Just Do It: How One Couple Turned Off the TV and Turned On Their Sex Lives for 101 Days (No Excuses!)

So, we're on day 25 today. I read this book cover to cover and relate to so many of the issues that Doug and Annie have gone through. Our family is the same size (2 kids ages 4 and 7). My husband is in his 40's and I'm in my 30's. We're going for 102 days! Even though we have only been married for 8 years we were definitely in a rut. I felt the book was well written and interesting enough to keep me hooked until I was done. Like several other reviewers, I had some real laugh out loud moments too! I thought Doug was humorous and real in the way he recaptured their adventure and I highly recommend this to anyone who is in a relationship and feels that there could be more spice between a spouse or partner. After 25 days, we are planning weekends together and dreaming of things we want to do some day (not even sex related!). I, like Annie, feel so much sexier. I went from dreading sex (because of being too tired or busy or just wanting to be alone) and feeling guilty (was I pleasing my husband enough?) to stress-free and relaxed and so much more in love than I was before. We both agree that this adventure has brought elements back into our relationship that had been long gone.

I loved this book. Doug is a great writer and keeps you entertained with his stories. The best part is I was motivated to start things up again with my husband. Just having a baby this year, it has been hard to find the time. The 101 ways Doug and Anne find to "do it" are creative, exciting, and inspiring. I want to run out and try some of them today. I highly recommend for any one in a relationship to read.

"Just Do It" will no doubt "crinkle the fat" about the eyes of the prurient and cause the ultra-conservative to babble in shock. But such knee jerk reactions belie the true import of the book. On January 1, 2007, Douglas Brown and his wife Annie (at her suggestion) pledged to have sex with each other for 100 straight days. While the caring, tenderness, and communication between them was good after fourteen years of marriage, their experiment enabled them to bond ever more closely--in spite of the demands of children, careers, and life in the twenty-first century. The preparation for the project speaks of the seriousness with which the Browns tackled the chore. Besides defining parameters, there was a visit to the family doctor for both, as well as researching destinations for variety in locales and dietary considerations to enhance performance and stamina. One destination was THE Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, which Brown, a feature writer, covered for the Denver Post. Annie asked porn star, Randy West, for an autograph, prompting Doug to approach Smoking Mary Jane with the same request. Annie took his picture with his arm around the corseted woman "bedecked in subtle dominatrix attire." And while they were there, they picked up sex toys, to add dash to their daily endeavor. But in the way of things, glitter, neon, and swag can be supplanted by state-department-level negotiations for their two daughters' bedtimes, or tending to cases of strep throat and copious vomiting spells. Social commentary on current attitudes toward sexual practices vies with glimpses of family life, dealing with the sale of Girl Scout cookies and story telling. Titillating sex toys are described, and the couple's physical delight in each other is revealed. Yet the book's appeal lies in the delicate balance Brown maintains, never resorting to purple prose or raunch. The narrative is thoughtful, lively, and engaging. Annie says they have fun, and it's their fun that imbues the tale. Douglas Brown tells a tender love story here and pays glorious tribute to his wife. But he experienced an epiphany all his own. As a result of this madcap sexventure, he learned the definition of "home."

Take one part Erma Bombeck's humorous insight into the inanity of everyday life, add a big slice of David Sedaris' self deprecating raconteur style, fold in a heaping spoonful of Dr. Ruth's straight talk about good sex, add ice and shake (do not stir), and you have Douglas Brown's refreshing first book about 101 marathon days of sex with his wife. In a world where free wheeling sex is omnipresent, Brown has stumbled upon one of our remaining taboos: discussing the sex lives of married consenting adults. Carry Bradshaw we can handle, but...what will these married folks think of next? His book effectively summarizes 101 continuous days of married sex without being either salacious or vulgar, and he and his wife of 14 years learn a few things about maintaining a long term relationship along the way. The humor, the details of family life, the internal monologues (particularly about "where is home?") all give a delightful context for the daily sex. Even the reality of the "Not really in the mood tonight, dear"...which for most of us (all of us?) would just end it right there...and then knowing that right after they felt that emotion and said those words, they went ahead anyway....I mean...Wow. I almost can't fathom the dedication that this took! Brown's book is a delicious feast featuring all that it means to be a married father in the early 21st century, complete with face-painted flat tires, vertiginous sexual interludes, and the miracles of "Brazilian waxing".

How brave Doug and Annie Brown are! They made a pact to make love every day for 100 days, and then Doug wrote this book about it. The result is this funny and revealing story, which entertained me and, in the end, moved me. This long-married couple achieved a magical sort of intimacy they didn't have before the three-month marathon. "We touched more," Doug writes. "Our conversations seemed easier and more lit with honesty. I felt I understood Annie's interior world better than ever, and she felt the same about me." The book includes frank talk about all sorts of different ways the Browns spiced up their lovemaking, including Brazilian waxes, lingerie, massages, dirty movies, Viagra, yoga and Doug throwing away his comfy but icky sleeping pants. More important was the ever-present good humor and laughter, and the deep affection the two share. Here's the chapter list: 1. What Will Help Us Cross the Finish Line? 2. I'm Going to Like It 3. Don't Wait for Chemistry 4. Screwing Ourselves Together 5. Nasal Shrapnel 6. Catcalls of the Past 7. Scat 8. The Power of Love 9. The Singing Heart 10. The Common Good 11. The First Move 12. The Reading of the Lists 13. To Bask on the Island of Our Own Creation 14. Making Love in the Afternoon 15. That's Sexcellent