Episodes

  • 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.

  • SUMMARY: Kellen is behind on his reading, and he needs your help! (Sounds like a Saturday morning PBS cartoon...). Kellen gives a rundown of most of the books he's read so far this year; also he has an idea for a very classy author name; and at around the 15-minute mark he quits recording for a full day to recover from starting to lose his voice in real time (and--if you catch when it happens--it sounds like a miracle), and through the magic of editing, he picks it up right where he left off and you don't have to hear his vocal chords slowly die after that.

    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 2025 by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    LINKS TO BUY THE BOOKS MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE (listed in the order they came in the podcast discussion):

    11-22-63, by Stephen King
    https://amzn.to/3ZQVkBL

    Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide, John Cleese
    https://amzn.to/3ZEKTzM

    Children of Time, Adrian Tchaikovsky
    https://amzn.to/3OXq25O

    A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
    https://amzn.to/3VGohOh

    A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
    https://amzn.to/3Drchd5

    They Body, Bill Bryson
    https://amzn.to/4fmOVme

    To Hold Up the Sky, Cixin Liu
    https://amzn.to/3Bpx5RP

    The Wandering Earth, Cixin Liu
    https://amzn.to/4gSMnh9

    East of Eden, John Steinbeck
    https://amzn.to/3ZAlpn9

    Mad at the World (Steinbeck biography), William Souder
    https://amzn.to/41AMN7g

    My Man Jeeves, P.G. Wodehouse
    https://amzn.to/4iyzs5s

    Dead Men Scare Me Stupid, John Swartzwelder
    https://amzn.to/4fhwsrl

    James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media
    https://amzn.to/3ZDT8wc

    The Anxious Generation, Jonathon Haidt
    https://amzn.to/3OZSqEk

    A Heart That Works, Rob Delaney
    https://amzn.to/4iCCJRd

    Permission to Feel, Marc Brackett
    https://amzn.to/49yRRuZ

    The Creative Act, Rick Rubin
    https://amzn.to/3ZRx1U5


    -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

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  • SUMMARY: It's been 3 years so we gave this book "another go" as they say in non-American English speaking countries, like Wizard Land. Today we cover the second Harry Potter, which managed to improve on the original, and is also – no offense – the only book you could get rid of without changing anything important. Don’t be mad, but if the series just went straight from Sorcerer’s Stone to Prisoner of Azkaban, you basically wouldn’t know any better. You’d just have to be like, “By the way, Hagrid has a new job, and here’s Ron’s sister.” Look, don’t shoot the messenger.

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

    KELLEN ERSKINE IS IN DES MOINES THIS WEEK, Dec 6-7! 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.

  • SUMMARY: When you hear a story, do you lose interest after like 5 minutes? Then you will LOVE short stories, a new thing we invented. Today’s book is a short story collection by Ray Bradbury, who realized that anything counts as sci-fi if you take a normal story and just put it on Mars. Plus, Kellen has planned out a very unexpected last day on Earth, and Dave uncovers a deceptive photograph.

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

    KELLEN ERSKINE IS IN ALASKA THIS WEEK Nov 26 - 29! Go to KellenErskine.com for tickets

    -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.

  • SUMMARY: This is a James Bond book without James Bond, a love story without love, and a spy story without spying. The only person who’s unaware of all this is the author, Ian Fleming, AKA the only person feminists beg to please write fewer female characters.

    KELLEN ERSKINE IS IN CHICAGO THIS WEEK Nov 22-23! Go to KellenErskine.com for tickets

    -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

    -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.

  • SUMMARY: Dave and Kellen take another dive into the great Amy Poehler's (SNL, Baby Momma, Parks and Recreation) memoir. Also Dave is terrible at comforting people and Kellen rants about actors' award speeches.

    KELLEN ERSKINE IS IN PROVO & SALT LAKE CITY THIS WEEK! Nov 7th (Provo) then 8-9 (SLC) go to KellenErskine.com for tickets

    -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

    -If you want to read Yes Please and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book!
    https://amzn.to/4e9O0oM

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

    -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.

  • SUMMARY: Do you ever make a books podcast, and start with your favorite books? But unfortunately, your first episodes are also when you’re the worst at podcasting? So years later you revisit those books to do a better job? That’s what this is! Today we cover a book about cultivating interests in a lot of different fields. It’s great.

