Elayne Angel admits she’s more conservative about piercing than many others, and as far as her new book, The Piercing Bible, is concerned, that probably works to her advantage. Over five years in the making, the book is billed as “the definitive guide to safe body piercing,” which ostensibly seems like a dicey proposition; there could be some (understandable) apprehension to an actual guide to piercing for public consumption. Angel cuts this off at the head, though, in an early section in which she states that “piercing (is) not a do-it-yourself hobby,” and that this is not meant to be a handbook for hacks or people who think they can blow off an apprenticeship. On piercing kits sold in some shops, for example, she writes, “These are no safer than a home root canal kit and must be avoided.”