Join Us for this Tour from January 4 to January 17, 2022
Book Details:
Book Title: Tickling the Bear: How to Stay Safe in the Universe by David Wann
Category: Adult Fiction 18+, 279 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Chokecherry Press, Golden, Colorado
Release date: May 2021
Formats Available for Review: print-softback (USA and Canada), e-book (Gifted Kindle, MOBI for Kindle and pdf)
Tour dates: January 4 to January 17
Content Rating: PG13 + M: There's no offensive material but there is a tasteful, semi-comic sex scene and scene in which characters experience MDMA, a mild hallucinogenic.
Book Description:
Anthropology professor Marc Blake is on a “hero’s journey.” His challenge is to overcome a troubling medical diagnosis –a virus from a tick bite. Along the way he shares his deepest thoughts as the reader follows his courageous efforts to survive. May, an attractive Danish woman, also endures setbacks with resilience, gradually coming center stage in the story. Her husband Kai has a passion for growing herbs and healthy vegetables, marveling how gardening provides a sense of purpose, good health, direct contact with nature, and companionship. Marc’s niece, a natural beauty and ex-model, offers readers a comical, on-again, off-again romantic episode with a Silicon Valley genius she fears might outshine her. Will she prove to be his equal?
Quirky humor injects both lightness and conflict into a 30-year marriage. A six-year old’s “best summer ever” is a reminder that life’s an absolute miracle. Collectively this extended family contests a widespread belief that life is happening to us - that we are passive consumers. On the contrary, each character in this upbeat book is actively self-guided, perfecting their passions and offering generous support to family and friends.
Though author David Wann has previously written non-fiction books about sensible, sustainable lifestyles, in his first-novel these themes are woven right into a compelling story. “Our lives don’t look much different than most Americans,” the characters might say. “Really, we are not ‘doing without,’ more like doing within.” Kai enjoys investing in regional businesses, and also loves to travel effortlessly on Denver’s bike paths. Meatless Mondays or grilled-salmon Sundays are a great way for the outgoing May to bring friends together for active conversation. Each character would insist that kindness and gratitude are encoded in our genes and are far more powerful than anger. In a world that’s currently so full of disruption and confusion, they offer both a sense of direction and grounded hope.
Buy the Book:
Boulder Book Store
Amazon ~ B&N ~ BAM ~ IndieBound
MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK
Being in the woods and mountains you need to watch out for everything, including the pesky tick. Author David Wann is telling us Marc's story in a way that anyone can understand. Mainly to watch after things that can harm you such as a tick, through a tick bite. Wann does an excellent job of writing and telling this story to keep his readers interested. Wann does his homework in researching as well, which is evident in the way the story flows.
I'm giving this book Four Stars. It is a book well worth your read. There is a lot of valuable lessons in this book and some twists and turns that will pull you off guard, but all in all it's a good book to read. I think it's a good book for any child to read. I encourage you to check this one out.
Guest Post....FROM SUBURBIA TO SUPERBIA!
“I was amazed when my neighbor waved to me,” a suburban friend confided. “She’s lived a few houses down for three or four years now, and she’s never waved before.” She still hasn’t -- it turns out the neighbor wasn’t waving, just reaching for the garage door opener on the sun visor! Focused on communications between car and house, not herself and her neighbor. American suburbs are as much a state of mind as they are physical spaces. These days, just about everything we need to be champion consumers is delivered right to our homes – except of course the money to buy it all, and the ethics and values to make sense of it.
We use the question, “Where do you live?” automatically, without really thinking about it. Sometimes the question just means, “How far do I have to drive to get there, and how long will it take?” Too often “where you live” means where you park your car, consume energy, watch three or four hours of TV a day, generate four pounds of trash, and argue with your spouse. Hopefully, in your case, it means something far more magnificent: where you have your best relationships, and your most creative ideas. Where you feel the most content and energized. Where you come to life.
I lived in a rural mountain town for twenty years and rarely interacted with my neighbors, who were scattered throughout the valley in cabins. But when a blizzard hit, our vehicles would get stuck in snowdrifts, and we relied on each other to dig them out. Sometimes the power also went out, and in each little house, families were sitting around woodstoves telling stories the way humans always have. In our little cabin, we always had piles of firewood cut and split, and we’d get out the candles and pop popcorn on the stove. By the end of the storm, we became a closer family in a more supportive community. It felt great.
The question is, why did it take blizzards and power outages to strengthen natural bonds between people? In many of America’s neighborhoods, we’ve become strangers on our own streets. What can we do to bring those streets back to life? The process of reinventing a neighborhood might begin when you walk out your front door and just say hello to someone you’ve seen before, but never met. After preliminary conversation, the topic of neighborhood security comes up, and maybe you comment how valuable it would be to compile a list of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of everyone on the block. “That way, if someone gets hurt or just needs help moving a dresser, he can call one of us,” you say. Your neighbor agrees, adding, “Maybe we could set up a neighborhood e-mail listserv, to provide a forum for news and opinion, and a digital bulletin board for babysitting exchanges, discussion groups, and carpooling…”
From Superbia: 31 Ways to Create Sustainable Neighborhoods (New Society Publishers)
Meet the Author:
David Wann has been a self-acknowledged author since second grade. He's written hundreds of articles and columns; ten books - one a best seller; and produced five TV documentaries viewed by 20 million. He's lived in a cooperative neighborhood (cohousing) for 26 years where he has been the organic gardener for 27 households. He's an amateur musician and the proud father of two. His greatest ambition is to make a difference in a world that urgently requires "all hands on deck." His books include Affluenza; Biologic; Superbia; Simple Prosperity; The Zen of Gardening; The New Normal, Reinventing Community and others.
connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ goodreads
Tour Schedule:
Jan 4 –Cover Lover Book Review – book review / giveaway
Jan 5 –@twilight_reader – book review / giveaway
Jan 7 –Literary Flits – book review / giveaway
Jan 8 – Rockin' Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Jan 10 – Kam's Place – book review / author interview
Jan 11 –Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / author interview / giveaway
Jan 12 –Stephanie Jane – book review / giveaway
Jan 12 - Books for Books - book review
Jan 13 –Book Corner News and Reviews – book review / giveaway
Jan 13 - Sefina Hawke's Books - book review
Jan 14 –Splashes of Joy – book review / author interview / giveaway
Jan 17 - Books are a Blessing - book review / guest post / giveaway
Jan 17 - Pick a Good Book – book review / author interview / giveaway
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