    -If you want to read Range and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book!
    https://amzn.to/3Yi0V3i

    -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

    -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.

  • SUMMARY: The events from the date of today's book title are part of a long-running joke on the podcast, so we thought it would be funny to cover this novel for our 200th episode...

    -If you want to read 11/22/63 and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book!
    https://amzn.to/47GoS7j

    -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

    -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.

  • SUMMARY: Enjoy this throwback episode from September 2022 when we covered the oldest book on the podcast thus far (though the book with the oldest people is probably still Twilight...). Learn the value of surprise as Kellen startles Dave in real time, and bask in Dave's glory as he recounts winning at board games and also possibly saving someone's life (but he's still a nerd because of the board games...).

    -If you want to read or listen to The Art of War and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book!
    https://amzn.to/4gFuBi7

    -Listen to the audio album of Kellen's new 30-minute comedy special "Negative Comments"! Available by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    -OR watch Kellen's new comedy special here! Use promo code KELLENERSKINE
    https://www.drybarcomedy.com/kellenerskine

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

    -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.

  • SUMMARY: An Americana small-town Christmas pageant gets hijacked by kids from the other side of the tracks, but it all works out (or this would be a very different genre). Kellen is joined by Dallas Jenkins who directed and co-wrote the movie (currently IN THEATERS and at 90% on Rottentomatoes!)

    KELLEN ERSKINE IS PERFORMING IN CARLSBAD (close to San Diego) THIS WEEK! Nov 16th! Go to KellenErskine.com for tickets

    -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

    -If you want to read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book!
    https://amzn.to/40KmkDK

    -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

    -Dallas Jenkins is the creator/writer/director of the worldwide phenomenon of a TV showThe Chosen. He is also other things, but if we listed them all his paragraph would be longer than Kellen's.

  • SUMMARY: Today we cover a Transformers book that is “more than meets the eye." Unless your eye looked at the book and was like, “It seems bad,” in which case, yeah, it’s pretty much what met your eye. Thanks to everyone who joined us for this live episode! And thank you to the Autobots for protecting Earth. Next time please do it in a more interesting way.

    -If you want to read Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book! (But we actually don't highly recommend this book...)
    https://amzn.to/3MEEoXU

    -Listen to the audio album of Kellen's new 30-minute comedy special "Negative Comments"! Available 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

    -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.

  • Zoltan Kaszas joins the podcast to discuss unshaven music guru Rick Rubin's humble and surprisingly deep book about making art (the "surprisingly" is just based shallowly on Rick Rubin's looks).

    -Listen to the audio album of Kellen's new 30-minute comedy special "Negative Comments"! Available by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    See us LIVE in Los Angeles (adjacent...) on Sep 6th! Tickets here!
    https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kellen-erskine-stand-up-comedy-the-book-pile-podcast-tickets-952036465697?aff=Website

    To buy The Creative Act (or listen to it for free as a first time subscriber!) AND support the podcast, click here!
    https://amzn.to/4cOu3Dm

    -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

    -Zoltan Kaszas (from his website): "I filmed a Dry Bar Comedy Special “Cat Jokes” in 2017 that went viral and helped build me an audience of crazy cat lovers. Then I bombed on America’s Got Talent and vowed to one day burn down NBC. I followed that up with my latest hour “Modern Male” which I posted on YouTube at the start of the pandemic because the record company I had been working with wasn’t responding to my emails about it’s release. It currently has 3.1 million views… Oh and the record company promptly got back to me."

  • What's better than uncovering the mysteries of history? MAKING UP history so that it fits into a clue-based adventure!

    -Listen to the audio album of Kellen's new 30-minute comedy special "Negative Comments"! Available by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    OR WATCH his new special here for free with promo code KELLENERSKINE
    https://www.drybarcomedy.com/kellenerskine

    See The Book Pile LIVE in Los Angeles (adjacent...) on Sep 6th! Tickets here! (OR Join the Patreon and get in for free!)
    https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kellen-erskine-stand-up-comedy-the-book-pile-podcast-tickets-952036465697?aff=Website

    -Listen to next week's book before we talk about it!
    The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin
    https://amzn.to/3WZ9vlv

    -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.

  • Look. It’s just possibly the worst book we’ve ever read. This is the maddest you’ll ever hear us.

