UNPLUGGED: Hundreds of Activities for Teens to Do Without a Screen By Paul Walker, Alexandra Boyden Walker and Calvin Boyden Walker

10/24/2020

The Walkers, Paul, Alexandra and Calvin, debut authors introduce us to their book about having a richer life by going, “UNPLUGGED”:
INTELLIGENT AND FUNNY, this book is designed for teenagers; it has hundreds of fun activities that teenagers can do that don't involve a screen.
Some of the ideas are free and only take a few minutes while others may cost a small fortune and take years.
UNPLUGGED contains useful ideas, such as creative ways to earn money and ideas to make your parents happy.
There are a number of activities teens can do with their friends or to do to make new friends.
The first section includes lists of activities that people can do, from cooking to earning money.
The second includes things that teens should know about, like how to avoid being poor, how to negotiate, how to tell if someone is lying, and other similar skills.
The third is similar to the second, only more focused on health. Because some of the sections are simply long lists, at the bottom “activities” were added which serve as hints or jumping-off points for that particular list.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Paul Walker is the dad. His daughter Alexandra Boyden Walker (age 13) and his son Calvin Boyden Walker (age 17) give their dad “rant scores” whenever he contributes to the book, yet it is obvious they have deep respect for him. Teens themselves, they are concerned their peers will grow up with compromised social skills because of their obsession with their devices, spending the equivalent of 136 days a year on them. So they did extensive research and created lists of healthier activities to do instead.
Visit the authors on their website: http://mindfulcynic.com/.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I found it entertaining and insightful, with a healthy dose of cute.
I think that everyone benefits from engaging in different activities at all ages, but especially in the school-age years.
The chapter on volunteering is quite good and provides ideas for volunteering in many different areas of interest. They can also be implemented in towns of almost any size. Learning the value of serving and assisting others is an important life skill to have. Almost all nonprofit organizations would fold without any volunteers.
Many of the activities are way fun! Quite a few of them can easily be leveraged into a hobby or in a few cases, a business. Lessons can be learned, while having fun, that will remain with a person all throughout life.
I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It’s fun, enjoyable, helps to build a well-rounded personality through a variety of experiences.
I award 5 stars to “UNPLUGGED”! Congratulations to all of the authors!

You can buy this book:
https://rdrpublishers.com/unplugged-hundreds-of-activities-for-teens-to-do-without-a-screen
https://www.amazon.com/UNPLUGGED-Hundreds-Activities-Without-Screen
https://www.goodreads.com/-unplugged
This book is available on many other platforms also.
You can follow the authors:
https://twitter.com/Mindful_Cynic
http://mindfulcynic.com
https://www.facebook.com/Mindfulcynic

Copyright © 2020 Mark L. Schultz except for the authors’ introduction

12 Comments

Calvin Boyden Walker link

10/24/2020 05:25:46 pm

Thank you for reviewing our book! (Unplugged: Hundreds of things for teens to do without a screen. AKA: the book for teens, by teens that no teen will ever buy...) Hopefully dad's geopolitical pseudo-conversations didn't put you too far off, also if you want another one for a free gift, we've got like 500 of these things in the garage because (you won't believe this) there's a GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS (crazy huh?) that makes distributing them a bit rough...
Glibness aside, thank you, seriously it means a lot to see our little project get this much attention.

Mark

10/25/2020 10:14:33 am

I am okay with your dad's conversation, I am a dad and granddad also. I am fluent in dad-speak.
I am looking forward to our chat, I hope your sister and dad can join us at some point.
Feel free to share only your viewpoint or the others as seems best to you.
First question.
Please, tell us more about yourself. Perhaps something a little bit beyond your bio.

10/25/2020 03:17:51 pm

Let's see, it's been a couple years since we started the book, so I'm now a senior in high school. I'm looking into majoring in technology and education, so that's something. At this point I'm sort of falling deeper and deeper into the D&D rabbit hole, which is something we had just started when we were writing, I'm fairly sure that we offer it as an activity in there somewhere. I recently discovered the soundtrack from Doom (a video game, coincidentally enough...) and so I've started to get an interest for sound design. I'm doing pretty well all things considered, as well as a global heath crisis can let us be that is.

10/25/2020 04:31:38 pm

Have you been elected to carry the water for the interview or will your family members join in the fun at some point?
Those fields are wide open in terms of application. Two of my younger granddaughters, 5 and 7, are playing Minecraft. I have been told it is good for learning the basics of programming. It's quite an involved adventure. Their older sister and daddy play with them at times. All I can do is watch and let them explain it to me.
Developing content, whether it is words, music, video or a combination of these can lead in so many directions for a career or a hobby.
New questions.
This is your first book. You are working on a second book now. Please tell us a little bit about that.
Have you had any thoughts about other titles or even writing fiction?

