The curious reader's companion to sex.
'Wit, you know, is the unexpected copulation of ideas.' Samuel Johnson
Why is screwing so funny?
How should we think about our most shocking fantasies?
What is so captivating about nudity?
Inspired by philosophy, literature, and private life, Damon Young explores the paradoxes of the bedroom. On Getting Off will f**k with your mind.
'Covering everything from 'what makes sex funny?' to nakedness through the writing of Zadie Smith and Deborah Levy, it's a book we could all do with reading.'
* Stylist *'Young has a deftness with language that lays out complex ideas with such beautifully written digestibility that you feel osmotically clever when you read them.'
* The Irish Times *'A beautiful piece of work. It's funny. It's human. It really does make you think about something that's either put on a pedestal or relegated to the toilet. A triumph.'
-- Krissy Kneen, author of Triptych'A spicy examination of the frequently ambivalent, ambiguous and even incongruous 'tangle' of eros, libido and romance that we call sex.'
-- Linda Jaivin * The Saturday Paper *'Drawing on personal experience, literature, myth, art and philosophy, Young examines how the fragile tension crucial to sexual arousal is akin to a narrative, the way sex highlights the impossibility of knowing another's pleasure, and how nakedness offers not so much a revelation of someone's 'true self' as an invitation to learn more about that person.'
-- Fiona Capp * Sydney Morning Herald *Praise for The Art of Reading:
'For Damon Young, writers are like secret agents gone rogue, grabbing us by the lapels and inviting us into a realm of delicious ambiguity. The Art of Reading is an intimately conspiratorial book - erudite, surprising, and persuasive.'
* Henry Hitchings, author of Browse: the world in bookshops *Praise for The Art of Reading:
'Its short length belies a book heavy with insight, creativity, and wit. To Young's credit, he treats all types of reading, from scholarly meditation to frivolous binge reading, with seriousness and respect ... This literary study is serious but also witty and fun - a tough balance to strike, but Young nails it.' STARRED REVIEW
* Publishers Weekly *Praise for Philosophy in the Garden:
'This is a gardening book that takes readers not on a walk around great estates but on a tour of great minds ... It's a lovely extension on the notion that gardens make you contemplative and in working with the soil you see life's big picture.'
* The Daily Telegraph *Praise for Philosophy in the Garden:
'A gentle dig for ideas about how to live - this book will grow your mind and put a glow in your cheeks.'
-- Deborah Levy, author of Swimming Home