be the biggest turn on there is, and that sexual narcissism isn't just OK; it's important. Which seems like a very unusual way to keep the passion alive in a long-term relationship. Snyder thinks that good sex, whether you've been married for 20 years or you're in a swipe-right chapter, is all about understanding our sexual selves.

Better Sex through Mindfulness by Lori A. Brotto, PhD

As a psychologist and sex researcher, Lori A. Brotto thinks about our lives outside of the bedroom when she talks about why we might have trouble with our sexual relationships. It's the most common, but people don't talk about it as much as they should. Brotto gives you tools, like simple exercises, to help you have more desire and have more fun.

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

First, journalist Lisa Taddeo wrote her first book. She spent ten years getting to know three American women in different parts of the country. There is an interesting true story about sexual desire, trauma and longing. It also talks about the hidden forces that shape our sexuality. A lot of people don't know that the writing is real. Even though Three Women was normal, we fell in love with the idea because it was so normal. We can see ourselves in these women, too. It's so graceful of Taddeo to remind us that we are normal. We're all the same.

Sex for One by Betty Dodson, PhD

For people who are fans of Betty Dodson, or who like to masturbate, this book is right for them! A lot of books about sex focus on having sex with someone else, but this is an honest and straightforward guide to having sex for yourself.

The Sexual Healing Journey by Wendy Maltz

This is a difficult but very gentle and helpful book for anyone who has been abused and is having trouble with sex and intimacy. It's almost like a step-by-step guidebook. As a partner of someone who has been sexually abused, this book is also very important.

So Tell Me about the Last Time You Had Sex by Ian Kerner, PhD

What happens when you and your partner get a lot of things on their plate at once? When we have sex, Ian Kerner refers to it as our "sex script." This is what we do when we have sex. Dr. Kerner draws on decades of clinical experience and the most up-to-date sexual science to help you figure out why your script doesn't feel right. Then he helps you change it.

Want Me by Tracy Clark-Flory

Tracy Clark-Flory is a sex journalist, and her job has taken her to porn sets, orgasmic meditation retreats, and anonymous online chat rooms to learn more about what makes us want to have sex with other people. Her book, "Want Me," came out of a project that looked into men's sexuality. In telling that story, Clark-Flory began to look at how her own sense of desire has been shaped by the conflicting forces of sexual freedom and sexual expectations. She also looked at how wanting and being wanted work together.

Sensual Self by Ev’Yan Whitney

It took Ev'Yan Whitney years to blog about their own sexual freedom. They wrote down how they learned to untangle themselves from sexual shame, find their own sexual identity, and learn to take up space. And they said that pleasure was more about sensuality than sex: paying attention to your body and paying attention to what makes you happy. Her first book, Sensual Self, is a journal that lets you go on the same journey as Whitney did. Before December 7, you can order the book now, and it will be ready for you to read on December 7.

Sex with Shakespeare by Jillian Keenan

When Jillian Keenan read The Tempest, she learned about sexuality. He did not show any respect for women at all in King Lear. In what book is The Taming of the Shrew about? BDSM. Her memoir is based on fourteen of the Bard's works, and she picks out all of the sexual undertones and puts them together with her own stories about sexuality and fetishism to make her own story. You will laugh. A Midsummer Night's Dream might make you blush every time you watch it again.

Women’s Anatomy of Arousal by Sheri Winston

You can have good sex, even great sex, just by following your heart. But holistic sexuality teacher Sheri Winston wants people to learn how to be sex as a skill. What's on the dish? Erotic trances, many orgasms, and more full experiences of self-pleasure.

The Right to Sex by Amia Srinivasan

Thinker and professor Amia Srinivasan reads The Right to Sex and talks about what sex means when it's not just inside our bedroom walls. They give an in-depth look at some of the most controversial issues in sex and sexuality, like the difference between sexual preference and discrimination, incel culture, and the return of second wave, anti-porn feminism. Her writing pushes us out of our comfort zone in the best way, so we learn more.

Tongue Tied by Stella Harris

People who are close to you should know what you want before you start playing around with kink. In Tongue Tied, an intimacy educator and coach named Stella Harris talks about how to talk about sexual desires with your partner. She talks about how to overcome your fears and start a conversation, as well as how to deal with your frustrations and understand why it's good to hear "no."

---