Bard Waulsin: I Want to Write a Book

About This Audiobook

Brad Wilson’s *Bard Waulsin: I Want to Write a Book* is the kind of audiobook that feels like laughing at your most embarrassing friend’s diary—if that friend had a caffeine IV drip and a delusional streak a mile wide. Our protagonist, Bard, is a walking disaster of ambition, armed with a thesaurus, a stack of rejection emails, and the unshakable belief that his magnum opus is *right around the corner*. Wilson’s sharp, absurdist humor doesn’t rely on cheap gags; instead, he crafts a painfully relatable satire of the writing life, where every triumph is undercut by a fresh disaster (often self-inflicted). The prose crackles with wit, and the audiobook’s pacing never drags despite its hefty runtime—Roy M. Cochran’s narration amplifies the chaos with impeccable comedic timing, making Bard’s voice as endearing as it is infuriating. If you’ve ever wanted to write a book but aren’t sure if you’re cut out for the emotional whiplash, this is your warning—and your reward.

What sets this apart isn’t just the jokes; it’s the *underlying melancholy* that makes Bard’s failures sting even as they make you snort-laugh. Wilson walks a tightrope between farce and pathos, giving the story unexpected depth. The audiobook’s production is stellar, with sound design that subtly underscores the tone shifts—think subtle stingers during punchlines and a hushed, almost intimate ambiance during Bard’s quiet moments of self-doubt. It’s the kind of book that rewards attentive listening, where a single sarcastic aside or a poorly chosen metaphor lands harder because of Cochran’s deft delivery. If you’re a writer, an overthinker, or just someone who enjoys watching a well-meaning idiot chase their dreams into brick walls, this audiobook will hit all the right notes—often while stepping on your toes just to see if you’ll laugh anyway.