The Pervert's Library
The Home for the Literarily Bent
Intimate Invasions
5
Intimate Invasions front cover
by M.R. Strict
Published in 2004 by Greenery Press
Klysmaphilia or enema play is one of those topics that embarrasses most people to talk about, much less express an interest in. Given that, a Greenery Press book devoted to the topic would seem a very worthwhile effort towards expanding everyone’s comfort and familiarity with the topic. Or at least, that’s what I thought prior to reading the book. It pains me to have to say this (for one thing I bristle at the bad pun), but simply put this book is shitty.
One consistently annoying thing about BDSM books in general, and Greenery Press titles in particular, is a writing style that uses fantasy scenes interspersed in between matter of fact discussion. Having endured more of these books than anyone really ought, I have come to the conclusion that most BDSM books would not be published were they written about any other topic. Books about even such potentially mundane topics as gardening, cooking, and sewing are generally better written than even the best BDSM book. It is so bad that I own any number of books that I would be embarrassed to have the coroner find on my bookshelf not because they are dirty but simply because they are poorly written.
But I digress. The most astonishing part about Intimate Invasions is that even though it clocks in at about 140 pages, there are perhaps 20 that contain useful information. Without the awful fantasy sequences this book might have been a good fit for Greenery Press’ “Toybag Guide” series. But even that might be a stretch since even those 20 pages are not reliable because M.R. Strict’s knowledge and advice seems suspect. As bad as the factual sections are, the fantasy sequences are even worse.
Just how bad is this book? It is so bad that I would put more faith in the advice from any number of 1970s enema guides marketed by the same companies that specialized enema themed pornography. Even though they often recommend such potentially dangerous practices as giving wine enemas, they tend to demonstrate a greater passion and knowledge of their subject.
I hope that another BDSM publisher and/or author will devote a book to this worthwhile topic. They certainly will have no trouble writing something better than this.
The Pleasure’s All Mine: Memoir of a Professional Submissive
12 years ago
by Todd
in Working Girls
The Pleasure’s All Mine: Memoir of a Professional Submissive front cover
by Joan Kelly
Published in 2006 by Carroll & Graf
This book opened my eyes to the mere existence of professional submissives. No doubt I’m naïve, but while I’m familiar the concept of a professional Master/Mistress (I’ve met several), being a professional submissive always seemed too risky a proposition. At least that’s certainly the impression I have gleaned from repeated reading of memoirs of ordinary hookers and true crime books. I can’t help but wonder where professional submissives would fit in the pecking order of sex workers. My best guess is that, like with mainstream sex workers, independents have a higher status than agency girls in turn who have a higher status than street workers. But that’s just a guess. At any rate, they certainly are much less visible than other categories of sex workers. If Kelly’s book accomplishes nothing else, she single-handedly has raised the profile of professional submissives not just in my mind, but the alternative sexuality consciousness. For that feat alone she deserves kudos.
Readers hoping for shocking descriptions of sexual depravity won’t be entirely disappointed, but for the most part the interests of Kelly’s clients are, to a full-fledged pervert like me, fairly tame. The most shocking part for me was her admission that the sight of an extremely well endowed man’s cock excited her immensely. You’ll have to read the book to learn the rest, but it did confirm what men always know and women usually lie about: size really does matter.
Why the book is short on the lurid, I don’t know. It does not seem likely that it was because her clients simply lacked any other outlet for their kinky explorations. Nor do I think they were simply too shy to share their more extreme desires. (I have often found myself suprised to hear others openly talk abour kinks I would be loathe to ever admit to. Similarly, I’m often surprised to hear about the kinks that folks would rather die than discuss.) What seems more likely is that in order to engage in edgier play one needs to have a more intimate relationship with their partner than one can have in a professional session (I’m sure those familiar with the requests made of professional Masters/Mistresses might quibble with that point, but the difference is that it requires much less commitment to have something done to you, than it does to do to someone else. The notable exception is your average sociopath, though they are notoriously poor negotiators.)
I suppose it’s also possible that lurid descriptions of scenes aren’t included because Kelly simply didn’t include them perhaps out of the fear it would hurt her credibility. The credibility of a memoir is always suspect. People’s recollections tend to paint themselves in the best (or occasionally worst) possible light. This is especially true when for memoirs about illicit activities. That said, Kelly’s account seems fairly credible to me with one exception: early in her career as a submissive she describes a humiliating encounter with a client who cancelled a session appointment to play with a more attractive colleague. Though I’m familiar with the magic of photography and makeup, looking at Kelly’s photo on the cover and in pictures from her book tour reveal her to be very attractive (my crappy scan notwithstanding). I find it hard to believe that she would passed over because of her looks.
The only flaw in this book is its extremely abrupt ending. While it was refreshing that Kelly didn’t proffer any regrets about her career turning the book into a morality tale or try to eloquently defend the choices she made, when I got to the last page I couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t a final chapter that was omitted. Perhaps rather than an omission, the final chapter in Kelly’s memoir has to be written. Abrupt ending aside, The Pleasure’s All Mine is a great book that every kinky person should read.
