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skyesthelimitnj's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
baileyanabella's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
Wowza I absolutely loved this book. Jenny has such a refreshing take on all things LOVE. Polyamory for me is about being open and honest with all of my feelings, and not restricting myself to social norms dictated for me. This seems to summarize exactly how Jenny feels, but she writes it out so much more eloquently and adds tons of incredible insight, exploration, and tells of her own experiences! I learned so so much from this and will be revisiting it throughout my journey for SURE <3
egioia's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting read. I wondered many times how the author would have felt if either of her lovers took another lover. I would think that she might not feel as comfortable with that. I also find her husband's comment about her body to be disgusting. She carried his child and when she did not regain her perfect figure, he blamed that for his lack of sexual interest. And send her running for the plastic surgeon. That is not a healthy marriage.
stephalex's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
damsorrow's review against another edition
4.0
Liked this a lot (a lot, lot) except for some bio-essentialist bits--even if you're saying that women aren't innately programmed to want monogamy, you're still saying that women are innately programmed, so no points awarded. Where are my intersectionality moon-sisters?* She addresses every point of contention I've encountered against my open relationships and has a nice thorough answer to each. Hooray!
[b: The Ethical Slut|54944|The Ethical Slut A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities|Dossie Easton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386924825s/54944.jpg|53544] - People Who Believe That Crystals Can Heal = Open by Jenny Block.
*pizza hut, i hope
[b: The Ethical Slut|54944|The Ethical Slut A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities|Dossie Easton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386924825s/54944.jpg|53544] - People Who Believe That Crystals Can Heal = Open by Jenny Block.
*pizza hut, i hope
dreamerfreak's review against another edition
3.0
2020 ETA: Much has changed since I wrote this review, including the ways I identify, but I can still clearly state, bitch, this ain't it. I know and claim as dear friends some polyam people, and would consider it myself, to be quite honest. But the way that Ms. Block presents polyamory in this book is not healthy, imho.
~
First, let me start off this review with a disclaimer: I am a young, heterosexual female, a virgin, and could be happily described as a "romantic". Take what preconceptions you will from this and go ahead and run with them.
I signed up for this book on First Reads and forgot about, then was greatly surprised when I opened my inbox and discovered I had won. I like to think of myself as an open-minded person, and while I personally believe in monogamy, I can see how an open marriage could be right for some people. I typically like fiction, but this book had sounded interesting and I was curious, so I was determined to give it a fair try. Well, I did. And here's what I think.
I found the memoirs aspect of this book fascinating. Seeing Jenny (and Christopher) grow and develop their relationship into what it is today was an intriguing process, not without hurts, but still with ultimate purpose. Other parts of the book felt... "preachy".
The author is a feminist, and sometimes that comes across too strongly in her descriptions of why sexual freedom is so important. Not that I don't agree with that in general; it's just that some of her points could be made about men just as fairly. The main reason I find myself disliking radically feminist attitudes in general is that idea exactly. It seems as if sometimes, they point at a problem and say, "It's because she's a woman," without stopping to consider if a man in that situation might have the same or a similar problem. But I digress.
I found myself frustrated while reading this book when it came to Block's views on monogamy. Though she repeatedly says that she thinks it can work for some couples, it doesn't really come across as if she believes it. She makes the point that monogamy is not natural to human (or more accurately, I think, animal) biology. We aren't meant to be monogamous. Though I don't think the author intended this, to me this sounds high-handed of her. Personally I don't think I could function happily in any kind of relationship other than a monogamous one. Partially, yes, this has to do with how I was raised (societal reasons), but also with my personality, attitude toward casual physical touch, and my personal beliefs, which over the last few years have been tried and developed. As someone who believes in monogamy, personally, many of her arguments for open marriage seemed to imply that a "closed" traditional marriage wasn't really viable, and couldn't be open in the sense of honest communication and trust. I was left feeling a little vilified.
For someone interested in learning more about how an open marriage could potentially work for them, and understanding some of the problems they might face, as well as ideas for dealing with them, I think this would be a wonderful book. But it just wasn't for me. I would've enjoyed it a lot more without the philosophy of open vs. traditional marriages that she incorporated.
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
~
First, let me start off this review with a disclaimer: I am a young, heterosexual female, a virgin, and could be happily described as a "romantic". Take what preconceptions you will from this and go ahead and run with them.
