I really wanted to love this book. I have been a fan of Violet Blue’s work for a long time. She’s one of the most honest reviewers of adult films out there, and she’s introduced me to a lot of good smut. Unfortunately, this book, as a whole, did not do it for me.

The Smart Girl's Guide to Porn|The Smart Girl's Guide to Porn - Educational and informative books does offer some great info, and I’d like to start with the pros. Blue dedicates an entire chapter to “safe surfing,” which offers a lot of great tips to avoid viruses, cookies, and other evils of the internet. Really, who wants to sacrifice their PC in a quest for pictures of naked ladies? The author offers a number of easy upgrades and browsing tips to minimize potential problems in a manner that is really accessible.

She also provides the reader with a resource list to begin their own porn adventures. I’m a nerd, and I love lists, even if she didn’t mention this website or my very own HM4Her.

The basic premise of this book is one that I know to be true, since I spend forty hours a week pushing porn myself. Yes, women watch and enjoy hardcore movies. This doesn’t make us slutty or perverted, just normal adults pursuing a healthy sex life. In my opinion, Blue spends way too much time trying to convince the reader of this. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a really important point, especially in a society that does all it can to repress women’s sexuality. I just didn’t need the author to beat me over the head with the idea.

She also spends a lot of time talking about all of the things she figures women might not like about porn. I’ve been watching porn for a living for over two years now, and there are still things that make me close my eyes. If I don’t see another film with gapers, gagging, or anal fisting for the rest of life, that’s fine with me. It’s good to know what’s out there before you pop in your first gonzo film and are scarred for life, but the endless list of thing you’ll want to fast forward through could lead women to believe that porn is not for them without trying it out.

Overall, I think that this is a really safe book and didn’t have a lot to offer me, but that may be because I work in the industry and am pretty well-versed in the culture. I think that this book could be very helpful to someone who knows nothing about the adult industry and is just beginning to further explore their own sexuality.

While I’m not a big fan of this smart girl’s guide, I have no doubt that Violet Blue knows her stuff and recommend anyone who’s interested in the industry check out her other endeavors.