Anyone You Want Me to Be: A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet
02 years ago
by Todd
in Crime and Punishment
Anyone You Want Me to Be: A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet front cover
by John Douglas and Stephen Singular
Published in 2003 by Scribner
Written by former FBI criminal profiler John Douglas and true crime author Stephen Singular, Anyone You Want Me to Be traces the life and criminal exploits of serial murderer John “Slavemaster” Robinson. If you’re unfamiliar with Robinson’s crimes you can read his Wikipedia article.
Because Robinson’s victims are not unlike many of the submissive women I know and care about, this book was a difficult read as I kept imagining one of them meeting a horrible fate. Anyone contemplating turning an online BDSM romance into a real life meeting would be highly advised to read this book. That isn’t because meaningful, fulfilling, and loving relationship with someone you meet online aren’t possible, but because you really don’t know who is on the other end of the machine.
One thing that I did find particularly satisfying is that while Robinson was able to con many women he met online, one wouldbe victim he met in person had the foresight to set up a safecall. To be fair, despite the safecall the woman didn’t survive her encounter with Robinson completely unscathed – Robinson stole her toy bag. If you ask me, even if they hadn’t found the barrels filled his bodies, stealing someone’s toybag is a capital offense. Kidding aside, it was this act that finally gave the police probably cause to arrest Robinson and led to the discovery of his victims.
Whether it is because, or in spite, of the fact that this book will haunt your thoughts for days after you read it, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Whip Worship
0
Whip Worship front cover
by Cliff Barrett, Ph.D.
Published in 1972 by Impact Library
The attention grabbing cover blurbs promises insight into a world of women who “live and love by whip and pain and twisted torture” and “…females who attain amazing summit fulfillment by painful agony aberrations.” Unfortunately, Whip Worship reads more like a series of random stories thrown together willy-nilly instead of a cohesive narrative of any form.
The first scene of the book is a rather standard case history of two teenage sisters. (Well, the tale they tell of turning tricks while hitchhiking isn’t exactly standard but the “case study” format of the concerned psychologist is.)
Next, we are then treated to a first person account of a group of soldiers enjoying the spoils of war. Even though the gangbang triple penetration described therein is arousing, the abrupt shift in writing styles is abrupt so much so that it proves distracting.
There’s little need to describe the rest of the scenes – they vacillate from tired third person narratives of sadistic prostitution rings to the confession of a depraved bisexual masochist – the sort of girl that fantasies are made of – to an upper class masochistic man who enjoys the charms of street urchins of both sexes. It’s the last vignette I mentioned that serves both as a crescendo of depravity and the books’ highlight. Despite the fact that it wasn’t at all arousing to me sexually, the vivid descriptions of enjoying cunnilingus with a VD sufferer and the glass table show made me feel a little morally superior. No matter how twisted or demented my fantasies might become, I can take solace in the fact that I haven’t sunk quite as low as Mr. Upper Crust.
In sum, this is a mess of a book. Readers who enjoy their smut straight, predictable, and internally consistent should stay away. However, sick fucks like me will find themselves happy.
Dr. Donsbach Tells You What You Always Wanted to Know about Prostate
02 years ago
by Todd
in Doctor's Orders
Dr. Donsbach Tells You What You Always Wanted to Know about Prostate front cover
By Dr. Kurt Donsbach
Published in 1983 by The International Institute of Natural Health Sciences, Inc.
I know I am different from most people, but the first thing I wondered when I read this book’s title was whether I could trust a book with such a grammatically awkward title. (I can’t.) Actually, that was the second thing I wondered. The first thing I wondered was if (and how) the book would handle the delicate discussion of the simple joys of having a finger up your ass. As much as I might like to claim otherwise, I honestly was not terribly surprised that the book did not discuss the joy of manual stimulation of the prostrate with a finger or other object. I would have been more surprised if it had, and you could have knocked me over with a feather if it had delved into the obscure subject of prostate milking.
Thanks to the fine folks at quackwatch.org, I was able to learn everything I wanted to know about the storied career of Dr. Donsbach. I personally am quite skeptical of alternative medicine, but even alternative medicine’s advocates would be well advised to be suspicious of the likes of Dr. Donsbach.
Even if I wasn’t able to read the quackwatch.org article, it takes little time for even a layperson like me to determine that Dr. Donsbach’s medical advice isn’t to be trusted as he devotes the book’s first half to outlandish and unsupportable claims about the restorative properties of nutrition as it relates to prostate health.
The most entertaining portion of this book is Dr. Donsbach’s “Liver-Kidney-Bowel Cleansing Fast.” Unless you enjoy scat play, I can’t imagine that anyone would ever attempt to follow this particular program.
Even though absolutely nothing in this book seems factually reliable, I did enjoy it thoroughly. However, it was the same sense of enjoyment that I derive from driving by a car wreck.