
Bonk
The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
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Narrated by:
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Sandra Burr
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By:
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Mary Roach
About this listen
Mary Roach, "The funniest science writer in the country" (Burkhard Bilger of The New Yorker), devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Why doesn't Viagra help women - or, for that matter, pandas? In Bonk, Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm - two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth - can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place.
©2008 Mary Roach (P)2008 Brilliance AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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-
Story
Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can’t walk for a year? Have sex? Smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour?
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Everything You Always Wanted to Know - and More
- By Roy on 09-22-10
By: Mary Roach
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The F-ck List
- By: Schahrzad Morgan
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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After 25 years of marriage, Schahrzad, mother of three, files for divorce and decides to embark on a powerful journey of sexual discovery, liberation and freedom. Her memoir, The F-ck List, takes us on her riveting ride over the course of two years, as she lets go of her inhibitions and explores her relationship to her body, desire, and sexuality. The F-ck List is a woman’s courageous story about healing old wounds, discovering pleasure, and claiming lust. A must read if you want to get turned on.
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A.I. can't do everything
- By Teniqué on 01-12-25
By: Schahrzad Morgan
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Better Left Buried
- By: Mary E. Roach
- Narrated by: Casey Holloway
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Lucy Preston just wants to go on vacation. But being the daughter of a famous private detective means that sometimes, your beach vacay goes off the rails a bit. Think: a clandestine meeting at an abandoned amusement park—except instead of a meeting, Lucy and her mom find a body. Because of course they do.
By: Mary E. Roach
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Gory Details
- By: Erika Engelhaupt
- Narrated by: Mari Weiss
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Filled to the brim with far-out facts, this wickedly informative narrative from the author of National Geographic's popular Gory Details blog takes us on a fascinating journey through an astonishing new reality. Blending humor and journalism in the tradition of Mary Roach, acclaimed science reporter Erika Engelhaupt investigates the gross, strange, and morbid absurdities of our bodies and our universe.
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Feels like old school Discovery channel
- By Anonymous User on 02-15-23
By: Erika Engelhaupt
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Kinky History
- A Rollicking Journey Through Our Sexual Past, Present, and Future
- By: Esmé Louise James
- Narrated by: Esmé Louise James
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Esmé Louise James identifies the key tipping points that directly inform current beliefs around sex to place the past in conversation with the present. By educating ourselves about the weird, wonderful, and varied spectrum of human sexuality and experience, we can normalize and destigmatize sex, write people of marginalized sexual identities back into the pages of history, and build toward a more liberated future.
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Love the content, not so much the author/narrator
- By Ashley Waldron on 06-29-24
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The Men Who Stare at Goats
- By: Jon Ronson
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1979, a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known accepted military practice - and indeed, the laws of physics - they believed that a soldier could adopt the cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them. Entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries, they were the First Earth Battalion. And they really weren't joking. What's more, they're back and fighting the War on Terror.
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FINALLY! In Ronson's own voice!
- By PaisleyTurtle on 05-31-16
By: Jon Ronson
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The Psychology of Human Sexuality
- By: Justin J. Lehmiller
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 24 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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The Psychology of Human Sexuality is a comprehensive guide to major theoretical perspectives on human sexuality and the vast diversity of sexual attitudes around the world, with topics including anatomy, gender and sexual orientation, sexual behaviors, sexual difficulties and solutions, sex work, and pornography. Written from a sex-positive perspective with material that is inclusive and respectful of a diverse audience, the text includes cutting edge research on the origins of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as new treatments for sexually transmitted infections and diseases.
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Exceptionally Comprehensive!
- By Robert Cooper on 08-17-24
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Notes from a Small Island
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
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Bill Bryson is an unabashed Anglophile who, through a mistake of history, happened to be born and bred in Iowa. Righting that error, he spent 20 years in England before deciding to repatriate. This was partly to let his wife and children experience life in Bryson's homeland - and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain.
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Crackin' yarn, lad!
- By Dave on 03-28-05
By: Bill Bryson
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From Here to Eternity
- Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
- By: Caitlin Doughty
- Narrated by: Caitlin Doughty
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Fascinated by our pervasive terror of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for their dead. In rural Indonesia, she observes a man clean and dress his grandfather's mummified body. Grandpa's mummy has lived in the family home for two years, where the family has maintained a warm and respectful relationship. She meets Bolivian natitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls) and introduces us to a Japanese kotsuage.
