Book Recs

Expand your knowledge about sexual wellness. Discover books that explore self-pleasure and sex education, thoughtfully selected to enlighten & inspire.

The Ultimate Guide to Solo Sex

Masturbation is a many-splendored thing, but even here, all of us can get into a comfortable rut. Take what can be really good to really great with Jenny Block's guide to getting in on with yourself. Whether you are happily coupled, on your own, poly, or demonstrating your solo skills for your lover(s), Block has the very best advice on how to pleasure yourself masterfully and share the love. Replete with thorough research, Block's book covers the science of sex, wild and wonderful ideas for upping the masturbation ante, and lots of suggestions for how to incorporate toys. There are only one or two truly good books on the market about "sex for one," and those are years and even decades old. The Ultimate Guide to Solo Sex makes its entry as an instant classic that shows readers how to go from mundane to mind-blowing.

Healing Love through the Tao: Cultivating Female Sexual Energy

For thousands of years the sexual principles and techniques presented here were taught by Taoist masters in secret only to a small number of people (sworn to silence), in the royal courts and esoteric circles of China. This is the first book to make this ancient knowledge available to the West.

The foundation of healing love is the cultivation, transformation, and circulation of sexual energy, known as jing. Jing energy is creative, generative energy that is vital for the development of chi (vital life-force energy) and shen (spiritual energy), which enables higher practices of spiritual development. Jing is produced in the sexual organs, and it is energy women lose continually through menstruation and child bearing. Mantak Chia teaches powerful techniques developed by Taoist masters for the conservation of jing and how it is used to revitalize women's physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Among the many benefits conferred by these practices are a reduction in the discomfort caused by menstruation and the ability to attain full-body orgasm.

Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life

For much of the 20th and 21st centuries, women’s sexuality was an uncharted territory in science, studied far less frequently - and far less seriously - than its male counterpart. 

That is, until Emily Nagoski’s Come As You Are, which used groundbreaking science and research to prove that the most important factor in creating and sustaining a sex life filled with confidence and joy is not what the parts are or how they’re organized but how you feel about them. In the years since the book’s initial publication, countless women have learned through Nagoski’s accessible and informative guide that things like stress, mood, trust, and body image are not peripheral factors in a woman’s sexual well-being; they are central to it - and that even if you don’t always feel like it, you are already sexually whole by just being yourself. This revised and updated edition continues that mission with new information and advanced research, demystifying and decoding the science of sex so that everyone can create a better sex life and discover more pleasure than you ever thought possible. 

Female Ejaculation and the G-Spot

The first edition of Female Ejaculation and the G-Spot was meant to raise awareness about the phenomenon of female ejaculation and resurrect a now lost wonder, as well as the mystery surrounding this aspect of female sexuality. It empowered women who already ejaculated and taught women who wanted to. The second edition of the book promises to do even more through its mindful approach to awakening the sensations of the G-spot, and in offering a gentler and safer method that Deborah developed to enable a woman to have more control over her ability to ejaculate.
The revision also includes more testimonials from workshop participants, an interview with a sexual healer, and an expanded list of outside references, resources, product makers, and tantra teachers.From fantasies to favorite positions, erogenous zones to emotional needs, Sextrology will help you better understand your and others’ sexual character, improve your understanding of relationships, and find out what to expect from a new person in your life. No stone is left unturned in this intelligent and enlightening investigation of sex and the sexes.

Sex for One: The Joy of Selfloving

Confronting one of our last and most deeply rooted taboos—masturbation—noted sex expert and pro-sex feminist Betty Dodson, Ph.D., takes the shame out of self-love by creating a straightforward and appealing guidebook that reveals masturbation as a satisfying, vital form of sexual expression.

Dr. Dodson demonstrates how anyone can learn to make love alone with feelings of guilt or loneliness, and explains why masturbation is sexually and spiritually fulfilling for both men and women. Not only is it the safest sex, but sharing masturbation can also be a sensual treat for couples who want to learn more about each other’s sexual responses.

Sex for One demonstrates that self-loving is not just for times in-between lovers or for social misfits. Masturbation is the joyful and ongoing love affair that each of us has with ourselves throughout childhood, adulthood, and the golden years of old age.

