# Books You Read Because You Heard There Were Sex Parts: A Middle School Reminiscence **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144 "2010-02-23T17:56:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/41 "2010-02-23T22:12:59Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > [The Fan Club](http://www.amazon.com/Fan-Club-Irving-Wallace/dp/0671217178) by Irving Wallace > > [The Happy Hooker](http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Hooker-Xaviera-Hollander/dp/B000NT9MPW/) by Xaviera Hollander I came in here to contribute The Fan Club too. As a young teen there were parts of that book that I really liked! šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/42 "2010-02-23T23:51:27Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > _The Godfather_. Page 26 if I recall. The godfather of them all. Hoo-Hah! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/43 "2010-02-23T23:58:29Z")
Aaah, Momā€™s Sydney Sheldon mysteries. Or whatever they were - I only remember the sex. Oh, but in the one the guy you thought murdered the kids was just stuck with a crazy wife whoā€™d had a miscarriage. And there was one in WWII or whatever. I also learned that ā€œRhysā€ is not pronounced like that. But mostly, sex. ETA - I got most of my sex ed from the World Book Encyclopedia, though - the ā€œsā€ volume, of course, but also ā€œpā€ for ā€œPaintingā€, which had a lot of classical nudes. ---
**Author:** ![Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/44 "2010-02-24T00:09:19Z")
Have I missed it, no one has mentioned ā€œLady Chatterlyā€™s Loverā€ my senior school (early 70ā€™s) had 1 copy, it always fell open at the relevant page. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/45 "2010-02-24T00:32:10Z")
Pretty much the only reason I read Henry Miller or Anais Nin in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/46 "2010-02-24T00:39:18Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > _Fear of Flying_, by Erica Jong. Slogged my way through it during ā€œsilent sustained readingā€ periods in high school, hoping for the juicy parts. This. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/47 "2010-02-24T03:00:47Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Really?! Iā€™m the first to answer with ā€œ**Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex (but were afraid to ask)**ā€ - back in the 70ā€™s that book was super popular, along with Joy of Sex. > > I found my parentsā€™ copy when I was 11 or soā€¦ I snuck that off the library shelves, eager for the carnal delights that awaited withinā€¦ Turns out, it wasnā€™t that hot - but I was (and am) fascinated by the information in that book! ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/48 "2010-02-24T03:25:20Z")
When I was a sophomore in high school, a classmate told me in graphic detail about a kinky sex scene in an otherwise boring book heā€™d had to read for English class. He couldnā€™t remember the name of the book, but I was dying to check it out. Flash forward to my junior year, Iā€™m totally engrossed in _The Grapes of Wrath_, get to the end and realizeā€¦ [SPOILER]he was talking about the scene where Rose of Sharon breastfeeds a starving Okie after her baby has died. ā˜¹ Guy was a moron.[/SPOILER] ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/49 "2010-02-24T04:11:03Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Gulliverā€™s Travels. Hahah. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/50 "2010-02-24T04:19:12Z")
_Clan of the Cave Bear_, and its many sequels. I remember as a freshman in HS convincing several friends to read it. ā€œDude! Itā€™s boring at the start! But turn to page X and itā€™s all sex!ā€ heh. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/51 "2010-02-24T04:43:38Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > _The Godfather_. Page 26 if I recall. This is the first book I thought of. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/52 "2010-02-24T04:48:02Z")
The Thorn Birds. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![bink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@bink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bink)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/53 "2010-02-24T05:21:03Z")
I seem to remember that in _Forever_ it was page 62 we all turned to. _Wifey_, yes, and the Nancy Friday book about fantasies _My Secret Garden_. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/54 "2010-02-24T05:25:28Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > [ul] > > [li]_A House Like a Lotus_ by Madeleine Lā€™Engle ā€“ sex style: steamy yet arty (the actual sex scene is a little prose poem)[/li][/ul] Who knew the words oh the could be so evocative, even years after reading? This was also the first book I ever read where a lesbian couple (Max and the other woman whose name I forget) was treated so matter-of-factly, just like any heterosexual couple. Does anyone else remember Norma Kleinā€™s books? She had at least two where the mother came out as a lesbian and moved in with her best friend after divorcing the dad. There was one where the girlā€™s mom let her read Playgirl, and she bought one at the airport newsstand to read on the plane to California. I wish I could remember the name of the book. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/55 "2010-02-24T14:43:43Z")
IT by Stephen King. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/56 "2010-02-24T15:34:30Z")
> [@bink](#): > > the Nancy Friday book about fantasies _My Secret Garden_. OMGā€¦the sexual fantasy books I mentioned above were the books by Nancy Friday, not Gay Talese! Amazing what 20-odd years will do to your memoryā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![capeo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@capeo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capeo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/57 "2010-02-24T15:55:24Z")
Anais Nin - The Delta of Venus Itā€™s nothing but graphic sex. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/58 "2010-02-24T17:48:00Z")
I actually stole The Sensuous Woman by ā€œJā€ was it, from a teen girl cousin of mine when I was 12. To my shame it was the only thing I had ever stolen but it was just too hot not to have but Oh my God! my sweet cousin wants to know this stuff. Thing was she was 15 at the time and the volume in her bookshelf was in plain view of snooping parents, maybe they didnā€™t care. I wonder if she thought her parents took it. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/59 "2010-02-24T18:04:05Z")
**The dictionary** ā€¦the big one in the school libary. That was a wonderful source. **The Group** by Mary McCarthyā€¦some very interesting scenesā€¦my first introduction to reading about lesbianism. **Boys and Girls Together** ā€¦I think by Goldman. Didnā€™t have much though. **The Harrod Experiment** ā€¦Iā€™m not sure by whom. And the best, the most explicit **Candida** by Voltaireā€¦I kept going back to that. I became a major fan of the Age of Reason let me tell you. And you always had the argument when caught with itā€¦ā€œbut I thought it was a classic?ā€ ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144/60 "2010-02-24T18:18:47Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > IT by Stephen King. It took _this long_ to get to IT? For me it was slightly different, I didnā€™t read it because I knew there was sex in it, but just the opposite ā€¦ my best friend in high school (a girl, actually) gave me it as a gift, I have no idea why she did, Iā€™m not much of a horror novel reader (this remains the only one Iā€™ve read, actually), but I went to reading it. All of a sudden, I get to one part ā€¦ holy crap, thereā€™s sex in here! (Iā€™d found, and visited frequently, my dadā€™s porno stash, by that point, so itā€™s not like it was the ā€œcoming of ageā€ most of yā€™all are writing about) And, I read on, ā€œthereā€™s another part with sex! And another! And in most of them, itā€™s kids! Younger than me!ā€ (Needless to say, I wasnā€™t feeling good about my virginity at that point). Needless to say, read those parts over and over, but only read the whole book itself one or two more times (wasnā€™t bad overall for a non-horror fan, I must say). Foolish me, when the TV movie came on a few years later, I had to watch it. :smack: (Yeah, like theyā€™re going to show _those_ parts, you moron!) Iā€™m convinced to this day, even though I lost touch with her years ago, that my friend didnā€™t know there was sex in that book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-read-because-you-heard-there-were-sex-parts-a-middle-school-reminiscence/530144.md?page=4)