Customer Reviews

The Monster Stick & Other Appalachian Tall Tales

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Bil Lepp and his brother have put together a collection of new "Tall Tales" that is not to be missed. Not buying this book is akin to bypassing Twain in his day. (O.k.-Maybe that's a little much, but you get the point.) The storytelling is superb, always compelling and surprising, twisting around hysterical subjects and impossible(?) settings. In this day and age you don't get many chances to read a new author with as much talent as Bil has for spewing forth untruths that sound so believable! Take my word for it, this one is a keeper! You won't be disappointed!

If Mark Twain, John Steinbeck or Ernest Hemingway had been twins we'd be alot better off, but since that didn't happen we need as many W.V. Lepps as they had Waltons.

The Lepps have pieced together a hilarious array of short stories and tall tales that you'll want to share with everyone from your preacher to your parole officer. These stories capture a vanishing part of Americana in a way the old Andy Griffith show did, except that the Lepps lie alot.

Can't wait for them to get a book on tape, but until they do I'm sure glad they wrote this book.

This is really a fantastic book. I read a friend's Rev. Regina Spring's that she bought it directly from Rev. Bil ar her course of studies. I am purchasing this book for a Christmas present. I would recommend it to anyone! Funny! I would recommend it to all preachers!

If you like tall tales and humor, you'll like this book. Stories range from the wonderous fishing exploits of the "Monster Stick" to the Herculean feats of Buck The Wonder Dog. I especially liked the story about how wild turkeys learned to disappear from the hunters. Another favorite is a tall tale of how the author won $1000 in the lottery, only to lose it to a Wildlife Officer in fines. I hope the author will write many more!

In the best tale-telling tradition of those West By-Gum Virginia hills, the Lepp brothers manage to be really, really original. That's Original...with a capital OH! A trip on their Yellow Brick Road will take you to Laugh Land...A place of reading enchantment. But be careful, it's bound to be a road full of chuckle-holes.

Bil and Paul Lepp are masters of the liar-tale tradition-- not just the telling but in the creation of dumbfounding, incredible, stupendous, mindboggling, and absolutely delightful tales.

"A Man spends many sleepless nights on the riverbank trying to understand women and many sleepless nights in bed trying to understand carp."


The mighty Thor had Mjolner, King Arthur had Excalibur, and Wyatt Earp had his Buntline Special. Natural born storyteller Paul Lepp has the Monster Stick. The Monster Stick, a remarkable fishing pole of mythical proportions, is Paul's nine-foot, surf-casting rod full of six miles of brand new, 50-pound test Stren Carp cord with 20 pound, custom made, stainless steel, slip-sliding sinkers. The Monster Stick, born of magic, baptized in the rivers of West Virginia, and able snag DC-10's or lunker-sized catfish.

Meet Paul and Bil Lepp, natural born storytellers and two repeat winners of the West Virginia State Liars' Contest. There's Bil's dog, Buck, a thirty-seven inch irony, whose mother was a German Sheppard, and whose father was a prolific and extremely determined Basset hound. Buck can pull you through a knothole, and hold his own against a monster truck, but is a gun-shy hunting dog who can't track a bunny rabbit in a shoebox. Between the Monster Stick, and Buck, you get an original bunch of hilarious short stories and tall tales that you'll want to share with everyone from your poker buddies to your preacher.

The West Virginia State Liars' Contest is held every year on Memorial Day weekend. The contest is only open to West Virginia residents. The "lies" should be short stories (humorous, dramatic, supernatural, etc.) with a maximum length of 3 to 5 minutes. The winner receives a golden shovel. You can imagine why. Paul Lepp won six "Biggest Liar" titles before his death in 1998, and his brother Bil Lepp has taken first place five times since he first entered in 1990, proving that lightning - or at least lying - does sometimes strike twice.

Bil Lep, a former Methodist preacher, has published a collection of stories with his brother called The Monster Stick & Other Appalachian Tall Tales. Generally, the fishing stories are Paul's and the dog tales Bil's. These twenty three tales have lots to offer on women and carp, more than a little on dogs, trains and cars, a considerable amount on hunting, and more politics than shows on the surface. There's plenty to keep a thinking man laughing and awake at night.

In his follow-up, Inept: Impaired: Overwhelmed -- Tall Tales from West Virginia and Beyond, Bil Lepp spins more tales of his super-dog Buck, introduces us to his best friend, Skeeter Barth, and keeps a smile on your face with stories about catfish-grabblin', summer camp, moose-trappin', and that misunderstood mishap with the FBI. In these books, imagination is the ammunition, and Paul and Bil Lepp have more than most...


Little white lies? Or trophy-sized whoppers? Email me at frommyshelf@epix.net Miss a past column? Don't just sit there, but cast for us online at frommyshelf.blogspot.com. Hobo won't deny. He cannot tell a lie, his book is "Hobo Finds A Home" and it's a children's book about Hobo's favorite topic, which is of course Hobo, but a portion of the royalties does go to Hobo's favorite charity, Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries right here in Tioga County.

If you like tall tales and humor, you'll like this book. Stories range from the wonderous fishing exploits of the "Monster Stick" to the Herculean feats of Buck The Wonder Dog. I especially liked the story about how wild turkeys learned to disappear from the hunters. Another favorite is a tall tale of how the author won $1000 in the lottery, only to lose it to a Wildlife Officer in fines. I hope the author will write many more!

All of Mr Lepp's stories speak to me on a primal, fundamental level, in a place that brings me back to my life as a child.... shyeeha right! Honestly folks, Bil is one of the best guys i have ever met, and his stories have had me rolling with laughter more than once. He and his wife Paula and both salt of the earth, good people, and their belief in God, and the fundamental goodness of Mankind are reasons enough to own this book! Someday, you'll be glad you did!