When I was a pre-teen, I found The Joy of Sex hidden among a pile of books at my aunt and uncle's house. Same with you, right? I had only a few minutes to look at it, but they were good minutes, rifling through the eye-widening drawings, skimming a passage on "Soixante-neuf."

Dr. Alex Comfort's 1972 how-to manual was a shocker back in the day: this was before the internet, remember, and sexual information wasn't blaring out from lighted billboards at every corner. Assurance that "genital kissing" and other such past times were totally ok was news to lots of bashful pervs, and the book has since sold over 12 million copies worldwide.

We all know what happens when something is that successful—there's a sequel. Or, in this case, a new edition, this time edited by British relationship columnist Susan Quilliam. In a world where there is Kink.com, does The Joy of Sex still have anything to offer?

Well, yes and no. The fact that all the photos and drawings are of one very Caucasian couple is disappointing (though the drawings are still good turn ons for the pre-teen inside all of us) and if a book is going to be 100% hetero, these days it's best to say so from the outset. Still,  there are more than a few postures in here that deserve a go— "X position" sounds intriguing, for one. Plus, there is something appealing about the "love making" approach to getting it on. I like the idea that being good at sex is a skill that can be learned through time, energy and commitment.

Yes, the book is vanilla, but neither heavenly hash nor tiger tail will ever beat out vanilla at Baskin Robbins. Sometimes, uncomplicated things are just genuine, and sweet.