I signed up for this book on First Reads and forgot about, then was greatly surprised when I opened my inbox and discovered I had won. I like to think of myself as an open-minded person, and while I personally believe in monogamy, I can see how an open marriage could be right for some people. I typically like fiction, but this book had sounded interesting and I was curious, so I was determined to give it a fair try. Well, I did. And here's what I think.
I found the memoirs aspect of this book fascinating. Seeing Jenny (and Christopher) grow and develop their relationship into what it is today was an intriguing process, not without hurts, but still with ultimate purpose. Other parts of the book felt... "preachy".
The author is a feminist, and sometimes that comes across too strongly in her descriptions of why sexual freedom is so important. Not that I don't agree with that in general; it's just that some of her points could be made about men just as fairly. The main reason I find myself disliking radically feminist attitudes in general is that idea exactly. It seems as if sometimes, they point at a problem and say, "It's because she's a woman," without stopping to consider if a man in that situation might have the same or a similar problem. But I digress.
I found myself frustrated while reading this book when it came to Block's views on monogamy. Though she repeatedly says that she thinks it can work for some couples, it doesn't really come across as if she believes it. She makes the point that monogamy is not natural to human (or more accurately, I think, animal) biology. We aren't meant to be monogamous. Though I don't think the author intended this, to me this sounds high-handed of her. Personally I don't think I could function happily in any kind of relationship other than a monogamous one. Partially, yes, this has to do with how I was raised (societal reasons), but also with my personality, attitude toward casual physical touch, and my personal beliefs, which over the last few years have been tried and developed. As someone who believes in monogamy, personally, many of her arguments for open marriage seemed to imply that a "closed" traditional marriage wasn't really viable, and couldn't be open in the sense of honest communication and trust. I was left feeling a little vilified.
For someone interested in learning more about how an open marriage could potentially work for them, and understanding some of the problems they might face, as well as ideas for dealing with them, I think this would be a wonderful book. But it just wasn't for me. I would've enjoyed it a lot more without the philosophy of open vs. traditional marriages that she incorporated.
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
walskishere's review
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
This was a pretty interesting read for the most part. There were certain parts where I wasn't fully on board with the author. Sometimes she'd write something out of pocket, like our sexuality is a choice... It was really repetitive the last chapters (8, 9, and 10).
Side note: I looked up the author, and I don't think she and Christopher are together anymore.
Side note: I looked up the author, and I don't think she and Christopher are together anymore.
lolaleviathan's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, but I wanted more memoir and less polemic. Yeah, yeah, humans aren't monogamous, marriage oppresses women, our preconceived notions of the relationship between sex and love are whack.... Jenny's the preacher, I'm the choir. But what about the sordid goings-on in her Stepfordesque planned community? And on a more sober note, more detail would flesh out the practical details of the arrangement, although we've got other books for that. For example, Block often makes oblique references to conflicts within her marriage and her other relationships, but often glosses over their genesis and resolution, like how one of the first time she brought a girl back to her hotel room on a business trip, the girl freaked out: why? and then she would also obliquely references threesomes she had with her friends, but didn't really explain. Fleshing this out would have explained more about how nonmonogamy works. But her project was more apologia than autobiography, which is fair.
On a nuts and bolts level, I was distracted/bothered by the proofreading issue other readers have mentioned. Plus the general style of the book, which was very women's magazine, was off-putting to me.
On a nuts and bolts level, I was distracted/bothered by the proofreading issue other readers have mentioned. Plus the general style of the book, which was very women's magazine, was off-putting to me.
kalyx's review against another edition
2.0
I had a love/hate reaction to Open. Jenny Block's writing style was infuriating and the book often read like a long Cosmo article and the early chapters were infuriating, where she was determined to establish the ways in which she is totally average and normal in every way, from her lace a bows childhood, to her first boyfriend who taught her to acknowledge and communicate her sexual desires. The first half of the book I couldn't relate to, but the detailed description of the evolution of her marriage from a traditional monogamous marriage, to an open marriage was illustrative. Open offers little in the way of "How To" advice for those looking to open their relationships or trying to deal with problems that arise within open relationships, but it does offer an honest account of how Jenny Block's marriage functions.
skeskali's review against another edition
2.0
Possibly more useful for women who are not already in open relationships but are curious about how they work than for couples in established open relationships. I also couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading a collection of blog posts.