Sextrology: The Astrology of Sex and the Sexes

In sophisticated, uninhibited language, Sextrology candidly explores each sign of the zodiac, male and female, through a unique, wholly original astro-sexual philosophy. In this highly entertaining and illuminating romp from inside the head to inside the jeans, the authors uncover the naked truth behind each of the 24 gender signs. With nary a trace of new age mumbo jumbo, they explore each sign’s personal psychology, physical attributes, and sexual behavior in titillating detail—straight, gay, and beyond.

From fantasies to favorite positions, erogenous zones to emotional needs, Sextrology will help you better understand your and others’ sexual character, improve your understanding of relationships, and find out what to expect from a new person in your life. No stone is left unturned in this intelligent and enlightening investigation of sex and the sexes.

Surrendering to the Body as Authority: A Vulva-Mapping Experience

Surrendering to the Body as Authority: A Vulva-Mapping Experience" is a uniquely transformative guide that prompts you to plunge into the depths of intimate surrender. This rich and immersive exploration elucidates the concept of surrender, encouraging you to honor your body's innate wisdom and cues.

Dive into this introspective journey to understand the roots of your desire for surrender. It presents an intriguing proposition: the level of surrender you achieve during intimacy mirrors your ability to surrender to life's waves – a reflection of your relationship with trust, acceptance, and vulnerability.

This book is more than just an enlightening read; it's an interactive experience that invites you to participate, reflect, and learn. You'll be guided through a comprehensive and intimate practice, interweaving philosophy and experiential learning.

Here's what you can expect:

• A thoughtful introduction to the philosophy of surrender, expanding its context beyond just physical aspects to emotional, mental, and spiritual facets of life.

• A step-by-step, 9-part vulva-mapping ritual, an intriguing and profound experience that encourages you to understand, appreciate, and connect with your body on a deeper level.

• A three-part worksheet designed to facilitate your understanding, reflection, and application of the concepts presented.

By the end of this enlightening journey, "Surrendering to the Body as Authority: A Vulva-Mapping Experience" will equip you with the insights to transform your relationship with surrender, intimacy, and your body. Whether you're venturing into new areas of self-exploration, looking to deepen your existing understanding, or seeking a fresh perspective, this book is your interactive guide to exploring the powerful act of surrender.

Pussy: A Reclamation

In this remarkable book, Regena Thomashauer, founder of Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts, reclaims the word for what it rightly is: the highest of all possible compliments, a sacred living prayer.

Pussy has been written to reacquaint you with your own power source —both figuratively and literally. Drawing on Mama Gena’s 25 years of research into women’s history, experience, and potential, you’ll ramp up your “cliteracy” and learn to awaken a part of yourself you’ve been taught to repress or even despise. You’ll see that pussy is anything but pornographic —it’s actually the seat of all feminine power and pleasure. And you’ll discover how a woman’s sensual awareness is critical for her spiritual, intellectual, and emotional health.The revision also includes more testimonials from workshop participants, an interview with a sexual healer, and an expanded list of outside references, resources, product makers, and tantra teachers.From fantasies to favorite positions, erogenous zones to emotional needs, Sextrology will help you better understand your and others’ sexual character, improve your understanding of relationships, and find out what to expect from a new person in your life. No stone is left unturned in this intelligent and enlightening investigation of sex and the sexes.

Tantric Orgasm for Women

A revolutionary approach to female sexuality that focuses on relaxation as the key to achieving deep orgasmic states

Explores how receptive feminine energy influences the male-female exchange
Reevaluates the role of the clitoris, breasts, and vagina in achieving orgasm
Provides ancient tantric meditations for increased sensitivity and awareness

Fulfilling sex nourishes love, rejuvenates the body, and boosts mental health. Unfortunately, prevailing attitudes in the West work against the natural capacity of women to realize their sexual potential and experience deep orgasmic states. Tantric Orgasm for Women offers women a fresh look at the ecstatic bliss possible within their bodies, using knowledge and approaches from the sensually cultivated traditions of the East.

Exploring Tantra from the female perspective, Diana Richardson reveals the critical role receptive feminine energy plays in allowing orgasmic states to arise. Her 20 years of tantric research and personal experience provide readers with an understanding of how the various parts of the female body may be activated to deepen ecstatic states. Readers will learn how to re-circulate orgasmic energy; why breast stimulation takes priority over vaginal attention; the difference between soft penetration and deep sustained penetration, including how to avoid premature male ejaculation; and how women can strengthen the erection response of male partners. Tantric Orgasm for Women shows how women can exert a powerful influence on their sexual experiences when they understand the inner workings of their bodies and when they avoid adopting conventional ideas about what should be satisfying to them.

