Attention Fellow Sex Nerds! I have just finished reading a book that touched my perverted soul – Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex edited by Ellen Sussman. I really had no idea what to expect from this compilation but couldn’t have imagined anything as amazing as this unique journey through the sexual landscape.

Sussman asked one hundred writers to explicate any dirty word they’d like and together they cover the sexual gamut. I really appreciate that each author approaches their chosen concept uniquely – it keeps the reading exciting and refreshing. You’ll find erotic fiction, a quiz, poetry and more as writers work to define what words like “pussy,” “slut,” “fobbing,” and “jailbait” mean to them.

While I really enjoyed sitting on the porch and reading this book with a cup of tea, I liked it best when my girlfriend and I took turns reading it aloud. We took it on a road trip this past weekend – laughing and learning all the way to Long Island because this book is truly as smart as it is funny. Of course, I knew what an Orgy was before reading Danielle Wood’s brief piece, but I’ve never heard the idea summed up as brilliantly as she does in her conclusion:

“One might be said to indulge in an orgy of shopping, an orgy of chocolate, an orgy of sunbathing, an orgy of gossip. But not, I think, an orgy of ironing, or accountancy, or root-canal dentistry. Which makes me think that the tidiest way to define orgy is as word, used by killjoys, to denote any kind of pleasurable event to which they have not been invited.”

I found myself drawn to certain pieces for different reasons. I immediately skipped to Chris Beam’s Dyke because, well, I’m a huge dyke and wanted to see what she had to say about me. Just for the record, I approve! There were also a few dirty words I hadn’t heard of, so I was excited to learn something new. Even for the most common concepts, like “Fuck” or “Pussy,” I was excited to read one person’s interpretation. I mean, the idea of explaining the word Slut in 1000 words or less is pretty challenging. There are so many angles from which to approach each piece, and because of that, you’ll find yourself sucked into Sussman’s book.

This is a book that, in my opinion, should be on every word nerd’s bookshelf!

Add this excellent book to your collection!