A Tiger in the Bedroom: Lessons from Mother Nature's Sex Shop [Paperback]

Katherine Gould (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Imagine that your job is to write the informative signs about animal habits at the local zoo. You learn all kinds of fascinating facts about the animals, but the really juicy stuff is off-limits for a family audience. What do you do with the R-rated material? Put it in a book, of course! Katherine Gould's A Tiger In The Bedroom presents a compendium of carnal curiosities from the animal kingdom, such as: Size isn't everything. An elephant has a truly impressive instrument (he can scratch his belly with it), but his sexual performance last only for about 30 seconds. Lacking in endurance? Just make up for it with frequency. Tigers have sex for only two or three minutes at a time, but they can do it 50 times a day. More than just a voyeuristic peek into the private lives of animals and insects, A Tiger in the Bedroom explores the many parallels between human and animal courtship. Each of the more than 200 paragraph-length lessons includes a bit of witty advice for the lovelorn. From the male Egyptian vulture, whose bright yellow face (which females consider sexy) comes from eating cow, goat, and sheep dung, the lesson is, "Admire your date's good looks, but don't ask too many questions about their beauty routine." And from the skylark we learn that, hey, it could be worse -- they mate exactly once each year. Chapters like "Lower Your Standards: Strategies for Getting A Date," "The Dolphin's Naughty Bits: Disturbing Behaviors," and "Fatal Attractions: How Can I Respect You In the Morning If I'm Dead?" are sure to titillate, educate, and illuminate.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Katherine Gould has written about animals for the Los Angeles Zoo for several years - both for the zoo's exhibits and for its membership magazine, Zoo View. She is a freelance writer and editor and lives in Los Angeles with her cat and twin daughters.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740738399
• ISBN-13: 978-0740738395
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Animal Husbandry Like You Never Saw Before, February 5, 2004

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Tiger in the Bedroom: Lessons from Mother Nature's Sex Shop (Paperback)

Reminiscent of an old article in Esquire magazine, the author tries to draw parallels between human and animal mating behavior in an informative and very funny book.

This could be a simple listing of curious animal behaviors, but the author has gone one better. She shows what we can learn from the animal kingdom, both do's and don't's. She then usually makes a very entertaining quip on how to use this knowledge.

Many readers will be surprised by the supposedly natural behavior of these animals that includes adultery, philandering, prostitution (I kid you not), rape, orgies, masturbation, sex toys, stamina, death and just about anything else you can think of.

For those who may find these behaviors hard to swallow, there is an appendix that references sources for all of the facts portrayed.

Very fun and laugh inducing. Read it unless you are too shy (just remember bookstores keep it in the humor section).

5.0 out of 5 stars Things you father (or mother) never taught you, November 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Tiger in the Bedroom: Lessons from Mother Nature's Sex Shop (Paperback)

Great fun for the interesting animal world oddities it exposes, Ms Gould's breezy and informative style makes this book a joy. It really is a lot of fun to read it aloud with friends (as a previous reader stated) -- HIGHLY recommended

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Small bites shared with Friends, October 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Tiger in the Bedroom: Lessons from Mother Nature's Sex Shop (Paperback)

This is a great book of laughs best when shared with friends. Where in the world did Gould find these facts? I will never think of a Dolphin the same way. Entertaining, and educational.