• Stuff and Nonsense

  • Threadbare Series, Volume 1
  • By: Andrew Seiple
  • Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
  • Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,440 ratings)

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Stuff and Nonsense  By  cover art

Stuff and Nonsense

By: Andrew Seiple
Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
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Publisher's summary

Nominated, 2019 Audie Awards - Best Male Narrator

Meet Threadbare. He is 12 inches tall, full of fluff, and really, really bad at being a hero.

Magically animated and discarded by his maker as a failed experiment, he is saved by a little girl. But she's got problems of her own, and he might not be able to help her.

Fortunately for the little golem, he's quick to find allies, learn skills, gain levels, and survive horrible predicaments. Which is good, because his creator has a whole lot of enemies …

Warning: Contains profanity and violence.

©2017 Andrew Seiple (P)2018 Podium Publishing

Featured Article: Level up with 25+ awesome litRPGs


LitRPG means Literary Role Playing Game. Simply put, it’s the book version of watching someone play a video game, usually one that’s set up like an MMO (massively multiplayer online) RPG. It’s a blend of sci-fi and fantasy, depending on how it comes to be that our main character ends up living inside a virtual reality. the point of LitRPG is not how we get there, but that we get to be in this virtual reality period, living life as a badass video-game character. Beat the grind and submerse yourself in these addictive LitRPGs.

What listeners say about Stuff and Nonsense

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An amazing tale you can't help but love

I’m sure that most of you have seen this book, after getting such high praise from Whoopi Goldberg. That is NOT what brought me to this novel, I had my sights on it when I first heard it was coming out. Honestly, I thought it was going to be similar to another book series called Teddy Bears in Monsterland: An Urban Fantasy Novel: Teddy Defenders, by Justin Sloan. But it wasn’t. This is a fairly powerful stand on its own story, in which the main character, a golem who happens to be a Teddy Bear, goes from sentience to sapience. This is book one of the series, and it was incredible, but I could have done without the Epilogue. Had it ended on the preceding chapter the book would have been near perfection.
The setting is strange, and it has the distinct feel of having been a world based off of a tabletop rpg, that somehow transitioned into a computer game. There are little hints here and there as the characters all discuss how things suddenly changed overnight for no particular reasons they could fathom. Threadbare, the main character, is just as adorable and cuddly as you would expect, right up until he pops his claws and starts slashing foes. For the majority of the book he runs on instinct, and it is a fascinating look into the mind of a creature that slowly becomes self-aware.
One thing that threw me was that this really plays out like a book a kid could read, and then suddenly the cursing and killing begins, and it throws you. Granted, in a book that deals with bloody kills, some cursing shouldn’t stand out, but it does. Once you get into the book it kinda of becomes background noise and it doesn’t bother you, but it takes a little while for that to happen. Otherwise the story is intense, and while it does vacillate between Threadbare and his human girl in POV, the story never slows down. It is a crunchy LITRPG book, too. You get stats, notices, etc. The book hits every box needed to make a fun and exciting story.
One thing that really sealed the deal for me was the narration by Tim Gerard Reynolds. At first he comes across like Sebastian Cabot reading Winnie the Pooh. He has a very distinct, Mr. French way of speaking, and I half expected Threadbare to start thinking, Tut Tut, it looks like rain, but then he morphs his voice once other characters are introduced and he does a spectrum of male to female and human to inhuman that is distinct in each case, and is believable. At no point did it feel like this was a guy doing voices. He was living the parts, and that only added to the fun. I think he played the cat better than anyone else, and everyone knows that cats are notoriously hard to play.
Like I say, the book is nearly flawless, but could have done without the Epilogue. The writing, characterization, plot, drama, and willingness to kill characters coupled with the incredible narration make me give this book a final score of 5 out of 5 stars. I really hope that Seiple can maintain the momentum that this book has got going for it. Give this book a big listen and enjoy a teddy bear picnic. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. Getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

If this review helped, please press the YES below. Thank you immensely!!!

