About Julia
Hi everyone! This is Julia of
The Broke and the Bookish, formerly blogging on my own at
The Competitive Bibliomaniac.
I read mostly historical romance, but can often be found reviewing paranormal romance, young adult books (mostly distopian/fantasy), fantasy/sci-fi, classics,
and the occasional non-fiction book about languages.
Feel free to follow and reblog!
Currently reading
Review: The Science of Kissing by Sheril Kirshenbaum
Seeing those questions posed to me, I thought to myself, "This could be quite interesting! A scientific look into kissing." I am not going to lie; I was a little weary starting a book about kissing, thinking that the possibility could be high of it turning into a How-to book. (Not that I would turn down a few pointers.. which this book does give based on the context of the science)
This is not a How-to book. It is more of a "Why" book. Each chapter delves into a different aspect of kissing, for example: kissing among animals, how kissing evolves, the hormones involved, potential spread of diseases, etc. On the spread of diseases front, what I took from that chapter is that if I brush my teeth and floss regularly but my boyfriend whom I kiss does not, I can still get cavities from the mouth to mouth transfer. Gross.
I particularly enjoyed the chapters that talked about how kissing is perceived in men vs. women. She talks about what hormones get going and what that means for our involuntary responses.
Each chapter takes a scientific look at whatever the topic is. Why do men find lips attractive and the correlating aspect of why women highlight them? It's all in there. The Science of Kissing covers a wide range of topics separated by chapters so if one does not suit your fancy it would be easy to just skim passed to the next chapter.
If you are thinking, "This book sounds interesting, but I am not too into reading heavy science things," then worry not! This book, though it does contain the science, presents itself in a way that is not research paper-like, but instead flows well and doesn't talk over the reader. There are some times where I personally thought the science went on a little too long, but someone else may have really found that enjoyable. When that happened I would just skim along until I got to the next new and interesting topic.
If you are interested in reading more about the science behind why we kiss and all that comes with it, this is a really interesting read and I would highly recommend it.
Originally posted on GR in Feb 2011
