Short, sweet, but packed with information, ideas, and instructions. Some of it is confusingly written, but most partners don't seem to mind you experimenting on them a bit, to make sure you get it right. It's written cleverly, with plenty of gentle sarcasm and genuine enjoyment of the sexual activity. While it's written by a man known for his leather activism, it's definitely a book I would offer to anyone, kinky or not, in need of sexual excitement or not.

The ideas come from a ton of different places, too. It's not all the author's ideas, either: He's asked at least fifty people for their favorite ploys. It's all categorized, with cute, catchy titles to each trick. I would say this one is great for long-time partners, solo activists who are looking to perk up their masturbation, as a pre-wedding gift, and for people who are trying to learn how to please a partner before they get one. It's not crudely written, so that also appeals to a larger audience. I would not be afraid to give this book to either of my parents, if it were something that they were interested in.

I quite liked this book. I particularly liked trying things out! I think I'd like it even more if the author had taken a few more words to describe each activity more clearly, or possibly offered a drawing of what to do. It can get a bit difficult to wend through the sometimes confusing language. I think I would prefer a wee bit less variety (and there is a lot of that) and a wee bit more time taken to make things clearer.

I did give a copy of this to a former lover who needed some help in the bedroom. From conversations both with him and his new wife, it worked like a charm. Taking the time to read through the confusion is apparently well worth it.

I just dug up my copy of this again to loan to a friend, before they wandered off for their fifth anniversary. They both got a wonderful light in their eyes when they saw it in my hands, excited at the chance to read it and try new things. I wish them well.

Before I handed it over, I cracked it open and took a gander at some stuff in there; just to remind myself that my opinions on this book have not changed in the slightest. Some techniques are still a little blurred in the instructions, but they're still worth the experimentation to try it out. There are plenty that are wonderfully clear, so if you can't quite figure one out you can just move on to another one while that one percolates in your brain. Wonderfully inspirational.

Now I'm going to go drag my girlfriend into the bedroom, to try some. My personal favorite at the moment is a twist on the "alphabet trick" that a lot of people have heard of or tried. While performing oral sex, it's an interesting trick to write the letters of the alphabet on the clitoris with your tongue. The twist found in “Tricks to Please a Woman” is to write specific words, and then make your partner try to guess. It's a little bit evil, a little bit snarky, and a whole lot of fun. (And strangely, my partner doesn't seem to mind it much, either!)