Feeling Myself: How I shed my shame to find sexual freedom and you can too

Trauma, porn, masturbation, sexuality, sex after motherhood, sex when you feel sh*t about your body, sex after separation... these are all topics around which we skirt delicately, as if they're bombs which will explode if we prod them too curiously. In this way, sex is intimately connected with shame. Like most of us, shame has followed me around for most of my life. I felt shame for the colour of my skin, shame for being female, and shame for wanting more, but I also felt shame around the subject of masturbation. Even as an adult, I carried an intense feeling that masturbation was somehow dirty. I look back on this now and realise how warped our approach to sex is and how the shame that surrounds these conversations holds women back.

In this honest and revealing memoir, Natalie Lee digs deep into her own relationship with sex to expose the shame that many of us feel. Taking us through her journey, from traumatic beginnings to marriage, motherhood and eventually experiencing sexual freedom after divorce in her thirties, Feeling Myself is a story of learning to be your true self in a society that doesn't prioritise your pleasure. It is a book for every woman to feel empowered by and to learn the tools to experience their own emancipation too.

Anatomy of the Female Arousal” by Sheri Winston

Women's Anatomy of Arousal includes discussions of anatomy and energetics, female ejaculation and expanded orgasm, and much more. It's packed with sidebars providing great tips to women and their lovers. There's even a short chapter for guys ("The Easy Girl's Guide to Making It Easy for Guys") summarizing the main points of the book!

Winston's background includes over twenty years as a nurse-midwife, gynecology practitioner and student of the ancient erotic traditions. Over the years, she has developed her own unique approach to sexuality education: Wholistic Sexuality. Now her teachings are available in this fun, fascinating, immensely readable book that can transform your sex life for the better

Wild Feminine: Finding Power, Spirit & Joy in the Female Body

Ladies! Tap into the wisdom of your womanhood and learn through real stories, helpful visualizations, and creative exercises how the sacred pelvic bowl supports and informs your ability to be creative, self-heal, and feel empowered in your life.

Wild Feminine: Finding Power, Spirit, & Joy in the Female Body offers a unique, holistic approach to reclaiming the power, spirit, and joy of the female body and the understanding of its connection to creative energy flow. By restoring the physical and energetic balance in the pelvic bowl, women can learn to care for themselves in a nourishing and respectful manner, heal spiritual fractures, and renew their relationship with the sacred feminine.

In today’s age of women needing to reclaim their feminine power and bodily autonomy, Tami Kent—founder of Holistic Pelvic Care™ and a women’s health and physical therapist—provides a framework for healing the body and navigating the realms of the feminine spirit. Through pelvic bodywork, healing stories, visualizations, rituals, and creative exercises, women can explore the deep and natural wisdom inherent in the female body.

Wild Feminine reveals the amazing potential of the female body: the potential to create, to heal, and to transform energy at the core of all womanhood and radically shift your relationship with your body and spirit. Wild Feminine gives you the tools to awaken and retrieve your ancient wild self, restore your joy and creative energy, and reconnect to your sacred center.

Heart of the Flower: The book of Yonis

The Book of Yonis is an unflinching exploration of the beautiful diversity of female genitalia, free of judgement, shame and embarrassment.

Fifty everyday women posed for up close and personal photographs that show their genitals from many different and rarely seen angles. Each women also wrote candidly with wit, wisdom, passion, and even despair, about her relationship with her vulva.

The book is designed to challenge the way society views women’s genitals and sexuality in a way that also celebrates the beauty and power each of us carry with us.

Heart of the Flower is a beautiful gift or addition to your bookcase or coffee table and the perfect way to acknowledge that Heart of the Flower is the heart of a woman.

Crystal Healing and Sacred Pleasure: Awaken Your Sensual Energy Using Crystals and Healing Rituals, One Chakra at a Time

Engage the chakras as a road map for self-discovery, harness the power of crystals, and practice self-love through erotic spirituality with Crystal Healing and Sacred Pleasure. 

Whether you’re new to crystals or experienced with crystal healing, Crystal Healing and Sacred Pleasure offers the essential information and techniques you need to get your energy flowing freely again.

