Working Stiff: The Misadventures of an Accidental Sexpert

It is the classic story. A young man with no hopes in his own land comes to America's friendly shores, unknown but with an intent to make something of himself. Partially by pluck and partially by luck, he finds just the niche that no one else has filled, or could have filled, and by working hard, he gains all the fame and fortune he never could have anticipated. There is a variation, however, in Grant Stoddard's case. His memoir _Working Stiff: The Misadventures of an Accidental Sexpert_ (Harper Perennial) tells how the immigrant, a wallflower in his own land, came to be a renowned writer about sexual topics and an appointed sexual experimenter in his adopted country. It is a hopeful, funny story, not the least of whose attractions is Stoddard's love for America, and for New York City in particular. We have the land of opportunity, but Stoddard has had opportunities of which the rest of the world's wallflowers would be glad for just a fraction. Stoddard grew up in the working-class Essex village of Corringham. From university, he followed his one girlfriend to America, and fell in love with the country and out of love with the girl. He won a contest with the prize of sex with Nerve writer Lisa Carver, and from this got hired into customer service at Nerve, and then was invited to write about experiments in kink. Stoddard would be assigned the experiment and would write up his lab report, and Nerve would feature his column "I Did It for Science." It was a brilliant idea. For three years, Stoddard did odd sexual things, sometimes things the readers suggested. He made out with a guy. He went to clothing-optional bridge lessons. He sploshed (that's throwing food at a naked person). He dressed as a woman. He went to an orgy. He tried Aneros, the ergonomically-designed prostate massager. He went to Leather Camp. He was an extra in a porn film. He was the recipient of penetrative, restrictive, dominating, or otherwise freaky sex. His lab reports were hilarious, the reflections of a shy fellow confronting some of the strangest things that people do for fun. The column was popular, and he was popular. "PR reps for hundreds of pleasure-enhancing creams, pills, hardware, software, and products began calling my work phone at an astonishing rate." (When he eventually cleans out his desk at Nerve, the inventory is hilarious.) He was quickly asked to be a guest on a late-night chat show and billed as a sexpert only one year after thinking himself "a sexual nonstarter". "The idea of Grant Stoddard the sexpert seemed absolutely surreal to me, and positively ludicrous to anyone I'd slept with." Nonetheless, for the duration of the column "girls who were fans of the column were making it extremely easy for me to have sex with them." _Working Stiff_ is not a collection of Stoddard's columns; it contains only one, as an example, but many of the pages are devoted to descriptions of what he had to go through to make his experiments happen.

From the opening of the book, you know you're in for a real treat with this one. I don't want to give too much away, but imagine being a young, heterosexual male in the strange position of literally "f*cking yourself" ... all in a day's work of course. Stoddard's book details the time he spent as a sex columnist for [...]. The book goes beyond the columns, however, and shows how this young lad from England came to the city of all cities (NYC!!!) and kind of randomly ended up becoming a sexual guinea pig. Some of the situations young Stoddard finds himself in are just amazingly bizarre - and entertaining of course. For such a young author, this book is especially impressive. I am sure Stoddard has much more up his sleeve for future literary projects.

WORKING STIFF is a fantastic read! Stoddard's provocative account of the various assignments he was sent to report on had me laughing, cringing, and often gasping in disbelief. Even though I've never experienced most of the adventures the author had to try, I still found that I could identify with him on so many different levels. If you have ever been in a situation, and found yourself asking "how did I possibly get myself into this?" you will really appreciate WORKING STIFF. It is cleaver, humorous, and an absolute page turner. I can not wait to see what he will come out with next.

Hands down one of the best accounts of New York hijinx from a foreign point of view. Makes "How to Lose Friends and Infuriate People" look like a lame substitute and Toby Young like a whiny little tosser.

"Stoddard, Grant. "Working Stiff: The Misadventures of an Accidental Sexpert", Harper Perennial, 2007. What a Life Amos Lassen and Literary Pride Grant Stoddard became a sex columnist by mistake. He had little experience in neither sex not writing when he took a job as a sex columnist. In "Working Stiff" he tells of his adventures in a hilarious and straight forward manner so if you are looking for light, sexy reading then this is the book for you. At twenty-two years of age, Stoddard found himself in America and had no idea as to what he would do with his life. Sexually he was inexperienced but then he won an online sex contest and was catapulted into the world of sex. The prize he won was to have intercourse with a famous sex columnist who happened to be married. This liaison brought him to a job at Nerve.com and little by little he found his niche in life. His coworkers set up tests for him and he participated in every one of them. He was used as bait In a gay bar, went to an orgy of the rich, and participated in a sexual home invasion. While all this was happening to himself, all he wanted was to be at home in bed. He recorded his activities in "Working Stiff" which is a compilation of the places his heart and his sexual organs took him and he did so with wit and humor. It is an x-rated look at sex which is very clever and very, very funny. I laughed aloud as I read about his adventures. "Working Stiff" is an outrageous look at the modern mores of America that is written with great style. It is delightful and fascinating and very readable. Stoddard is perverse and self-depreciating and his appreciation of the absurdity of American sexuality is both smart and appealing. He is the geek of geeks, the nerd of nerds but he has a great deal of heart. He has written a "How To" book about career searching in New York and like he says of himself, he is the "personification of the [wet] dream come true. The book is like sex itself--seductive, fun and exciting.