    -Listen to the audio album of Kellen's new 30-minute comedy special "Negative Comments"! Available by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    See us LIVE in Los Angeles (adjacent...) on Sep 6th! Tickets here!
    https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kellen-erskine-stand-up-comedy-the-book-pile-podcast-tickets-952036465697?aff=Website

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

    -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.

  • -Listen to the audio album of Kellen's new 30-minute comedy special "Negative Comments"! Available by joining The Book Pile's Patreon at:
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    SUMMARY: Look, we know. The internet has made an ABUNDANCE of Cthulhu content. You have Cthulhus out the wazoo. How could a podcast about Cthulhus possibly satisfy you, or add something new to the Cthulhu conversation? Look, please just listen to this Cthulhu episode. We worked really hard on it. Plus Kellen had a nightmare about an animals you'll never forget, and Dave retells this book from a different character's perspective...

    -If you want to read The Call of Cthulhu and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers!
    https://amzn.to/3MhCn3L

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

    -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.

  • With a new intro where we announce a live episode recording in Los Angeles (on 9/6/24)!

    With a new, smoother overall edit to our conversation, today we revisit an episode from 2022 where we break down Goodnight Moon with Chad Daniels who just released his first Netflix stand-up special Empty Nester.

    They boys talk about how it's hard to have a "good night" when your child is kicking you in your own bed; Kellen has a pitch for a fun demonic toy; Dave brings up the weird, dark backstory behind the author; and Chad brings up a dark salsa commercial from the 90's (do you know the one?)

    -JOIN OUR PATREON for bonus episodes and the audio from Kellen's new 30-minute comedy special "Negative Comments"!
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    -If you want to read Goodnight Moon and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers!
    https://amzn.to/3ylAzDk

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

    -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 150 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.

  • Math is boring unless it ends in a disaster, right? Maybe? Well it doesn't matter how YOU feel about it, bad things happen and math is always to blame.
    This book proves it (even if it's not what the author intended).
    *
    JOIN OUR PATREON for bonus episodes and full audio of KELLEN'S NEW HALF-HOUR COMEDY SPECIAL!!! Listen to "Negative Comments" now!
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile
    *
    If you want to read/listen to Humble Pi and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers! Free on Kindle to Amazon Prime members!
    https://amzn.to/4cUrRLk

    Click here if you want to prepare for a near-future episode when we cover The Call of Cthulu by H.P. Lovecraft!
    https://amzn.to/46k004I
    *
    Dave’s book / game The Starlings is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp
    *
    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 100 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

  • Have you considered letting the pressure off yourself to be someone you're not in order to feel truer belonging and inner peace? Brown encourages authenticity (*unless you're a big dumb jerk, then you should pretend to be a smart nice person) in a world that pushes unattainable expectations.

    *Kellen added this part

    -JOIN OUR PATREON for bonus episodes and exclusive clips of Kellen's stand up!
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile

    -If you want to read/listen to The Gifts of Imperfection and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers! Free on Kindle to Amazon Prime members!
    https://amzn.to/3WdLaIr

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

    -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 150 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.

  • Wrong way: read books about making good movies.
    Right way: read books about making a bad movie, and then don’t do that.
    This book tells the story of a historic box office flop, Bonfire of the Vanities. (It is historic in the sense that someone wrote a book about it.) Hear us make fun of the people who made it! Even though they seem very talented!
    *
    JOIN OUR PATREON for bonus episodes and exclusive clips of Kellen's stand up!
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile
    *
    If you want to read/listen to The Devil's Candy and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers! Free on Kindle to Amazon Prime members!
    https://amzn.to/45LA6GK
    *
    Dave’s book / game The Starlings is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp
    *
    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 100 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.

  • A magic girl (barely), a sociopath boy who thinks he's a knight, a strong guy who got fired from wrestling, and a bad guy with a mouth where his ear should be but only sometimes, I know this sounds made up . . . and it is, it's all made up in this book. Also there's an apocalypse, but that was probably obvious.
    *
    JOIN OUR PATREON for bonus episodes and exclusive clips of Kellen's stand up!
    https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile
    *
    If you want to read/listen to Swan Song and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers! Free on Kindle to Amazon Prime members!
    https://amzn.to/3xdTVd7
    *
    Dave’s book / game The Starlings is here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMBBLGXN?ref=myi_title_dp
    *
    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 100 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.