The flow of energy through our chakras (the energy centers of our bodies) is essential to our fundamental well-being and our ability to experience our lives fully. When chakras get blocked, the natural flow of energy is hindered, and we experience disconnection from our physical bodies. Crystal healing can release blockages and bring necessary attention to our whole being, while helping to heal physical or emotional trauma.

Crystals have been used for centuries as a way to release and harmonize energy. Each crystal has its own unique qualities that are suited to specific kinds of blockages. When used properly, crystals can have a powerful and positive effect on our lives. 

This book features:

  • A clear introduction to the body’s chakra system

  • Guidance for determining if a chakra is blocked

  • Essential information on crystals and how they work

  • Specific techniques and practices for using crystals to embrace self-love and achieve greater intimacy and pleasure

  • A comprehensive chart linking crystals to their chakras; zodiac elements; color energies; and physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits

  • An annotated reading list of books, blogs, and websites to support you as you continue on the path of crystal healing


    Embrace the healing power of crystals and open yourself to greater well-being, intimacy, and sensual pleasure. 

How to Have Feminist Sex

We talk about feminism in the workplace and we talk about dating after #MeToo, but women's own patriarchal conditioning can be the hardest enemy to defeat. When it comes to our sex lives, few of us are free of niggling fears and body image insecurities. Rather than enjoying and exploring our bodies uninhibited, we worry about our bikini lines, bulging tummies and whether we're doing it 'right'.

Flo broaches everything from faking it to consent, stress to kink, and how losing your virginity isn't so different to eating your first chocolate croissant. Her mission is to get more people talking openly about what they do and don't want from every romantic encounter.

The Better Sex Project Book

True Stories of One Woman's Search for Sexual Bliss. 

Tara is real, raw, and outrageously funny. This book is so much more than a “sex book”- it’s a must-read! Stacey June – Author of Single Pringle

Tara is tired of shitty sex. She wants more pleasure, more orgasms, more connection. 

The only problem is, she doesn’t know how to get it. 

Willing to try (almost) anything, she sets out on an unconventional, often hilarious, sometimes awkward journey of self-discovery. From sex camps to dungeons, high-end sex parties to Tantra school (even a night with a sex wizard), Tara is on a mission to discover the secrets to better sex.

As she untangles the complex messaging around female sexuality, and learns to navigate her own desires, boundaries and the scars of her past, first as a single woman, and then later as a wife and mother, Tara finally realises that a great sex life doesn’t come from a single magazine article or workshop but from a lifetime of discovery.

Brimming with fierce honesty and laugh-out-loud humour, The Better Sex Project is revealing, provocative and thought-provoking and is for anyone who has ever wondered if sex really ever is just sex. 

The Vagina Bible

Instant New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller!
Boston Globe bestseller
#1 Canadian Bestseller

OB/GYN, writer for The New York Times, USA Today, and Self, and host of the show Jensplaining, Dr. Jen Gunter now delivers the definitive book on vaginal health, answering the questions you’ve always had but were afraid to ask—or couldn’t find the right answers to. She has been called Twitter’s resident gynecologist, the Internet’s OB/GYN, and one of the fiercest advocates for women’s health…and she’s here to give you the straight talk on the topics she knows best.
 
Does eating sugar cause yeast infections?
 Does pubic hair have a function?
 Should you have a vulvovaginal care regimen?
 Will your vagina shrivel up if you go without sex?
 What’s the truth about the HPV vaccine?
 
So many important questions, so much convincing, confusing, contradictory misinformation! In this age of click bait, pseudoscience, and celebrity-endorsed products, it’s easy to be overwhelmed—whether it’s websites, advice from well-meaning friends, uneducated partners, and even healthcare providers. So how do you separate facts from fiction? OB-GYN Jen Gunter, an expert on women’s health—and the internet’s most popular go-to doc—comes to the rescue with a book that debunks the myths and educates and empowers women. From reproductive health to the impact of antibiotics and probiotics, and the latest trends, including vaginal steaming, vaginal marijuana products, and jade eggs, Gunter takes us on a factual, fun-filled journey.