As seen on the LITRPG AUDIOBOOK PODCAST, please check it out on Youtube.com

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222 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Beware if you are not RPGlit fan

This was my second attempt at trying to enjoy a RPGlit book. I simply could not get into it. It is either your thing or it isn't. Beware of the crazy high rating. Those are all from people who love RPGlit -- I can only assume so anyway.

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53 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

And he hugged the kitty to death!

To be fair, if you spend your life trying to be as serious as possible, you may not enjoy this book. But everyone else will love it.

Imagine one of the most epic fantasy adventures you can imagine, with monsters, demons, undead, and dragons; all from the perspective of a cute little teddy bear as he waddles, hugs, and has tea parties from one blunder to the next!

But don’t let that stop you, because this little teddy has more depth than Don Draper from “Mad Men” as he contemplates his existence as a creature that may or may not be considered living, and disregards all fears regarding himself to simply care for His little girl.

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52 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beware the Neco-mancer

The mechanics are fun. The plot is fun. But the puns, you will just have to grit your teeth and bear them.

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29 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another great LitRPG, and more humorous than most.

This book was great! It allows you to discover a fun new world alongside the protagonist, and really gets you to identify with him. It's full of silliness and ridiculousness that still feels natural together, and mocks RPGs just the right amount to get you laughing out loud. It has charming relationships, and some good twists, and what looks like it will be a promising series-long story arc. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and if you have enjoyed any LitRPGs before, then you'll definitely enjoy this one.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Terry Pratchett meets LittleBigWorld

Forget the typical tween wish fulfillment story you get with a lot of LitRPGs. This is Adorable (LVL 10) with a sprinkling of dry wit in a well-portrayed, medieval-with-fantasy setting. Very refreshing for the genre. Lots of good feels all around.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Best LitRPG Performance to Date for Me

My husband introduced me to this genre earlier this year. We've listened to a couple of titles. They were entertaining, but nothing we'd ever consider recommending or even listening to again. This story truly blows the other titles away! The story world is fresh and the performance is brilliant! Tim Gerard Reynolds has truly set the bar on how to approach this genre. I'm recommending it to others who are not sure about LitRPG and if they'd enjoy it. This book is NOT for children.

This is book 1, so its purpose is really to set up the main story and characters. Our main characters are Cecilia (preteen aged) and her special gollum stuffed bear, Threadbare, whom her father has animated. There are various journeys/quests undertaken. Some are resolved, others are just getting started. Throughout the entire piece the listener is kept up to date with the various stats. You really have to listen to truly appreciate the delivery.

There's mystery, friendship, adventure and suspense. My husband and I listened together and look forward to the next volume.

Mature Content: Adult Language (no sex or graphic violence)

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The little toaster

This isn't really a kids book because of some of the adult themes. It has a great story with good narration. I'd recommend it for anyone going on a long trip and wants something not too distracting.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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incredible.

Full of charm, mystery and adorable-ness. Every child should have a Threadbare.

I was hesitant at first about a Teddy protagonist, I needn't have worried.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Stuff and Nonsense

The only reason Stuff and Nonsense is not young adult (YA) is that it contains a handful of gratuitous swear words. There is no sex, nothing offensive that can’t be a word skipped when reading it to a 5 year old as a bed time story. Not sure why this has legions of fans and 5-star ratings – maybe it’s the popular trend of our video game/roll playing obsession.

Frankly, I wanted to punch that guy that kept popping out of the text giving the golum-bear points for each level of intelligence achieved or task completed. Sounds like that obnoxious infomercial guy that screams “BUT WAIT’. Annoying distraction that made it difficult to listen to or enjoy the story.

The cover is awesome. The unabridged audiobook is just shy of eleven hours of listening released by Podium Publishing in June 2018. Stuff and Nonsense is written by Andrew Seiple and narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds.

Maybe it’s better in written format, but the audio version is not recommended – unless you’re a a die-hard fantasy fan or a small child.

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