Review: Moan by Emma Koenig

Moan

by Emma Koenig

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 240

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Imagine you could give an essay entitled "How to Make Me Come" to a past, present or future sex partner, free of judgment or repercussion. What would you want them to know? In this book inspired by Emma Koenig's wildly popular website, a diverse collective of women do just that. 

Emma Koenig was inspired to answer this question after a truly frustrating sexual experience with a partner. As she says, "THE SIMPLEST VERSION OF THIS STORY DEVOID OF ALL IDENTIFYING DETAILS: He thought I had an orgasm. I hadn't." She knew she couldn't be the only woman to have been mystified by an experience such as this, and so her Tumblr, How to Make Me Come, was born as a safe space for women to talk honestly and openly. The website touched a major chord. It received tons of press and garnered over a million page views in a month. And now, a broad range of the best of these anonymous essays have been collected into MOAN. 

The ways through which women achieve sexual pleasure are often ignored, devalued, or misunderstood. MOAN tackles the ideas surrounding the sometimes elusive orgasm head on. Here is a look into the spectrum of desire. Of frustration. Of experiences that have left an impact. From the hilarious to the tragic, from the intellectual to the erotic, these essays will leave you feeling inspired and excited to embark on your own journey of sexual exploration and empower women to do what most of the time is hardest for us: asking for what we want and don't in the bedroom and beyond. 

Kritters Thoughts:  This book is a little out of left field for me and is outside of my wheelhouse, but every so often I like to try something different and take myself outside the comfort zone.  

First a non fiction book is not my normal read.  Second a book with essays is not my usual.  Third a book about female orgasms is definitely not something I read about often.  

I loved the essay format for this one.  They didn't need to be long in length to get what the author of each essay was getting at and there were a few where I was glad it was short because I couldn't connect or didn't care about that author's viewpoints.  On the flip side there were a few that hit right home for me and really made me think about my childhood, my teenage and college years and my current self.  This book made me reflect!

I am glad I didn't read this all in one sitting; instead I read a few here and there and had this book as my break in between other books or even in the middle of reading a few books that were difficult.  I wouldn't mind finding another book like this that I can dip in and out of and not feel as though I was going to miss a plot point or significant moment.  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Grand Central Publishing.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.