Bellenova

If Sowers bothers you then maybe HST isn't for you

Reviewed: 08-22-22

Oh, so you don't like aggressive and edgy narration when listening to the manic, agitated, frantic rantings of a quasi-sociopathic writer bugged out of his mind on speed, alcohol, and whatever else is disappeared from the D.A.'s evidence locker?

Consider something other than HST, then.

What do you want instead? Some serene parlor reading? A soothing baritone lullaby?

Please.

If you're here for GONZO you're here for THE FEAR.

HST wrote the way Sowers narrates, not the way he himself spoke. He was a mumbling drunken speed freak who could barely articulate a full sentence without pausing and ran several words together in short, incomprehensible bursts. He never intended his work to be read in his own voice, and I suspect if he were alive today he'd wish he could inflect and energize the text EXACTLY like Sowers.

Indeed!

"Buy the ticket, take the ride"

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1 person found this helpful

OK but beware junk science

Reviewed: 03-19-20

Like many books with intentionally shocking, attention-grabbing titles, if you want a compilation of googled studies about tenuous links between X and Y as it applies to your health I suppose this will save you time.

For example, while a small part of the overall message, claims that cell phones and Wifi cause cancer are largely disputed and border on anti-vaxxer hysteria. Correlation does not equal causation but many assumptions are made "because studies". Even the American Cancer Society disputes these claims.

Otherwise, most of the book involves the same old conclusions about how we're "wired" for jungle paranoia and no longer need that level of vigilance, which causes anxiety. If you've heard about modern life alienating you from your own biology, or about neurotransmitters and diet/stress/exercise, you've probably heard a lot of what's here. There is also some new age "woo woo" mixed in that may raise an eyebrow or two.

The book is not all bad and is probably useful overall for the few nuggets that are scattered within. I'm not panning it entirely. But I get the sense there is some info here that lacks rigor.

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Tales from ZZZZZ School

Reviewed: 01-09-20

Feinstein delivers a passionless recitation of facts and minutiae that make one wonder if he's actually doing a dry run through someone else's manuscript.

If you're a golfer looking for inspiration or a boisterous telling of war stories you won't find it here. Almost all the "tales" follow the typical Q-School flame out formula while suffering the additional indignity of being overburdened by Feinstein's bland delivery of essentially irrelevant detail.

Tournament golfers will be tempted to quit the game entirely after this slog through Demotivation Alley. But if you're looking for a factual essay about Q-School history that's a cut above Wikipedia, you're in luck!

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2 people found this helpful

Like having a term paper read to you for 12 hours

Reviewed: 12-04-19

I appreciate the author's depth of knowledge but the presentation of the material is rather tedious.

If you don't mind the same repetitive statement-as-a-question and rise-and-fall vocal inflections over and over while the cluttered PDF is basically read to you for 12 hours then you might enjoy this, but I'm trying to finish it and am disappointed in the product so far.

Specifically, I think the way the information itself is organized could use some punching up and editing to create better flow. Some sentences and paragraphs are too choppy in structure while others are just blunt recitation of researched fact. The subjects of the sentences shift too frequently within paragraphs, which makes the delivery of the already fractured material even more scattered.

It's a nice looking PDF, but it needs a skilled editor and narrator to be a good audiobook.

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7 people found this helpful

Great band, Great book, awful narration

Reviewed: 10-21-19

The title says what you need to know. If you can tolerate the narrator audibly swallowing, smacking his lips, and struggling to take a breath before speaking in halting sentences then you'll be fine. For others it will be too distracting. Hard to convey in text just how pervasive and annoying it is.

Agree with the other reviewer, please re-record this book. If you must use the same narrator (who is fine otherwise) then please use an engineer who can gate the body functions and a producer who can coach the narrator out of these studio no-no's. Sounds like he's eating fish and chips and sipping Guinness in between takes.

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