Becoming Cliterate

***WINNER, 2019 CONSUMER BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD & 2021 MEDIA AWARD***
Awards given by major sexuality organizations to recognize the best book for promoting sexual health. First given by the Society for Sex Therapy and Research & second by the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health.
**Studies published in scientific journals show that women who read this book orgasm more, have more arousal & less pain, improve their body image, and become more sexually satisfied. Men learn how to pleasure women and become better sexual communicators.**

We've been thinking about sex all wrong. Mainstream media, movies, and porn have taught us that sex = penis + vagina, and everything else is just secondary. Standard penetration is how men most reliably achieve orgasm. The problem is, women don't orgasm this way. We've separated our most reliable route to orgasm--clitoral stimulation--from how we feel we should orgasm--penetration. As a result, we've created a pleasure gap between women and men:

  • 50% of 18-35-year-old women say they have trouble reaching orgasm with a partner

  • 64% of women vs 91% of men said they had an orgasm at their last sexual encounter

  • 55% of men vs. 4% of women say they usually reach orgasm during first-time hookup sex

In Becoming Cliterate, psychology professor and human sexuality expert Dr. Laurie Mintz exposes the broader cultural problem that's perpetuating this gap, and what we can do about it. Pulling together evidence from biology, sociology, linguistics, and sex therapy into one comprehensive, accessible, and prescriptive book

Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom

Dr Christiane Northrup's vision of mind-body wellness has received an extraordinary response from women all over the world. A massive international bestseller, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom powerfully demonstrates that when women change the basic conditions of their lives that lead to health problems, they heal faster, more completely, and with far fewer medical interventions. This groundbreaking book offers the most up-to-date information available on every aspect of women's health. Dr Northrup explains the workings of the female body in an accessible and intimate way and guides you through a comprehensive list of women's conditions and concerns, from fibroids and menstruation to pregnancy, hysterectomy and the menopause. She also shows you how to heal yourself by listening to your body's own wisdom or intuition. Filled with dramatic case histories, it is contemporary medicine at its best, combining new technologies with natural remedies and the body's own miraculous healing powers.

Urban Tantra

If you think sexual and spiritual bliss can't be found in today's fast-paced world, you haven't experienced Urban Tantra. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Urban Tantra, acclaimed sex educator Barbara Carrellas radically updates the ancient practice of Tantra for modern sexual explorers desiring to discover new frontiers. With a juicy mix of erotic how-to and heart-centered spiritual wisdom, this updated edition includes a brand-new introduction, up-to-date references and resources, a new take on the possibilities and responsibilities of Tantra in today’s world, plus new and cutting-edge information to reach an expanded community—added information on multi-partner play, more intersections for Tantra and BDSM, practices for asexuals and aromantics, expanded practices for trans and gender nonconforming people, and more. 

With more than one hundred easy-to-follow techniques for expanded orgasmic states and solo and partner play (as well as more adventurous practices), this in-depth guide reveals the delicious worlds of ecstasy available to all, no matter one's gender, sexual preference, or erotic tastes. Urban Tantra expands the notions of pleasure and opens new heights of intimacy and sexual fulfillment.

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

A lively, sexy, and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women’s lives at all ages—a spicy and alluring mix of Together Tea and Calendar Girls.

Every woman has a secret life . . .

Nikki lives in cosmopolitan West London, where she tends bar at the local pub. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she’s spent most of her twenty-odd years distancing herself from the traditional Sikh community of her childhood, preferring a more independent (that is, Western) life. When her father’s death leaves the family financially strapped, Nikki, a law school dropout, impulsively takes a job teaching a "creative writing" course at the community center in the beating heart of London’s close-knit Punjabi community.

Because of a miscommunication, the proper Sikh widows who show up are expecting to learn basic English literacy, not the art of short-story writing. When one of the widows finds a book of sexy stories in English and shares it with the class, Nikki realizes that beneath their white dupattas, her students have a wealth of fantasies and memories. Eager to liberate these modest women, she teaches them how to express their untold stories, unleashing creativity of the most unexpected—and exciting—kind.

As more women are drawn to the class, Nikki warns her students to keep their work secret from the Brotherhood, a group of highly conservative young men who have appointed themselves the community’s "moral police." But when the widows’ gossip offers shocking insights into the death of a young wife—a modern woman like Nikki—and some of the class erotica is shared among friends, it sparks a scandal that threatens them all.

Tantra: The Supreme Understanding

In this all-time best seller, Osho discusses the mystical insights found in the ancient Tantric writings, and the many significant Tantric meditation techniques that are as relevant to the modern-day seeker as they were to those in earlier times.As always, Osho brings his own unique blend of wisdom, humor, and thought-provoking inspiration to even this complex subject, making it accessible to the widest possible audience. 

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