The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex

Kristen Schaal and Rich Blomquist’s book The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex is absolutely hilarious, but not for the faint of heart. It’s moderately graphic (though illustrated with cartoons by Michael Kupperman and Lisa Hanawalt), lewd, and in-your-face. But did I mention that it’s hilarious?

Schaal and Blomquist are both writers for The Daily Show (and Schaal will occasionally appear on camera as Senior Women’s Issues Correspondent). The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex certainly has the feel of an uncensored Daily Show, with its short sections, clever titles, and immature (in a good way!) jokes. With chapters titled “The History of Sex,” “For Sexperts Only” and “The Future of Sex” among others, Schaal and Blomquist run the gamut of sex jokes.

The only part of The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex that I didn't care for are the long “stories” at the end of each chapter: “Regular Sex” has one about joining the Mile High Club, “The Gay Chapter” has some satire of slash fiction, “For Sexperts Only” has one about a man who’s in love with the Loch Ness Monster. Though the ideas behind most of these stories were funny, they would have been better as a one-off joke, rather than a five-page story.

Despite my minor complaint, The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex is a good one, and I do recommend it. (Unless, of course, you’re my parent or grandparent, in which case I suggest you read something else). That being said, remember it is a humor book about sex that takes the jokes way beyond “making whoopee.” If that doesn’t sound funny to you, it won’t be. But if it does, read the book! I give it a 4/5.

See Jon Stewart promote the book

Buy the book

And now, here's a short rant about my Daily Shill Project. This was not inspired by The Sexy Book of Sexy Sex. They just both happen to exist in the same post.

There have been times I’ve wanted to give up on The Daily Shill before, but I don’t think any as strong as right now. I’ve lost my motivation to slog through books I don’t want to read—there’s so much good stuff out there, why am I wasting my time on things in which I’m not interested? I’ve made it pretty far, and I’m not a quitter (as I keep telling myself over and over), but man-oh-man, I’m ready to be done.

Part of the problem, I think, is it’s a lot of work for a small amount of feedback. I have no idea how many people read this blog, but when you take away my relatives and close friends, I don’t think that leaves much else. Yeah, I have a decent amount of followers on Facebook (and a few on Blogger and Twitter), but I don’t think most check out the blog. I track my posted links on bit.ly, and each review gets an average of 3-5 clicks. That doesn't seem like very many for the amount of time it takes to read each book (or watch each movie) and write the review.

Also, I’ll admit it, even though I knew from the beginning that it was a long shot, I was secretly hoping for some sort of recognition for this project from the Daily Show. I don’t need a mention on the show or anything, but gosh, I’d love an email saying, “We see what you’re doing, and it’s neat.” (The neat part is optional).

Enough whining, I’ll make it through, I’m over halfway there. But, meanwhile, I’m also letting myself read some other books (and am reacting with overkill). Right now, I’m reading Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s Alice Alone (the middle of a series I loved as a kid/teen), PJ O’Rourke’s upcoming travelogue Holidays in Heck, Judy Dutton’s Science Fair Season (also due to be published in the next few months—librarians, reviewers, and teachers, check out Netgalley to get free digital galleys of upcoming publications), and the first trade book of Neil Gaimon’s Sandman series. Oh, and Ian Bremmer’s The End of the Free Market for the Shill.

Going the Distance

I’ll admit it, I liked Going the Distance more than I expected I would. But since I expected to hate it, that doesn’t mean much.

Going the Distance covers the relationship between Garrett (Justin Long) and Erin (Drew Barrymore). Though the two knew they would only be in the same city for six weeks (and therefore intended to avoid anything serious), they just liked each other so much they needed to give a long distance relationship a try. As one might expect, it gets complicated. (What if they made a movie about a couple who decided to have a long distance relationship and all went well? What would you call that one?)

Going the Distance couldn’t seem to decide if it wanted to be a comedy or a romance, and the mix it settled on just didn’t work for me. There would be a bit that made me laugh out loud (even though I was watching the movie by myself) and then a long dry spell where the relationship was awkwardly advanced (or lots of bad jokes were made). The plot-specifics were too predictable—there was that one out of place conversation in the movie that was clearly setting up the end of the movie. However, even despite these problems, it seemed that all the movie needed to be decent was another draft or two to tighten some jokes and add some subtlety.

Barrymore overacted and often looked too old for her part, but none of the other actors are worth complaining about. There were enjoyable cameo/sidekick roles played by several people I love including Jason Sudeikis, Jim Gaffigan, and the Daily Show’s own Rob Riggle and Kristen Schaal.

I’m giving Going the Distance a 2/5. It’s not a waste of time, but not worth seeking out. And it’s not worth writing more than a few short paragraphs about.

Watch Jon Stewart’s interview with Drew Barrymore

Buy the DVD