Yet another review praising Harmless, the audiobook I narrated late last year. Thanks to Martha at Martha’s Bookshelf for taking the time to listen and share her thoughts!
http://marthasbookshelf.blogspot.com/2014/05/audible-book-review-harmless-by-ernie.html
Introducing… the world premiere of the official trailer for Harmless, the audiobook (written by Ernie Lindsey and narrated by yours truly).
It was a lot of fun to produce, and I’m bold enough to think that you’ll probably want to get your own copy of the audiobook after you watch the video. 😉
Anyway, please enjoy — and feel free to share!
YouTube’s automatic captioning is the new Bob Dylan. I was uploading a video tonight, and for some reason the auto-captions tried to interpret parts of the video that only had music, no voice. Here is what it said… is it mere ramblings of a computerized voice recognition software gone awry, or is it insightful and profound poetry? (I have not altered this in any way.) You be the judge…
bomb Kong the murder
home the murder bed
for from burden bomb
wrong
bomb Kong
the murder the murder
for so
bird
the wrong
Up
I’m
up
~ YouTube automatic captioning service, 3/24/2014
Yet another great review of my audiobook, Harmless! Thanks to the reviewer, Carol at CarolsNotebook.com for the kind words.
I have to thank the audiobook’s reader, DJ Holte for asking if I was interested in reviewing Harmless, otherwise it’s probably not a book that would have come across my radar, but it was a really good, unique read. The story’s told in the first person by Steve Pendragon and listening to it on audio rather than reading it in print seems perfect. Steve is a rambler, someone who conversation goes off on tangents and the audio came across that way, like Steve was telling us the story, got side-tracked, got back to the plot. It worked well and DJ Holte really made Steve come alive, foibles and all. and since it’s told, mostly, in the first person, he doesn’t have to “be” the other characters, he has to “be” Steve being the other characters, which he did well.
Steve (with a v) is definitely the center point of the novel. While it’s a mystery, it’s really more about the character than the plot. He’s an odd guy: obsessive-compulsive, a bit delusional, a stalker, an ardent admirer of the postal service. He functions in life, holding a job, but doesn’t have any close friends, unless you count the mailman or the lady at the Laundromat, or officer Thomas who he tried to sell a car to once upon a time. He’s a little nutty – talk about an unreliable narrator. He starts unlikable but eventually you start rooting for him and hoping it won’t turn out that he did actually kill Kerry.
The story takes a couple of odd turns and a couple of twists I didn’t see coming, given that all I had was Steve’s version of the world. He doesn’t exactly have a clear grasp of what’s going on, although there is definitely maybe a cop determined to prove Steve is the killer, even when Kerry’s diary points in another direction.
It’s an unusual story, worth picking up. It’s funny, too, in a dark kind of way. It had me laughing out loud a couple of times, which probably made me seem kind of odd, walking around laughing to myself with the ear buds hidden by my hair.
Holy frijoles! Check out this rave review of the latest audiobook I narrated, Harmless (written by Ernie Lindsey). The review is by Judy Purdee, and appears on her review blog, Love2Listen.
My Thoughts:
I totally enjoyed Harmless! Actually enjoyed doesn’t really express how I experienced it. I couldn’t put it down. My plans to go out shopping or visit a relative flew out the window as soon as I started listening. I took the whole day and listened from beginning to end. I love mysteries that include humor. This book has all the required elements of that kind of mystery – laugh out loud moments, plot twists and surprises, and an unconventional love story. Steve Pendragon appears at first to be a clueless, self-centered man. The people he chooses to be his friends find him acutely annoying. He can’t seem to get to the point of a story without going off the subject. I found him fascinating. I liked the way he observed the world and how he found character attributes in other people that he identified with. He is a bit psychic and describes himself as “operating on a higher plane.” He is obsessed with the post office and mail delivery.What I liked most about Harmless was the performance of the narrator, DJ Holte. It was as if I had Steve following me around telling me his story and not minding when I laughed at him. That’s an experience I would never get from the print version. From the first word of the audio sample, I knew this was a voice I would enjoy. I’m adding DJ Holte to my list of favorite narrators and hope to hear more of his work.
Author Ernie Lindsey has crafted a story that is funny and entertaining with a main character you will grow to love. I highly recommend the audio version of Harmless and give it 5 stars all around.
Get your own copy at any of the links below:
http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Harmless-Audiobook/B00GMPEULC/
http://www.amazon.com/Harmless/dp/B00GN5WXI8/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/harmless-unabridged/id746555468?uo=4
We think it’ll make a great Christmas gift. 😉
Have a great Thanksgiving and/or Hanukkah and take stock of those people who are special to you. Make someone’s day by telling them how special they are. But don’t let them have the last helping of turkey! 😉
The acting world lost an amazing teacher tonight — my coach of over 10 years. A man who never sugarcoated the truth, always being brutally honest with you while at the same time showing compassion and total support. He was larger than life. He was truly a “character” — one of the most unforgettable personalities I’ve ever come across in my life. There was no middle ground with this man: you either loved him or hated him. Thankfully, I think there were many, many more of us who fell into the former category rather than the latter. There is so much more I want to say, but for now, I just want to offer my gratitude for all that he taught me, all of his critiques, all of his guidance, and his friendship.
I love you, my friend. Safe journeys, Ivan — and well done.
So, as I mentioned, I just returned from a month-long trip, and on the way back, I ended up taking Amtrak, because it was half the price of any airfare I could get (I was trying to book my travel less than 6 days in advance).
I’ve been on short train jaunts before — the Empire Builder between MN & WI, and whatever that train is which goes from LA to Long Beach — but this was my first experience traveling the rails for an extended distance. The train I was on is called a “SuperLiner”, and on this route, this particular train is known as the Southwest Chief.
Overall, it’s a great way to travel. Pros include: Much wider seats and tons of legroom (akin to first class on an airline); the ability to get up and move around whenever you want; numerous bathrooms so you usually don’t have to wait very long, like you often do on a plane; a lounge car which has plenty of room to view the scenery, and tables to sit and visit with friends or play games on; a diner car which serves breakfast, lunch & dinner; a snack car which offers cheaper and quicker alternatives for about 15 hours every day; and occasional stops where you can depart the train for a few minutes to stretch, run around, enjoy the sun, smoke, or whatever. Cons: While the seats are comfortable to sit in (and this is coming from a large man), they’re still not very comfy to sleep in — they don’t recline far enough (only slightly more than a typical airplane seat) for that; while there are various rooms (sleeper cars) available, they’re cost-prohibitive —for my trip, the most expensive room would have added over $1100 to my bill; the train actually averages a fairly slow speed —I think top speed on the Southwest Chief is somewhere around 80 mph, and there were many times we were going very slow, or when we just stopped for extended periods; also, trains lurch around a fair amount, so you have to brace yourself when walking around — although it’s still preferable to airplane turbulence, in my opinion. Continue reading
I recently watched previews for upcoming shows at the major networks. Here’s my take on what I saw, along with links to the previews for each network.
