The Hite Report, by Shere-Hite (Pandora, £8.99 in UK)

Gloria Steinem says that "every woman should read this book"; I can only hope that it is not to be made compulsory reading for all men as well. Kinsey began the vogue for this kind of flat, deadpan, quasi scientific sexual reportage, which may genuinely have been of help or illumination for some people but has also been a source of grinding boredom for millions and no doubt continues to feed the morbid curiosity of countless voyeurs. However, for those who wish to know in considerable detail and variation what the average woman (or at least the average American woman) thinks and feels about coition, masturbation, lesbianism, cunnilingus, orgasm and all the rest, then this is it and plenty of it. The print is large and the format is rather crude, though the odd moments of unconscious humour are worth waiting for.