Episodes

  • Re-Issue: Excellent Advice for Living, by Kevin Kelly
    Feb 19 2025

    SUMMARY: Enjoy a digitally-remastered edit of one of our favorite episodes, where the author shares exactly what the book is called. Plus, Dave tells a story about being accidentally cool at a wedding, and Dave disagrees with a brilliant plan that Kellen has for safe combat with burglars...

    WATCH KELLEN'S NEW COMEDY SPECIAL ON YOUTUBE!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpBt0W1zrDU&t=1237s

    KELLEN ERSKINE IS IN ON TOUR!
    MAR 16 New Bremen, OH
    MAR 20 Pittsburgh
    MAR 28 Bakersfield, C

    APR 4 Delray Beach, FL
    APR 25-26 Indiana

    MAY 9-10 Dallas
    MAY 17 St Charles, IL
    For tickets go to KellenErskine.com

    -Get two free tickets to any of Kellen's live shows in 2025 by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    -Dave’s book / game The Starlings is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp

    THE HOSTS!

    -Kellen Erskine has appeared on Conan, Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC's America's Got Talent, and the Amazon Original Series Inside Jokes. He has garnered over 200 million views with his clips on Dry Bar Comedy. In 2018 he was selected to perform on the “New Faces” showcase at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He currently tours the country www.KellenErskine.com

    -David Vance's videos have garnered over 1 billion views. He has written viral ads for companies like Squatty Potty, Chatbooks, and Lumē, and sketches for the comedy show Studio C. His work has received two Webby Awards, and appeared on Conan. He currently works as a writer on the sitcom Freelancers.

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    31 mins
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
    Feb 10 2025

    SUMMARY: What if Pride and Prejudice were spooky? What if Mr. Darcy were less handsome, but also more abominable? What if instead of four sisters, Lizzie had no parents and a best friend who dies of tuberculosis? If you love Jane Austen, you’ll love this book, assuming you can get on board with some stuff. Today’s novel is the incomparable Jane Eyre. Though I guess it can be comparable to Pride and Prejudice.

    WATCH KELLEN'S NEW COMEDY SPECIAL ON YOUTUBE!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpBt0W1zrDU&t=1237s

    KELLEN ERSKINE IS IN ON TOUR!
    MAR 16 New Bremen, OH
    MAR 20 Pittsburgh
    MAR 28 Bakersfield, CA
    APR 4 Delray Beach, FL
    APR 25-26 Indiana
    MAY 9-10 Dallas
    MAY 17 St Charles, IL
    For tickets go to KellenErskine.com

    -Get two free tickets to any of Kellen's live shows in 2025 by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    -Dave’s book / game The Starlings is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp

    THE HOSTS!

    -Kellen Erskine has appeared on Conan, Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC's America's Got Talent, and the Amazon Original Series Inside Jokes. He has garnered over 200 million views with his clips on Dry Bar Comedy. In 2018 he was selected to perform on the “New Faces” showcase at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He currently tours the country www.KellenErskine.com

    -David Vance's videos have garnered over 1 billion views. He has written viral ads for companies like Squatty Potty, Chatbooks, and Lumē, and sketches for the comedy show Studio C. His work has received two Webby Awards, and appeared on Conan. He currently works as a writer on the sitcom Freelancers.

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    34 mins
  • Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
    Jan 28 2025

    SUMMARY: The typical human lifespan is in the neighborhood of 4,000 weeks. That is an extremely precious, finite, and dwindling amount of life. It gives all of us urgent reason to (while we still can) take advantage of the Taco Bell 5 Dollar Taco Discovery Box deal. How would you live differently if you knew this was your last day to spend time with loved ones, work on a passion project, or eat a Doritos Locos Taco with a medium fountain drink (including the Baja Blast)?
    On this episode hear Dave's beautiful cigarette analogy, plus Kellen wishes that we had more inventions but fewer expectations...

    WATCH KELLEN'S NEW COMEDY SPECIAL ON YOUTUBE!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpBt0W1zrDU&t=1237s

    KELLEN ERSKINE IS IN ON TOUR!
    FEB 1 Milwaukee
    FEB 7-8 Youngstown, OH
    MAR 16 New Bremen, OH
    MAR 20 Pittsburgh
    MAR 28 Bakersfield, CA
    APR 4 Delray Beach, FL
    APR 25-26 Indiana
    MAY 9-10 Dallas
    MAY 17 St Charles, IL
    For tickets go to KellenErskine.com

    -Get two free tickets to any of Kellen's live shows in 2024-2025 by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    -Dave’s book / game The Starlings is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp

    THE HOSTS!

