The Sex Diaries

Jan 16, 2025 4:53 PM

Author:Arianne Cohen

The Sex Diaries

You've read the fiction, now find out what really goes on behind closed doors

You've spent a long hard week at the office and your social life has seen better days. All the while you've contemplated thoughts that you wouldn't even share with your best friend: the true depths of your latest romantic obsession; your unorthodox fantasies; your secret lustful thoughts. Well, so has everyone else around you. We all do it - all day, every day - but we've all remained silent. Until now.

When Arianne Cohen asked over 200 ordinary people from all walks of life to record their inner-most thoughts and confessions for one week, the results were extraordinary. A hidden world of longing, desire, fantasy, and sex - both real and imagined, was revealed.

Now the best diarists from all over the country have been brought together. From the kinky bride-to-be and the adulterous businessman to the grandmother yearning for a good romp, these diaries provide a tantalising and steamy glimpse into their private lives and longings.

Eye-opening and deliciously voyeuristic, it will change the way you think about your friends, colleagues, neighbours and partners forever.

Reviews

A fascinating, no-holds-barred glimpse into the private lives of more than 200 people.

—— Good Housekeeping

Cheeky, steamy - and shockingly good fun.

—— The Sun

A fascinating, no-holds-barred glimpse into the private lives of more than 200 ordinary people.

—— Good Housekeeping

One of the most candid snapshots of sex lives ever published.

—— Glamour

Poignant and frank... A truly fascinating glimpse into our private lives and longings.

—— Daily Mail

Scintillating reading.

—— Leicester Mercury

[The] ultimate page-turner.

—— Zest

A compulsive collection.

—— Independent on Sunday

Shocking and often moving... An insightful peek at other people's hearts and minds.

—— Good Housekeeping

Captivating...fascinating...His answer to the questions “Nature or nurture?” is both. If that sounds like a hedge, it isn’t: instead, it’s a testament to the author’s close attention to nuance.

—— New York Times

Intelligently, rigorously and politely debunks the "10,000 hours" myth

—— Ed Smith , New Statesman

Perhaps the most fascinating book of the year... Absorbing and full of fascinating detail

—— Chris Maume , Independent

This subtle, enthralling study by the Sports Illustrated writer avoids making excessive claims for genetics

—— Financial Times

David Epstein's The Sports Gene has a discussion that badly needs to happen at all levels in sport; about the relationships between talent, genetics, practice and success in sport

—— Dave MacLeod , Scotsman

Respect is due to Epstein…for injecting some objectivity into the debate with his gripping new tome

—— David Bradford , Cycling Active

The Sports Gene offers a fascinating insight into the topic of nature v nurture…a great read

—— Jason Henderson , Athletics Weekly

A welcome corrective to those who have deliberately underplayed the notion that genetic makeup is relevant

—— Oldie

An illuminating read

—— Sport

Fascinating

—— Rick Broadbent , The Times

Well written and contains important research, and has some wonderful anecdotes

—— Matthew Syed , The Times

The most intriguing sports books of the year, and possibly the best-researched

—— Irish Examiner

An enjoyable mixture of easily digestible science, anecdote and argument

—— Michael Beloff , Times Literary Supplement

This is a book to counter the 10,000-hour rule popularised by Malcolm Gladwell

—— Mark Gallagher , Daily Mail

In a book packed with fascinating anecdotes, it’s hard to pick out highlights … If sport is a passion, The Sports Gene is required reading

—— The Score

Highly entertaining and enlightening

—— Brandon Robshaw , Independent on Sunday

The Sports Gene does not try to simplify the nature vs nurture argument, but it does provide a welcome corrective to those who have underplayed the notion that genetic make-up is relevant

—— The Times

Epstein explores this territory with canny verve

—— William Leith , Evening Standard

Interesting reading

—— Alastair Mabbott , Herald

Dazzling and illuminating

—— Richard Moore , Guardian

Epstein is too respectful of the complexity of his subject matter to leap to any grand conclusions. The book was conceived partially as a rebuttal to glib theorising, and it is all the more fascinating as a result

—— Ken Early , Irish Times

Fascinating from start to finish

—— Amanda Khouv , Women's Fitness

Epstein forces us to rethink the very nature of athleticism

—— GrrlScientist , Guardian

Looks at the science of extraordinary athletic performance.

—— Adam Whitehead , Daily Telegraph

Captivating… Dazzling and illuminating

—— Richard Moore , Guardian

Epstein is not afraid to follow science in “trekking deep into the bramble patches of sensitive topics like gender and race"

—— Choice

Captivating… In a particularly fascinating chapter, Epstein investigates an old theory that purports to explain why Jamaica produces so many Olympic sprinters

—— Christie Ashwanden , Scotsman

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