Mary Roach

Join Mary Roach to celebrate the release of the paperback version of Packing for Mars. Ms. Roach is a columnist and popular science writer and author of previous books Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, and Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.

"Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, and beer. Space exploration is in some ways an exploration of what it means to be human. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you ... (more)can’t walk for a year? Have sex? Smell flowers? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 17,000 miles per hour? To answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of quizzical and startlingly bizarre space simulations. As Mary Roach discovers, it’s possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA’s new space capsule, Roach takes us on a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth." For more information on Mary, visit her website: http://www.maryroach.net/

Impeccably researced and hilariously funny, this is a look at the "occasionally noble, sporadically ghastly, ever surreal" world of sexual physiology research.

WHAT:This entertaining and irreverent presentation introduces the study of sex in the science lab, sharing some of the extreme measures men and women are willing to take in pursuit of a more satisfying sex life. WHO:Mary Roach, author of Bonk: the Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (W. W. Norton & ... (more)Company; April 6, 2008), and previous bestsellers, Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. WHY:The San José Public Library system offers a multitude of unique and interesting programs that are open to the public and free of charge. Research on sexual physiology remains taboo today, suffering from the notion that “sex is a secret shame and not an everyday biological event.” This event encourages open and frank dialogue on a topic everyone thinks about but is more reticent to talk about. Library programs are made possible in part by the Library Parcel Tax.

MARY ROACH: BONK: THE CURIOUS COUPLING OF SCIENCE AND SEX 7pm
Save the Date - Details Forthcoming

Teens 14-18 are invited to Temple News Agency Coffeehouse to discuss "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach. Get there by 4:05 and you'll get FREE ice cream! FREE Copies of the book are available at the adult check-out desk!

The study of sexual physiology has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey’s attic. Mary Roach, “the funniest science writer in the country” (Burkhard Bilger of The New Yorker), shows us how and why sexual arousal ... (more)and orgasm can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place.

Mary Roach is the author of Stiff: The Curious LIves of Human Cadavers and Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. Her writing has appeared in such publications as Salon, GQ, Vogue, and the New York Times Magazine. She lives in Oakland, California.

$55 ticket includes lunch, a copy of Bonk, and the author program and signing. Tickets are available at Anderson's.

Join us for a "hot" lunch with Mary Roach to celebrate Bonk, an impeccably-researched and uproariously-funny tribute to the sex researchers who expanded what we know of sexual physiology. ... (more)Bonk follows her equally funny smash bestsellers Stiff and Spook. .

In her new book reminiscent of Woody Allen's Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex ( But Were Afraid to Ask), the bestselling author of Spook and Stiff (and funniest science writer in the country) revisits some of the age-old myths that originated and still play out behind closed doors.

Mary Roach is the author of BONK, Spook, and the New York Times bestseller Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Stiff was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick for 2003, a Northern California Book Awards finalist, and an American Library Association Alex Award (for adult books that ... (more)appeal to young adults) winner. Stiff has been translated into 16 languages, including Hungarian (Hullamerev) and Lithuanian (Negyveilai). Before writing Bonk, Spook and Stiff, Mary wrote columns, essays, and feature articles for Outside, Wired, GQ, Salon.com, and the New York Times Magazine, among many others. She has always gravitated toward the peculiar, covering things like Eskimo food, flatulence, killer bees, vaginal weight-lifting, carrot addiction, and amputee bowling leagues. Mary works in an office with five other writers in Oakland, California, down the hall from a cosmetology school which produces a lot of fumes and perhaps explains Mary's writing style.

Beth Lapides is an author, comedian, teacher, activist, radio & TV personality, and former First Lady candidate. She has appeared on CNN, Politically Incorrect, and HBO's Sex and the City. She's a commentator for NPR's All Things Considered, was Self Help Consultant on ABC Radio's Satellite Sisters, and hosted her own live daily talk show on Comedy World. She's been featured on many TV & radio shows including The Today Show, Politically Incorrect, Dateline, E! True Hollywood Story, and Morning Edition. Beth's first book DID I WAKE YOU? - Haikus for Modern Living was published in fall 2006 by Soft Skull Press. Her writing has also been published in periodicals including the Los Angeles Times, Utne Reader, The Realist, LA Weekly, Premiere, freshyarn.com, and The Huffington Post.

www.bethlapides.com

In "Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex," the best-selling author of "Stiff" and "Spook" turns her curiosity and wit to the most alluring subject of all: sex. Mary Roach - "the funniest science writer in the country" – examines such varied subjects as the penis-camera, coital-imaging, transplants, ... (more)implants, masturbation, the immaculate orgasm, and the eternal question “can a woman find happiness with a machine.”