Alexandra Boyden Walker link

10/25/2020 05:24:41 pm

I'm here to join in! So for new books, we're continuing the Things to Do "series" with a book focused on younger ages. At younger ages there's more of a focus on trying to find ways to let out all the energy kids have, while also allowing them to discover new things they like, and so creating resources for that seemed like a natural expansion.
My brother and I have always had a passion for fiction, especially fantasy. When we were much younger, our family often drove up to Tahoe, and as a consequence we ended up spending a lot of time trapped in a confined space together with not much to do but talk. We had these little beanie baby cats that we would use to act out these grand and silly stories, often heavily influenced and occasionally straight up plagiarized from whatever we had an interest in at the time. Over time, we built up our own fantasy world, which has only grown larger and more fleshed out as we've grown. In fact, it's so large and interconnected that attempting to explain anything beyond its base premise(s) tends to create that confused polite look people tend to give to little kids when they try to explain something with their limited vocabulary. It's definitely a goal to publish something set in or inspired by that world, but we're still figuring out exactly what that story would be.
As for perhaps more immediate project, I've begun working on an illustrated book about mindfulness and a modern take on buddhism. The idea is that each major concept is illustrated by the example of a cat, and then I elaborate on different pieces could provide resources, a bit like how our first book had sections that weren't strictly lists of activities.

10/25/2020 05:51:13 pm

Welcome, Alexandra, it's nice to have you join us.
I am glad to hear you are working on more writing projects.
I showed your book to our youngest daughter, she has given us 3 beautiful granddaughters. She was very interested in the book. She would also be interested in the new book, her girls are 12 1/2, 7 and 5.
Your fantasy story sounds interesting. Fantasy is my second favorite genre, right next to science fiction. I hope you write that book or series. It is a popular genre. Keep in mind it could possibly be transformed into a game also, either video or board game. Multiple formats and merchandising are key to making money in the writing business.
Your cat book sounds cute.
New questions.
Who designed the cover of your book? Feel free to drop a link if appropriate.
What do the elements on the cover represent?

Alexandra link

10/25/2020 08:07:19 pm

Cover designing was a bit of a process for us! We went through a lot of ideas with the help of the very patient Cleone Reed, though we always knew we wanted an iphone to be on the cover, as the screen-free theme was really central for our father. It was meant not to be ironic but to highlight the sort of obsessive behavior around technology use. A few ideas that were presented to us had a much more playful look, highlighting the activity and energized feel, with several muted, more pastel-like color blocks and bubbly typefont, and I think that part of that came out in the background. Something I asked for personally was for the font to have a graphic "sophisticated" look, since I really wanted to push this book as one for teens, without coming across as alienating or patronizing with a more childlike font. One of the jokes our dad is somewhat fond of is that the book is "a book made by teens, for teens, that no teen would ever buy themselves" and while this is sadly probably true (not many teenagers are going to spend their own money on a nonfiction book who's title is about putting down their phone, no matter how bored they are). Still, I wanted to make the cover such that despite the title, if by some luck, a teen willing picked up the book, they would maybe just open it.

10/25/2020 08:45:57 pm

I admire your determination, Alexandra, I think you were on the mark about what a teen might pick up and read or not.
I love that you and your brother wrote this book. The humor is quite good.
New questions.
This is your first book on Amazon. Have you written others, that are published elsewhere or unpublished, other than what we have already discussed?
Was it hard to come up with the title? What was the process?

10/25/2020 09:06:00 pm

I've not personally had anything published, but our father wrote a book called Careers in the Environment, which he likes to use to brag that he "predicted" the environmental movement.
The title is mostly our father's doing. Originally the book was going to be a list of a 1000 activities, so the working title was something like "a thousand things to do for teens," but we realized quantity wasn't exactly the best method for producing a quality list of activities and after refining the list it was cleaner to just say "hundreds". The "unplugged" and "without a screen" came from Dad and stemmed from the whole "screenless" theme and the modern obsession with technology. At the very beginning, the book was a punishment for Calvin- I can't remember exactly why he was in trouble but I know it was something to do with his screentime, so I guess the issues of technology was always at the back of our dad's mind with the project.

10/26/2020 10:38:37 am

What a claim to fame! Starting the environmental movement! Not many can say that.
You are right, when quantity is emphasized, quality diminishes. You made a good choice.
It all makes sense. Going unplugged can be a good way to gain another perspective on life. For many people, it can be a stress-inducing adventure. The struggle can be real. Viewing the world through your phone all the time can have negative consequences.
New questions.
What are the Amazon categories you chose for your book?
Your book is available as an e-book and a paperback. Are you planning any other formats?

10/26/2020 12:55:02 pm

I belive it's under teen & young adult, and education & reference though I think historical fiction could also be an adequate category.
We're planning on making the live action movie, just as soon as Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) finishes up whatever minor movie thing she's doing. If Calvin keeps growing his hair out we're thinking we might want Keanu Reeves to sign on later too.

10/26/2020 01:31:22 pm

I hope you found other categories to place your book, I can think of one more, off the top of my head, DIY. Get your book into as many categories as Amazon allows to maximize sales opportunities.
Check your publishing contract, make sure you didn't sign away the movie rights. There are many different rights that an author has available to them. There is audio book, graphic novel, large print, live theater like a play, translations, even selling in other countries as an English book. Granted, not all of these intellectual property rights apply to this book in it's current form. This idea is important to keep in mind for other books yet to be written.
I don't watch TV or stream hardly anything. The last thing I streamed was The Mandalorian, last year. I will watch that again as soon as the new season is out.
I haven't been grounded, I love to read and I am busy reading and proofreading every day. I promote a new book almost every week. The theater in my mind is ever so much better than what is on a screen.
New questions.
Have you entered any writing contests?
Have you won awards of any kind for your writing?

UNPLUGGED: Hundreds of Activities for Teens to Do Without a Screen By Paul Walker, Alexandra Boyden Walker and Calvin Boyden Walker

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