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Caitlin has done it again
- By Shaun on 10-03-17
By: Caitlin Doughty
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What If?
- Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have a large and passionate following. Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions. What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent of the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there were a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last?
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Hope You got an A in Math and Physics...
- By Rod on 09-13-14
By: Randall Munroe
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All That Remains
- A Renowned Forensic Scientist on Death, Mortality, and Solving Crimes
- By: Sue Black
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Dame Sue Black is an internationally renowned forensic anthropologist and human anatomist. She has lived her life eye to eye with the Grim Reaper, and she writes vividly about it in this book, which is part primer on the basics of identifying human remains, part frank memoir of a woman whose first paying job as a schoolgirl was to apprentice in a butcher shop, and part no-nonsense but deeply humane introduction to the reality of death in our lives. It is a treat for CSI junkies, murder mystery and thriller fans, and anyone seeking a clear-eyed guide to a subject that touches us all.
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I wanted a science book about forensics. I got a mostly-memoir instead.
- By A Customer on 11-29-19
By: Sue Black
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A Wild Idea
- By: Jonathan Franklin
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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The incredible true story of the entrepreneur turned conservationist - the founder of the iconic company The North Face who used his fortune to protect more than 25 million acres of land from development and exploitation and “foster peace between people and wild nature”.
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How could I have not known.
- By Nancy B. Bryant on 06-01-23
What listeners say about Bonk
Highly rated for:
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- Bookbums
- 03-20-12
Loved It !
Would you listen to Bonk again? Why?
Yes. A sometime ticklish subject handled with tact and humor. Always interesting.
Any additional comments?
After this on try Stiff.
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- Linda
- 03-08-13
Sex from every angle
If you could sum up Bonk in three words, what would they be?
irreverent look at sex
What was one of the most memorable moments of Bonk?
the looks from my co workers whilst listeneing
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
it made me laugh at humans in general
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Overall
- funkevin
- 04-05-10
Delightful find
This book is not about improving your sex life or having more sex. It is just a fun look at sex research and the people who do the research. There is a lot of seriously strange research and equally (or more) strange researchers. The book was witty and fascinating. The narrator delivered the perfect tone and really increased my enjoyment.
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11 people found this helpful
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- Andrew Jewell
- 01-04-12
Loved it
Would you listen to Bonk again? Why?
There was a lot of information, well presented, and funny.
Any additional comments?
Some of the details were amazing, gross, fantastic, sad - all the more so because they are true. I love Mary Roach books because of this.
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1 person found this helpful
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- drd
- 06-03-14
Just OK
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
In the middle on this one, it seems that every other paragraph or so ends with a snarky comment that becomes tedious.
Has Bonk turned you off from other books in this genre?
Like the genre but will most likely stay away from other books by this author.
What does Sandra Burr bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
She does her best with the material
Was Bonk worth the listening time?
Once you get past the snark there are some nuggets of good information.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Dr. Marc Baker
- 11-22-16
learned something
The information was well-researched and comprehensive. The narration was OK but rather monotone. this book is not for the squeamish.
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- Jenni D
- 06-06-18
This book is hilarious and interesting
I loved his book, as I have loved all of Mary Roach’s books that I have listened to. She is a one of a kind author, bringing laughter to learning and answering questions I didn’t even think of! The narrator Sandra Burr was perfect, she really seemed to enjoy reading this!
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- Jo Green
- 08-24-15
Eye opening, witty
Very good book. Mary Roach presents a touchy subject to some, in a witty and understandable way. Sandra Burr was a very good narrator, her inflections and timing were pretty impressive. Made for an informative and entertaining book.
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- Marilyn
- 10-03-15
I can't wait to read another of Ms Roach's books!
Reading this book is like spending time with an old friend who just happens to tell the BEST stories! I just know that Mary and I would hit it off because she seems like such a fun lady. And she tells you all sorts of interesting stuff that you never even thought to wonder about about sex!
Sandra Burr always does a great job!
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- Kirsten M. Crippen
- 01-04-13
Laughed so hard I wet my pants!
This is my third Mary Roach and the second as an audiobook. Sandra Burr is wonderful narrating Mary Roach. And Mary Roach is just such a hoot!
Space travel, life after death, and now I'm learning about science and sex. Just hilarious. (I just love the idea of a scientist dressing mice up in polyester or cotton pants to see how it affects their sex life.)
Mary Roach really brings science alive. She presents science in an entertaining and educational way. Highly recommended.
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