I have owned this book for nearly a year now, and I still break it out once in a while, which is really something, for me.

At first, I sat down and read through most of the book. The writing is interesting. The author talks about pornography and erotica in different times and cultures. The illustrations through the book are comprised of photographs, pen and ink drawings, sketches, watercolor and oil paintings, and even bas relief metalwork. There are examples of Japanese, Indian, American and European art from many different time periods. Although they are all sexual in nature, they are an amazing collection of fine artwork, and if I didn't have children in the house, I would leave it out as a coffee table book.

The writings are really interesting too. The author gives writes on the topic of erotica and sexuality in the culture of the place and time he is introducing. It's interesting and informative if you read it in that way.

As I have owned the book however, I do not pick the book up to read it for informative purposes. (Although, had I owned it in college, I can think of a few papers I could have worked it into.) I use it now as pornography. Much as many people might turn on a movie, I like to flip open the pages, and read at random the excerpts of sexual stories that fill the book. It's rather like picking up a romance novel that's just a collection of the racy bits from a broad range of romance novels. It's easy enough to recognize the difference between the editorial writings and the excerpts, so the author's contribution can be skipped over easily.

If you are a romance novel reader, or just a person who likes to be psychologically sexually stimulated, you will enjoy using this book for that purpose. If you are a history and culture buff who is interested in the history of sexuality in different times and cultures, you will also enjoy this book.

And if you're just looking for something uncommon to throw on your coffee table or in the magazine rack in your bathroom, for your friends to have something exciting to flip through, this is a great choice.

Just know that it is not a novel, and it is not meant to be one.