UPDATE AUGUST 2021: This anal sex how-to book is no longer in print. This review remains as a reference for those who want more info about this book. While you’re here, why not check out my BDSM advice, femdom advice, femdom podcast, and BDSM scene outlines?
“Dare…To Have Anal Sex” is a Hunter House publication which is part of the “Dare…” series. The Dare… series is a series that was originally written over in France which has been translated to English for sale in the United States. The book is written by Coralie Trinh Thi who is a porn actress. The book is translated by Yvonne K. Fulbright. The book is a softcover mini-book (about the size of my palm) which is black and white on the inside. The book has 127 pages which are separated into 8 different chapters. The book takes about an hour to read. The front cover shows little chibi-looking people who look adorable which is what originally drew my eyes to this book.
This book does include some illustrations. The illustrations are kept mostly in the last chapter which is the chapter on anal sex positions. The illustrations are done in black and white, but it is extremely easy to tell what exactly is being illustrated. Other illustrations are included such as an anatomy illustration, but the positions chapter is where the majority of them are kept.
You know, I understand that the other wanted to keep things more gender-neutral than gender-specific, but most of this book was a trip to read. The author used “Yin” and “Yang” to describe the giving and receiving partner of the two during anal sex. This was surprisingly difficult to remember – especially when each word would be used multiple times in the same sentence. Going with “giving” and “receiving” partner might have worked a lot better for the sake of my sanity (and understanding).
I also just wasn’t fond of how this author writes. Most how-to books are usually pretty friendly in tone while still being educational. The best way to describe Coralie’s tone is “preechy”. Most of the book is a mixture of “Do this, then this, then this, then this.” It just didn’t make it nearly as fun as if the author would have just left it up to “If you do this, your partner will do this.” instead of giving me a full run down of exactly what I should be doing from start to finish.
Compared to other Dare… books, this one is also severely lacking in the personal experience department. I love other Dare… books since they give people’s opinions on sex acts and make you feel more welcomed. The author didn’t include many personal experience excerpts and quite a few of the ones she included were from other fellow porn actresses.
The book gives a nice overview of the topic of anal sex. Unlike other books, she does a good job of remembering that guys can be on the receiving end of anal sex as well. Some topics are really glanced over like proper hygiene before anal sex as well as proper lubrication, but there’s a good overview of all of the good information about anal sex. The only thing that really concerned me: She mentions geisha balls (what we know as vaginal or Ben Wa balls) as good options for anal use. Those toys are frighteningly not intended for anal use.
The book starts off with an introduction where the author talks about why she is the one writing the book. The second chapter is all about the History of Anal Sex. It’s an interesting chapter since most books usually don’t include the history of a sex act. The third chapter is all about the Psychology of Anal Sex which is basically all about dispelling current myths that people have about anal sex that keeps them from enjoying it. The next chapter is all about Hygiene and how to keep safe with anal play, but it’s a pretty short chapter. The next chapter, the shortest of the entire book, is about anal sex toys. The chapter after that is about anal foreplay, the one after that is about Anal Sex, and the second-to-last chapter is an illustrated guide to anal sex positions. These sex positions are pretty much the “normal” sex positions, so nothing too impressive to see here. The last chapter is about how Tantra practices can be used during anal sex to channel chakra.
Is this the best Dare… book out of the series? No. Is it probably one of the weakest? Yes. I feel like the author’s writing style really left a lot to be desired in this book. There was a lot of “do this, do this, and do this” but not a very lot of explanation as to why I should be doing each thing which left me feeling left out of the knowledge. However, it’s a cute little book and provides an interesting look into porn actresses’ feelings about anal sex as well. Thanks to Hunter House for sending me this book for review, and you can pick up your own copy of Dare… To Have Anal Sex.
