In *Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality*, Julia Shaw undertakes the daunting task of exploring the largest sexual minority - bisexuals. The task for her is both personal as well as intellectual and professional, as she herself is proudly bisexual.

From the beginning of the book, Shaw promises to dive deep into all the many different aspects of bisexuality - starting with the very invention of homosexuality. She coves the science of same-sex attraction, the history of bisexuality throughout a range of cultures, and more. The author definitely shows there is a depth of information to explore regarding bisexuality and she does an amazing job of accumulating all the information together in a way that no one ever has before. There is almost no way that you can pick this book up and not learn something.

However, despite covering a wealth of information, the book is on the shorter side and padded throughout with the author’s own personal experiences. The writing was engaging and accessible - not weighed down with scientific jargon. Perfect for people questioning their sexuality, wanting to know more about their sexuality, or the genuinely curious. Hopefully this will be a jumping-off point for much more research and literature on this topic to come.

I really liked this! I thought it was informative and engaging- I really liked the author's writing style. I'd recommend it to people interested in queer non fiction!

Julia Shaw, researcher, has written a compelling, fascinating, and thoroughly fact-based book about bisexuality and bisexuals. The book is written clearly, and was interesting enough to keep me reading. I finished it in two days.

Part history lesson, part opinion, part educational -- and all compelling. I liked how nicely concise and quick this book was while hitting a variety of different topics relating to bi+ identities. Super informative!

One of my favorite nonfiction reads I've read in a while. Shaw's tackles every aspect of bi+ identities, and this book not only serves as a history lesson, but an intimate one-on-one discussion on bi+ identities that's so important for folks to start embracing themselves. Excellent book all around.

As a bisexual girly in her 20s, it's actually my duty to read any books on the subject! It's in the contract all bisexuals sign.

Sometimes I feel unsure about my sexuality but then I read a book like this (or Jen Winston's Greedy) and I'm like yup. Yup, yup, yup.

This is a 6 hour audiobook, so not a huge time commitment. Julia Shaw compiles the science and history of bisexuality in easily comprehensible anecdotes.

I loved having access to all of this information in one place. I learned new facts in some chapters (about 10% of rams exhibit exclusively gay behavior!) and felt very seen in others!

I liked Shaw's inclusions of intersectional identities and the wide breadth of experiences that can fall under the umbrella of bisexuality.

Basically, it felt like a podcast when I was listening and I really enjoyed it!

I'm not sure how this author made a book about sex and my sexuality so boring but she did.
I couldn't finish it.

This was an interesting book and one that I definitely devoured. As a bi/pan woman, I find that there are not many memoirs/information as being bi/pan can be a bit of an invisible identity for some (especially those with partners of the opposite sex). I like this book so much I immediately bought Shaw's other title Evil. Thank you so much for the review copy!

It ain’t no lie baby bi bi bi (bi bi)!

Very readable and I loved learning about the history of bisexuality.

Engrossing novel about a topic that needs to be talked about. Love how the author addresses a topic that a lot of people think of as a taboo. A total must read for all

An engaging and well-rounded introduction and history of bisexuality. Shaw provides insight on the sexual orientation in regards to its (blurry) origin, growth, and roadblocks. Stories throughout history, the animal kingdom, and scientific observations backup the natural behavior and diversity that is bisexuality. Recommended to those who are queer themselves, questioning, or simply want to know more about this community.

Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Press for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I am a slow reader when it comes to non-fiction, and it took me about a year to finish reading this book. I requested it because it sounded interesting, and it was.
Just a couple of the many things I learned from this book:
People who identify as bisexual deal with discrimination from within the LGBTQ+ community as well as from outside it.
People who identify as bi often deal with disbelief and confusion, i.e. “you just have to choose” and “at the same time?”
It did make me realize that I had been insensitive to bisexual people in my life and resolve to do better. It also provided education regarding the history of bisexuality and how bisexual people have been treated, often ignored and mistreated.
Not a quick read, but definitely informative.

Bi by Julia Shaw gives an extensive and thoroughly researched guide to bisexuality, from a historical and scientific lense. The information laid out in this book isn't new, but the way and order in which it's presented makes it a one-stop, must-read for anyone interested in the topic.

I particularly enjoyed reading about the studies conducted in the field of biology and what it can tell us about sexuality as a concept and how it can be used to talk about human sexuality. While being a science-packed book on the surface, it is very readable and doesn't require any prior knowledge of the subject.

If you’re looking for an introduction to bisexuality, look no further! There is so much great information in here for everyone, whether you are in the community or not. There is a lot of in-depth research that went into this book and the information was presented in a really accessible way. The author herself is bisexual, so her passion for the subject matter in each chapter shines through. She also touches on the intersectionality of people who are bi and BIPOC or disabled, but doesn’t really dive too deep into it. And I would say that’s generally true of the whole book, it touches on a lot of information in a relatively short amount of pages. And I think it makes a good jumping off point to do your own research into things in the book that you are interested in knowing more about. It also will help those unfamiliar with bisexuality, to understand what it is and what it is not, and its place in the wider queer community.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This was a very interesting book and easy to read. Although it kinda reads like one of those quick read articles. It's a different from the other topics she normally writes.

This book changed the way I thought about my own sexuality and about the world at large. Julia Shaw's reexamination of history through a queer and specifically bi+ point of view shows just how easily stories can be lost to biases and misinterpretations. This should be required reading for anyone interested in learning more about human sexuality, whether you are secure in your identification or not.

Generally, I enjoyed this book. Julia Shaw's self-described passion project, Bi, does feel like it was written with a lot of love.

The book has some interesting background on not just the history of bisexuality, but on the history of sexuality and sexual orientation as well. I found the explanation of sexuality evolving from something someone does into a part of one's identity particularly interesting.

Shaw does a great job both exploring the pride and joys of being bisexual as well as the pain and oppression of being bisexual as well. I appreciate that she did not try to soften the sometimes painful reality of being queer.

I'm not sure if I misread, but I did find some editing mistakes in the book; I also found that certain parts could get repetitive, which lessened my enjoyment. The last chapter, however, felt very out of place to me. I'm 100% behind examining and critiquing monogamy and the culture around it (even as a monogamous person!), but this is a book about bisexuality. Shaw explores the problems with conflating bisexuality with nonmonogamy and why perhaps there are more nonmonogamous bisexual people, but a huge portion just felt like a critique of monogamy - which, again, I am all about questioning and examining, but I feel like that could be its own separate essay or book.

Overall, I did enjoy this and it made me very happy as a bisexual person to read a well-researched title like this.

Really enjoyed the book. Way better than I could have expected. Super easy read. Gave enough history and statistics to get points across but kept it casual and personal.

This was incredibly informative and seemed well researched. It expounded on some concepts or stories I was already familiar with and also introduced me to some new people and history. The writing style is very dry, almost as if reading a thesis. This absolutely may have been intentional, it's just not my preferred taste as I have a hard time fully paying attention.