The Liar's Bible

A Good Book for Fiction Writers

By: Lawrence Block

Narrated by: Michael Bonner

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Five-time Edgar winner and MWA grand master Lawrence Block wrote a monthly column for the Writers Digest magazine for 14 years. The Liar's Bible consists of previously uncollected columns, chosen to illuminate the often dimly-lit path of the writer of fiction.

©2011 Lawrence Block (P)2019 Lawrence Block

Another Block masterclass

I've read other books on writing by Mr. Block, and he has never failed to deliver. He's a consummate professional in his craft, and he has a way of imparting that knowledge that is engaging, often humorous, and always gregarious.

The Liar's Bible contains years of collected articles that Block has written, and they're just as applicable now as they were when they were printed. Sure, there are a few references that date the material, but it doesn't affect the value of the material. Indeed, it just reinforces the timelessness of his wisdom.

The narrator, Michael Bonner, is also a pleasant listen and captures Mr. Block's tone very well.

If you're interested in learning from a master about the craft of writing, or for that matter any craft that requires dedication and tenacity, there is gold to be found here.

Highly enjoyable.

The Liar's Bible is one a number of books on writing from the prolific Lawrence Block. And like those other books, this is a collection of columns from his years of writing about writing for Writer's Digest (I feel like I've written writing too many times in this review to the point the word almost has lost its meaning, lol) Block has a wonderful and often humorous way of imparting knowledge and Michael Bonner's narration is quite good making this book a pleasure to listen to.

One word of warning: it should be noted that there are serious audio issues with chapter 28, with the audio repeating and overlapping upon itself. This was by no means ruined my experience with the book as it was only the one chapter, and I actually own the kindle version as well so I was able to read that chapter rather than listen.

...but I'm not a writer?

when this audiobook fell into my lap, I was a bit ambivalent - after all, I'm not a fiction writer, so why would I want to listen to advice for authors? However, as Lawrence Block himself states: "before I was a writer, I was a reader" - and I found the collection of columns extremely entertaining.

Interesting and entertaining even to a non-writer.

Despite harboring absolutely no aspirations or inclinations to take up writing I was quite happy to listen to this audible edition of a collection of Lawrence Block columns previously published monthly in Writer's Digest.

Handy hints, writing tips and strategies for overcoming negativity and reinforcing positive thoughts towards achieving your very own writing goals. There's also some anecdotes about writing some of his books - the Scudder offering - Eight Million Ways to Die in particular.

What also struck me is the banished notion that anything that flows on the page and is easy to read must have been easy to write. Far from it. I mourned for discarded prose, manuscripts over 100 pages long abandoned because the story wasn't working in the author's mind.

What shines through is Block's dedication to his craft and his professionalism. And his willingness to share some of his lessons learned along the way with other aspiring writers.

An easy narration from Michael Bonner made the progress through this collection a pleasant journey.

4 from 5

Another of Lawrence Block's writer's guides was enjoyed recently - Spider, Spin Me a Web (1988)

Read - (listened to) January, 2020
Published - 2011
Page count - 294 (11hrs 8 mins)
Source - Audible download code received from author's assistant
Format - Audible

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