There's always something for everyone in a Best American Erotica
anthology, and this 10th anniversary edition of the long-running series serves up the usual "it takes all kinds" mélange. Edited once again by connoisseur Bright (Susie Bright's Sexwise), this collection features a soft-focus excerpt from Susanna Kaysen's memoir The Camera My Mother Gave Me
as well as stories from relative unknowns exploring s&m, transgender issues and voyeurism. Greta Christina's "A Live One" is a seductive tale of a peep-show sex worker and her satisfying interaction with a customer behind glass. "Ponyboy" by James Williams showcases the world of submissive men ("ponies") and their "riders." Paula Bomer truly surprises with her combination of emotional honesty and raw sex in "Fucking His Wife, Four Months Pregnant with Their Third Child." In addition to 23 tales culled from various publications (including Penthouse, Paramour
and Zyzzyva) over the last year, this collection also boasts two bonus features. Bright includes the results of an author questionnaire offering sociological data about 137 of the BAE
contributors from the last decade: ages, occupations, colleges attended, hobbies enjoyed and crimes committed are candidly revealed along with contributors' thoughts about censorship, anonymity and the stigma attached to erotic writing. Bright has also surveyed readers to compile a list of the favorite 100 BAE stories of the past 10 years, five of which are reprinted here. This enormous range of subjects and styles is what makes the anthology shine, although some of the stories sacrifice good prose for steamy effects. (Feb.)
