Gross Anatomy: Dispatches from the Front and Back

Altman (Thanks for Coming) boldly explores parts of her body that are both a source of shame and wonder in this delightfully crass collection of essays. From nipple hair to hemorrhoids, from the evolution of mammalian sex noises to why dogs are frequently drawn to “vag scent,” nothing is off-limits in Altman’s line of interrogation. She manages to keep readers engaged by polishing her bodily exposition with journalistic details, pausing her narrative for interviews with experts on every subject at hand. In one essay, on “copulatory vocalizations,” she consults an evolutionary biologist, two psychologists, a neuroscientist, and an anthropologist. “Maybe if you aren’t busy hollering during sex, you have the space in your brain to develop advanced sensory sensitivity in your vagina,” she posits after a conversation with the neuroscientist. It is this level of research coupled with her unique shade of humor that sets her series of essays apart. Agent: Erin Hosier, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency (Aug.)