Review of Almost Everything You Wanted To Know About Tickling
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Carol McCoy Phelps
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- Latest Review: Almost Everything You Wanted To Know About Tickling by Duncan Taub
Review of Almost Everything You Wanted To Know About Tickling
[Following is a volunteer review of "Almost Everything You Wanted To Know About Tickling" by Duncan Taub.]
In his introduction, Duncan Taub contends that Almost Everything You Wanted to Know About Tickling is a groundbreaking study. The author points out that little research exists to define and describe the phenomenon of tickling. Taub appears to be immensely proud of the international research on tickling, as documented in this book. It is important to note that this was a self-financed study, leaving Taub’s team free to design the parameters. While learning more about their subject matter, the researchers designed the questionnaires and continuously edited them as the study progressed. The team also decided to report only on the opinions of women.
Taub reports that tickling takes various forms across cultures, with only slight differences influenced by social norms. Parents playfully tickle young children, while siblings and friends sometimes engage in tickling during childhood. Another major type occurs in romantic settings, accounting for most of Taub’s empirical data. Taub devotes several chapters to romantic tickling, exploring its complex layers from nuanced rebuttals to blissful surrenders.
My favorite parts of the book are where Taub includes the unedited responses from study participants. The women share their experiences and emotions to vividly express the impact of tickling on them. These firsthand accounts impress me more than the author’s narrative or the analytical breakdown represented in the data charts.
The data charts dominate much of the book, making them my least favorite feature. While relevant, I would prefer to see them compiled at the back of the book in appendix form. Some readers may find them useful while reading, but others might see them as distracting. Since the narrative already explains the data analyses, the charts appear redundant, obtrusive, and frustrating. Since this is merely my personal preference, I will not deduct a star.
The editing of the book is good. I found a couple of minor inconsistencies, but these do not merit a reduction in rating. I recommend the book to adults because of adult language and themes. Since the book is highly readable, well-written, unique, and interesting, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
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Almost Everything You Wanted To Know About Tickling
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
In his introduction, Duncan Taub contends that Almost Everything You Wanted to Know About Tickling is a groundbreaking study. The author points out that little research exists to define and describe the phenomenon of tickling. Taub appears to be immensely proud of the international research on tickling, as documented in this book. It is important to note that this was a self-financed study, leaving Taub’s team free to design the parameters. While learning more about their subject matter, the researchers designed the questionnaires and continuously edited them as the study progressed. The team also decided to report only on the opinions of women.
Taub reports that tickling takes various forms across cultures, with only slight differences influenced by social norms. Parents playfully tickle young children, while siblings and friends sometimes engage in tickling during childhood. Another major type occurs in romantic settings, accounting for most of Taub’s empirical data. Taub devotes several chapters to romantic tickling, exploring its complex layers from nuanced rebuttals to blissful surrenders.
My favorite parts of the book are where Taub includes the unedited responses from study participants. The women share their experiences and emotions to vividly express the impact of tickling on them. These firsthand accounts impress me more than the author’s narrative or the analytical breakdown represented in the data charts.
The data charts dominate much of the book, making them my least favorite feature. While relevant, I would prefer to see them compiled at the back of the book in appendix form. Some readers may find them useful while reading, but others might see them as distracting. Since the narrative already explains the data analyses, the charts appear redundant, obtrusive, and frustrating. Since this is merely my personal preference, I will not deduct a star.
The editing of the book is good. I found a couple of minor inconsistencies, but these do not merit a reduction in rating. I recommend the book to adults because of adult language and themes. Since the book is highly readable, well-written, unique, and interesting, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
******
Almost Everything You Wanted To Know About Tickling
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
J. Carol McCoy-Phelps