    -Kellen Erskine has appeared on Conan, Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC's America's Got Talent, and the Amazon Original Series Inside Jokes. He has garnered over 200 million views with his clips on Dry Bar Comedy. In 2018 he was selected to perform on the “New Faces” showcase at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He currently tours the country www.KellenErskine.com

    -David Vance's videos have garnered over 1 billion views. He has written viral ads for companies like Squatty Potty, Chatbooks, and Lumē, and sketches for the comedy show Studio C. His work has received two Webby Awards, and appeared on Conan. He currently works as a writer on the sitcom Freelancers.

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    26 mins
  • How to Read 100 Books This Year
    Jan 21 2025

    SUMMARY: Whether you want to read 100 books this year, or even just 87, Kellen has some tips for how to succeed--and he's strategically waited 3 weeks into January so that he could get a head start before you.

    WATCH KELLEN'S NEW COMEDY SPECIAL "NEGATIVE COMMENTS" ON YOUTUBE!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpBt0W1zrDU&t=1237s


    -Get two free tickets to any of Kellen's live shows in 2024-2025 by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    -Dave’s book / game The Starlings is here:
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp

    THE HOSTS!
    -Kellen Erskine has appeared on
    Conan, Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC's America's Got Talent, and the Amazon Original Series Inside Jokes. He has garnered over 200 million views with his clips on Dry Bar Comedy. In 2018 he was selected to perform on the “New Faces” showcase at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He currently tours the country www.KellenErskine.com

    -David Vance (who will be back next week): his videos have garnered over 1 billion views. He has written viral ads for companies like Squatty Potty, Chatbooks, and Lumē, and sketches for the comedy show Studio C. His work has received two Webby Awards, and appeared on Conan. He currently works as a writer on the sitcom Freelancers.

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    16 mins
  • Everybody Lies, by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
    Jan 15 2025

    SUMMARY: To celebrate this book about dishonesty, we’re gonna test how well you know Kellen and Dave with a game of two truths and a lie. You ready? See if you know us well enough to pass the quiz.
    1. Statement 2 is false.
    2. Statement 3 is true.
    3. Statement 1 is false.
    Alright, we’ll see which of you are superfans!

    WATCH KELLEN'S NEW COMEDY SPECIAL "NEGATIVE COMMENTS" ON YOUTUBE!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpBt0W1zrDU&t=1237s


    -Get two free tickets to any of Kellen's live shows in 2024-2025 by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    -Dave’s book / game The Starlings is here:
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp

    THE HOSTS!
    -Kellen Erskine has appeared on
    Conan, Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC's America's Got Talent, and the Amazon Original Series Inside Jokes. He has garnered over 200 million views with his clips on Dry Bar Comedy. In 2018 he was selected to perform on the “New Faces” showcase at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He currently tours the country www.KellenErskine.com

    -David Vance's videos have garnered over 1 billion views. He has written viral ads for companies like Squatty Potty, Chatbooks, and Lumē, and sketches for the comedy show Studio C. His work has received two Webby Awards, and appeared on Conan. He currently works as a writer on the sitcom Freelancers.

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    25 mins
  • Our Favorite Books of 2024!
    Dec 30 2024

    SUMMARY: Our best books this year had everything: Murder! Therapy! Lyndon B. Johnson! The three elements of good literature. Come join us as we review our favorite books of the year. Happy New Year, and thanks for listening to The Book Pile! We really appreciate it. See you in 2025!

    WATCH KELLEN'S NEW COMEDY SPECIAL ON YOUTUBE!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpBt0W1zrDU&t=1237s


    -Get two free tickets to any of Kellen's live shows in 2024-2025 by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    -Dave’s book / game The Starlings is here:
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp

    Buy any of the books (the BEST books!) mentioned in this episode and support the podcast at the same time! Just click below! In no order, they are:

    A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles
    https://amzn.to/3DOeiAc

    Permission to Feel, Marc Brackett Ph.D.
    https://amzn.to/49YI0i2

    Here One Moment, Liane Moriarty
    https://amzn.to/4gPRAGV

    What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty
    https://amzn.to/40eKo13

    Dead Men Scare Me Stupid, John Swartzwelder
    https://amzn.to/40fOIx9

    Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
    https://amzn.to/40dlK0x

    The Body, Bill Bryson Tchaikovsky
    https://amzn.to/3Pga9rq

    A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
    https://amzn.to/3BSwZlV

    The Years of Lyndon Johnson (book 1 of 4), Robert Caro
    https://amzn.to/3BSA1GP

    Children of Time, Adrian Tchaikovsky
    https://amzn.to/3DLBLSB

    The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, George Saunders
    https://amzn.to/3PfNIT4

    4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman
    https://amzn.to/3VZ9pus

    The Great Mental Models (book 1 of 4)
    https://amzn.to/41QsfI7

    Raising Emotionally Strong Boys, David Thomas
    https://amzn.to/40cY24M

    Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, Lindsay C. Gibson PsyD
    https://amzn.to/3DyRkx3

