Oh boys...may I experiment on you?

So recently, a friend of mine was raving about her favorite sex book, called 203 Ways to Drive a Man Wild in Bed by Olivia St. Claire. So I bought it, and read it. Now, not to brag or anything, but turns out most of the techniques the author describes in the book I've either already tried, or know about but am just not into. (I mean, maybe it's just me, but can banana purée in your vagina really be good for you? To me, just sounds like a petri dish waitin' to happen.) But there were a couple of entries in there I haven't tried and was wondering about; mostly because it seems to me that all three might be more uncomfortable or painful than fun. If any of you boys would like to try these out and weigh in on whether they're actually good or not, it'd really help a girl out.

So here goes:

Technique #118: Knead his penis between both your hands as though it were a piece of dough. (Syl says: That's all she wrote. Note this is NOT rolling it between your palms--that's a different entry.)

Technique #121: Make two rings with the thumb and index finger or each hand. Place them next to each other in the middle of his shaft. Gently pull outward in both directions at once.

Technique #150: Try using a strong mint-flavored mouthwash just before you get into bed. Your tangy tongue and mouth on his delicate penile skin will cause quite a sensation. (Syl says: to me, this sounds akin to eating chilis and then trying to give someone a blowjob--youch--but what do I know?)

Okay, boys--so is it cringe or quiver?

Afterthought: By the way, for those who are interested in a whole-book review, though I'm saying it didn't have a huge amount of new info for me, this *is* actually a good book. I can understand why my friend liked it. It's really the perfect little nightstand companion for women who have not had the opportunity or luck to have experienced a lot of sexual variety with their partners, or may have difficulty talking about sex or are intimidated to ask for suggestions from their lovers. It'd also be good (along with a companion volume on pleasing a woman, of course!) for any slightly more vanilla-tending hetero couple who want to make their sex lives a just little racier, without going into superfreak terrain.

The author understands women's worries and concerns about sex, and addresses them with an open, friendly, and encouraging style. St. Claire never condescends to her (presumably) less-experienced audience, either. Instead, she presents her ideas both gently and with salacious descriptive enthusiasm in a way that is sure to get even the most intimidated women's loins all a tinglin'. She also gives women ego-boosting self-esteem and body-loving pep talks and techniques at the beginning of the book, which of course is a crucial factor in getting a woman to feel confident enough to be more wanton in bed (Hear that boys? Tell her she's hot all the time, especially when she's naked, if you want her to get hotter in bed!). Clearly St. Claire likes sex, and she likes the women she's talking to, and she likes men, and she wants all of us to have hotter, more passionate sex lives.

In terms of information provided: all the basic sex acts are included with detailed instructions, plus a number of non-threatening variations on each of these acts, and then a few techniques are thrown in for each that *just* verge on the freaky, but not so much so that the more timid types would get weirded out. Go Olivia.

Oh and ladies: If you're thinking, "I'd love to have that book, but I just couldn't put it on my bookshelf," no worries. The hardcover is actually designed so that if you take off the paper cover, the book front, back, and spine are entirely unmarked. To the undiscerning eye, it'd just look like a journal or an address book. Very discreet. Smart publishers.