The Straight Girls Guide to Sleeping With Chicks

By Jen Sincero

Fireside/Simon & Schuster (2005), $12

I'm either going to have to bang Jen Sincero or hand this book off to my husband, because it's just full of great tricks. Though the author runs through the gamut of issues a straight woman could face should she decide to dip her toe into lesbianism -- the ins and outs of sex toys, how to tell your friends of your new predilection -- I zoomed right in on the chapters with nitty-gritty sex advice. They're wise and apt and helpfully illustrated with cute line drawings and photographs of Barbies demonstrating proper technique (shades of Todd Haynes! How ever did Sincero and company find a tiny faux phallus for the strap-on snaps?). I found myself nodding along: Yes, this would be nice, and this also, and oh, would you get a load of this?

Other than the get-down lowdown, the book covers various areas of concern: safe sex, how to meet willing gay or bi women, how to introduce male friends into the proceedings. Each section is laced with practical advice (trim those nails, ladies!) as well as asides culled from the experiences of real women, making for a fun, nonthreatening read. It might even persuade a chick on the cusp of queerdom to gather her courage and go for it -- and what more could you ask for from a self-help book?