Sex Books: The Elements of Sexual Style
By AMY SOHN
Published: September 26, 2004

SEX books come in as wide a variety as sex itself: some are educational but too technical, some are purely entertaining but hold little long-lasting value, while others have enticing premises but ultimately prove to be numbingly dull. These books are usually tucked away in poorly lighted sections in the back of bookshops, like triple-X videos, forcing embarrassed readers to wander all the aisles. Yet the journey can be worthwhile. There is no magical combination of tricks to turn any of us into champion lovers, but we can't help hoping. As Woody Allen put it, "Love is the answer, but while you're waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty interesting questions."

The sex manual getting the most attention these days is SHE COMES FIRST: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman (ReganBooks/HarperCollins, $22.95) , by Ian Kerner. (Full disclosure: I'm quoted in the book.) Kerner, who holds a doctorate in clinical sexology -- he is also, he tells us, a recovering premature ejaculator -- has written an impressively detailed guide to cunnilingus as a way of turning foreplay into what he calls "coreplay." Urging men to become members of the "cliterati," he deconstructs the female anatomy and arousal cycle and gives men specific, creatively named maneuvers to use in the bedroom: the Elvis Presley snarl and "Jackson Pollock Licks," to name two.

Kerner, who was a playwright before he became a sex therapist, models his book on "The Elements of Style" -- sections have titles like "Rules of Usage" and "Don't Forget Your Epilogue." With a cool sense of humor and an obsessive desire to inform, he encourages men through an act that many find mystifying. When Kerner appeared on the "Today"' show, his book was shown with a red bow covering the title. If viewers have trouble locating the book as a result, millions of women will have Janet Jackson to blame for their lack of satisfaction.