    Bea Wolf, Zach Wienersmith
    https://amzn.to/4gBW1op

    Slaughterhouse-Five the Graphic Novel, Kurt Vonnegut & Ryan North
    https://amzn.to/4gBQPkm

    Eichmann in Jerusalem, Hannah Arendt
    https://amzn.to/3VWGUO4

    The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin
    https://amzn.to/49V2VCJ

    The Nutshell Technique, Jill Chamberlain
    https://amzn.to/40hcpoN

    Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury
    https://amzn.to/3VZa0wc

    Live From New York
    https://amzn.to/3VZe8wc

    To Hold Up The Sky, Cixin Lui
    https://amzn.to/4iYk9mL

    Quiet, Susan Cain
    https://amzn.to/3Pif1ML

    The Elephant in the Brain
    https://amzn.to/3DBgwTH

    When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
    https://amzn.to/4a12SVP

    A Heart that Works, Rob Delaney
    https://amzn.to/3Wo9BUz

    THE HOSTS!
    -Kellen Erskine has appeared on
    Conan, Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC's America's Got Talent, and the Amazon Original Series Inside Jokes. He has garnered over 200 million views with his clips on Dry Bar Comedy. In 2018 he

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    38 mins
  • Re-Issue: A Christmas Carol (with an EVEN NEWER introduction for 2024!)
    Dec 23 2024

    Rediscover this gem of a Book Pile episode (#114) that we dug up from 2022 (now with an even newer intro full of public-domain Christmas music!) Listen to Dave whisper laugh! Hear Kellen disagree with Dave's habit of walking out of movies! Notice how Kellen tries to defend himself against what appears to be a an unequal luggage-packing relationship with his wife...

    JOIN OUR PATREON to get in free to any of Kellen's comedy shows in 2025!
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile
    *
    Dave’s graphic novel escape room: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp
    *
    If you want to read/listen to this book and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers, and check out any or all of these fun British narrators!

    Tim Curry:
    https://amzn.to/41NI823

    Patrick Stewart:
    https://amzn.to/3VNQfYj

    Hugh Grant:
    https://amzn.to/41NIqWH

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    22 mins
  • Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke
    Dec 17 2024

    SUMMARY: We live in a society inundated by endless sources of entertainment and cheap dopamine. In today’s book, Anna Lembke discusses how we can respond to such dangers, like, for instance, a pool table. Friend, either you're closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge, or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated by the presence of a pool table in your community.

    Well, ya got trouble, my friend, right here
    I say, trouble right here in River City
    Why, sure, I'm a billiard player
    Certainly mighty proud I say
    I'm always mighty proud to say it
    I consider that the hours I spend
    With a cue in my hand are golden
    Help you cultivate horse sense
    And a cool hеad and a keen eye
    J'evеr take and try to find
    An iron-clad leave for yourself
    From a three-rail billiard shot?
    But just as I say
    It takes judgment, brains, and maturity to score
    In a balkline game
    I say that any boob can takeAnd shove a ball in a pocket
    And I call that sloth
    The first big step on the road
    To the depths of deg-ra-day--
    I say, first, medicinal wine from a teaspoon
    Then beer from a bottle!
    An' the next thing ya know
    Your son is playin' for money
    In a pinch-back suit
    And list'nin to some big out-a-town jasper
    Hearin' him tell about horse-race gamblin'
    Not a wholesome trottin' race, no!
    But a race where they set down right on the horse!
    Like to see some stuck-up jockey boy
    Settin' on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil?
    Well, I should say
    Now, friends, lemme tell you what I mean
    Ya got one, two, three, four, five, six pockets in a table
    Pockets that mark the diff'rence
    Between a gentlemen and a bum
    With a capital "B,"
    And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool!

    WATCH KELLEN'S NEW COMEDY SPECIAL ON YOUTUBE!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpBt0W1zrDU&t=1237s


    -Get two free tickets to any of Kellen's live shows in 2024-2025 by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    -Dave’s book / game The Starlings is here:
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp

    THE HOSTS!
    -Kellen Erskine has appeared on
    Conan, Comedy Central, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC's America's Got Talent, and the Amazon Original Series Inside Jokes. He has garnered over 200 million views with his clips on Dry Bar Comedy. In 2018 he was selected to perform on the “New Faces” showcase at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He currently tours the country www.KellenErskine.com

    -David Vance's videos have garnered over 1 billion views. He has written viral ads for companies like Squatty Potty, Chatbooks, and Lumē, and sketches for the comedy show Studio C. His work has received two Webby Awards, and appeared on Conan. He currently works as a writer on the sitcom Freelancers.

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    29 mins