Sex – How To Do Everything is a giant, sexy picture book for adults. It really is the size of a picture book, being 11” by about 9”, so it’s not a small paperback novel to slip in your handbag! It’s packed with luscious, full colour pictures that sometimes take up entire double page spreads. Em and Lo write with a really fun, friendly tone, but though it delivers a lot of good information most of it is probably not news to anyone who anyone who’s already read a couple of ‘sex manuals’. However, it would make a great gift to a nervous friend or beginner and its pictures really make it a delight to flip through. Yet, the absolute biggest drawback has to be that it doesn’t deal with anything other than heterosexual couple sex and solo play. There is no mention of same-sex couplings, let alone threesomes or any sort of group play, meaning its title is somewhat misleading! Whilst this may not bother a heterosexual couple just looking to spice up their marriage with new play, it is a pretty huge chunk of sexuality being ignored. I’ve written up a quick summary of each of the nine chapters so you can get an idea of what’s inside.

Chapter 1 – Seduction
This chapter is dedicated to foreplay and encouraging intimate connections through a host of different activities. There are a few pages on kissing and some directions for massages as well as suggestions for how to build up to a sexy night. The massage techniques are good, but past that it’s nothing very unique or exciting, though good to get some ideas flowing.

Chapter 2 – Anatomy & Orgasm
The title sums this one up pretty much – it’s detailed information about the anatomy of men and women and technical stuff about orgasms. It’s all important stuff to know, but it’s not very juicy!

Chapter 3 – Manual Sex
Here is a quick look at all sorts of manual sex, from female and male masturbation to performing with your hands for a partner. Most of it is fairly basic stuff and there aren’t a whole lot of step by step examples or techniques. The name of the game seems to be experiment and communicate, which is good advice for any sort of sex, but if I’m looking in a guide I ideally want to see some sort of interesting new technique that I can surprise a partner with, rather than more general advice.

Chapter 4 – Oral Sex
This suffers from the same problem as the manual sex chapter. Lots of solid, general advice, but little that struck me as new and interesting. It’s a short chapter, which gives you a general grounding in oral and safety precautions you should take with it, along with a fun look at the pros and cons of the ‘69’ position, which I enjoyed.

Chapter 5 – Intercourse
Here is where most of the meat of the book is and it’s probably the most useful in terms of clear guides and instructions for play. It’s about 32 pages of positions and fun, yet useful, information about intercourse. The positions are all illustrated with big clear photographs of people, so you can actually see exactly what’s going on and how to attempt them yourself – not just some bendy line drawing doing it all. Plus, they all look happy and excited to be with each other, not like the blank faced sex models of many instructional books. I also love the way Em and Lo don’t put any particular positions on a pedestal or perpetuate any myths about the crazier positions and places for sex. (Lots of ‘P’s in that sentence!) Plenty of books tell you to do it all over the house, which is great for a lusty romp once in a while, but the advice is often impractical and ignores genuine issues you might face in these spots!

Chapter 6 – Anal Play
This is another brief chapter that serves as a good introduction to anal play. It offers good advice on how to get started and stresses the importance of communicating with your partner, mentally getting into the zone and how to physically work up to anal sex itself. There is also about a half page on strap-on sex, which is clear and concise and shows some simple starting positions for penetration.

*continued*

Chapter 7 – Sex Toys
The opening of this section is a double page spread of sex toys, which I immediately had to start naming in my head when I checked it out. I’m sure I’m not the only EF member who feels the need to do this whenever a sex toy collection comes into view! Anyway, there are lots of really great brands represented in this section from Vixen Creations and Tantus to Fun Factory and Lelo, with mainstays like the Eroscillator, Cone and Hitachi also featured. There are ten pages detailing different types of toys with examples of each with a ‘What’ ‘Why’ ‘Why not’ and ‘Which’ section for each. I think this would be an amazing introduction to sex toys for a beginner, as there are plenty of details on cleaning and care as well as thorough descriptions of all different types of toys, much more than the two line summary most sex books seem to dedicate to the subject. However, if you’re already a bit of a sex toy pro this offers very little, apart from a chance to test your knowledge and admire some awesome products.

Chapter 8 – Fantasy
This chapter covers lots of different ways to spice up your sex life. It looks at how to accept your kinks, ideas for roleplay and dressing up (complete with some sexy pictures of people in costumes), a section on striptease (again with a saucy photo series) and tips for filming and photographing play. There is also a surprisingly detailed section on BDSM with information about safety during play, basic rope knots, spanking, sensory deprivation and a few other bits and pieces. It’s not going to satisfy any hardcore enthusiasts, but offers a neat gateway for those thinking about getting into the scene.

Chapter 9 – Sexual Health
A nice overview of possible sexual health problems people may encounter, STDs and birth control, including how to put on a condom.