First off, I blurbed this book and have known Audacia for several years, and have been thrilled to see her career advance and grow. That being said, I expected Naked on the Internet to be about, well, getting naked on the internet. And it is...but it's also so much more. Instead of simply going the salacious route, Audacia Ray takes the knowledge she's gained from modeling online, doing sex work, blogging, editing a print mag about sex workers ($pread) and being an activist and used it to write a book that helps illuminate both the everyday (online dating, health information) and the fringes (people who not just get naked, but have, solicit, and sell sex of various kinds on the internet, for money).
She talks to women running their own businesses as well as women who've met lovers, friends, dates, and tricks online. She dishes the good, the bad, the ugly, the sexy, and the so-so, and offers resources where readers can find more information. If you're someone who already has their hands (or other body parts) in the world of online communication, this book will likely offer a sense of camaraderie, advice, questions to ask yourself and warnings. If you're someone who likes to look at and/or interact with naked women on the internet, I think this book will be especially illuminating, because the women she profiles share their real stories about everything from billing issues to safety concerns to staking their claim in what's often known as male territory. This is a behind-the-scenes look at the girl you might be talking to in a chatroom or negotiating with on Craigslist. Ray uses her insight to explore many topics that often go unreported or overlooked, and in the process humanizes women who are naked, literally and figuratively, on the internet. I thought I was pretty well-versed in the world of alternasex and I still found many new sites to bookmark and ideas to consider in terms of promoting my erotic work online.
Also, the cover is totally genius. It makes me want to grab that girl's ass. But in addition to its hotness, it's also smart and subversive, just like this book. Read it with a computer and internet connection handy, because you'll definitely want to look up plenty of the women quoted inside, and you likely won't be able to wait until you're done.