Pleasures: Women Write Erotica

by Lonnie Garfield Barbach (Editor)

True stories that reveal woman's sexuality as it is experienced by women themselves.

Genres: Erotica, Short Stories, Anthologies, Nonfiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Heron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a good book if you skip every single thing the editor wrote.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the last women's "sex" book I read. The other was little too much for me, stretching my boundaries more than I wanted them to be stretched. This seemed more realistic and I was more open to the many writers' views and stories of sexuality and relationships.

[Eva Klaess · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first erotica I ever read, age 14 or so. I barely remember the stories, but some of the places and characters are still there.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly wonderful anthology about women sexuality.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've given up on this book. It was interesting as a church thrift store find. And the idea behind it did pique my interest- women's sexuality expressed from real life women. But it is the most unerotic erotica I've ever read.
Maybe when a stack of extremely interesting books aren't luring me away I'll pick it up and give it another try...

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this when reading through random books my sister left behind before getting rid of them. I know I'm not the target audience for this book, and I'm definitely not a fan. Two stars is as generous as I can be on this.

[Charlie Richmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent historical paean to the uninhibited times pre-HIV/AIDS which provides a good guide to how things were for those who were not there and fond memories for those who were. A up-to-date 'Story of O' for the post modern era...

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I've lived a sheltered life because most of these supposedly true stories, just made me roll my eyes with disbelief.
Good for a giggle but that's about it.

[Dan Schiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Eye-opening. It was entertaining reading, though a bit dated. Almost all the men were blond, tanned and blue-eyed, the women presumably white, middle or upper-middle-class, many from California or New York. There was nothing in the book that was either written or mentions black women/men, Asian women or men (except for a servant in one story), Latino, Native American, poor, uneducated, etc. But then intersectionality was not really even a word in 1984. Anyway, who am I to judge? As the editor noted there was little if any erotica written for women, by women at that time. I could not compare this with literature like Anais Nin's "Little Birds" or "A Spy in the House of Love" but I would still recommend this book to friends to read.

[Carol Waters · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um, boring. The author indicates that these stories really tell what women want. Neither the male nor the female partners seemed interesting. Maybe just some alkaline batteries?

I've probably had this thing on the shelf for a decade or three. I will enjoy the empty space more.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a Roddick anthologies. Especially stories written by and for women. This authors work, is available through many accessible options.

[bea]

i’ve kind of just decided i’ll read each story as i please. i really like that it’s a compilation and it’s sweet to hear other people’s very human experiences!