
The Book Pile
A podcast where comedians tell you about books so you never have to read! (Now including fiction!) Kellen does standup; Dave writes ads; together they highlight lessons from the world’s best books--and some of the worst. New episode every Monday!
Latest episodes

Mar 28, 2022 • 33min
The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan
Did history stress you out in high school? Not really your favorite subject? Well today we break down history in a fun, comedic way, and then at the end we test you and give you a grade that decides your whole future! Plus, Kellen wants you to know that not all of California is covered in feces, and Dave introduces his new best friend, Prester John.(Also, stick around for the end song for a final correction of a vegetable fact.)*To buy the book, The Silk Roads, or listen to it free on Audible AND support the podcast, click here!https://amzn.to/45923a4*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*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 50 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, Quebec. Kellen was named one of TBS's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2017. 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.

Mar 21, 2022 • 35min
HALF-ROAST: The Skeleton Crew by Stephen King
Stephen King knows that a short story collection is like an album – as long as you have a few hits, the rest can be crap. Today is our half-roast of Skeleton Crew! Plus, Dave has some fun ideas about the nature of suffering and Kellen thinks Stephen King’s endings need work. (What do you bet Stephen eventually dies in some random, uninteresting way?)*To buy the book, The Skeleton Crew, or listen to it free on Audible AND support the podcast, click here!https://amzn.to/455hC2r*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*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 50 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, Quebec. Kellen was named one of TBS's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2017. 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.

Mar 14, 2022 • 37min
The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl has lived a fascinating creative life that includes being part of Nirvana and Foo Fighters, collaborating with Paul McCartney and Tom Petty, and being the most featured musical artist on SNL. But in a billion years, he’ll be just as forgotten as the rest of us, so why try? (Today’s episode brought to you by nihilism!) Plus, Kellen wants your kids to drop out of high school and Dave wants you to get good at the drums by ruining your teeth!*To buy the book, The Storyteller, or listen to it free on Audible AND support the podcast, click here!https://amzn.to/3Ozz1e6*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*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 50 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, Quebec. Kellen was named one of TBS's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2017. 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.

Mar 7, 2022 • 28min
THE ROAST OF: Goldfinger by Ian Fleming
Long before The Sopranos or Breaking Bad, Ian Fleming accidentally created the first anti-hero! James Bond is what Reddit calls “a man of his time” (meaning “a bad person”). Today we roast his worst book, Goldfinger. Also, Kellen continues his love of coincidences in literature and Dave wishes his enemies would paint him in gold.*To buy the book, Goldfinger, or listen to it free on Audible AND support the podcast, click here!https://amzn.to/3q5Pduq*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*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 50 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, Quebec. Kellen was named one of TBS's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2017. 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.

Feb 28, 2022 • 31min
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends by Nicole Perlroth
This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is a chilling book about the danger hackers pose to all of us. It is also a title with a super unclear pronoun. What is “this” referring to? The cause of the world ending? Or the way she’s being told? Until we get answers, we unfortunately cannot recommend this book...Also, Dave has some cybersecurity tips that will only take you 10 minutes, and that you still will not do. And Kellen loved the Stuxnet virus.*To buy the book, This is How They Tell Me the World Ends, or listen to it free on Audible AND support the podcast, click here!https://amzn.to/3Ob2SrY*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*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 50 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, Quebec. Kellen was named one of TBS's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2017. 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.

Feb 21, 2022 • 35min
Timeline by Michael Crichton
Timeline is an excellent Michael Crichton book about using a time machine to visit the Middle Ages. But, we just wanna point out – you could also use a time machine to get some dinosaurs. That’s why here at The Book Pile we believe every Michael Crichton book should just be Jurassic Park. The nanobots in Prey could have formed a giant dinosaur. The park in Westworld coulda been robot dinosaurs. What’s inside the sphere in Sphere? Dinosaur. Also in this episode Kellen and Dave revive a HEATED debate about sports: Are they silly?*To buy the book, Timeline, or listen to it free on Audible AND support the podcast, click here!https://amzn.to/3rJzAZS*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*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 50 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, Quebec. Kellen was named one of TBS's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2017. 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.

Feb 14, 2022 • 33min
Creativity by John Cleese
In the 60s, a group of creative guys in the UK formed a cheeky but charismatic group that gained popularity in Britain before becoming a sensation in America, pushing the boundaries of genre before finally breaking up, and also two of them are now dead. And that group is the Beatles. You thought we were gonna be tricky and say it’s Monty Python, right? You dumb imbecile.Okay, all that stuff is true of Monty Python too. Please enjoy John Cleese’s excellent, excellent tips on creativity. Also, Dave has a great idea for a new Miles Davis school and Kellen does a perfect impression of a gold miner.*To buy the book, Creativity, or listen to it free on Audible AND support the podcast, click here!https://amzn.to/44OExiO*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*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 50 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, Quebec. Kellen was named one of TBS's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2017. 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.

Feb 7, 2022 • 34min
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Today’s episode is a children’s book about a society that loves watching game shows (fun!). 24 contestants enter a fun franchise called the Hunger Games and, in the spirit of The Biggest Loser, 23 of them lose weight! (The person who doesn’t lose weight gets to go back to the games later and try again!) Read this book with your young kids who love game shows! Also, Dave has theories about Peeta’s real job and Kellen has a critique of Peeta’s frosting skills.*To buy the book, The Hunger Games, or listen to it free on Audible AND support the podcast, click here!https://amzn.to/47afIiW*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*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 50 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, Quebec. Kellen was named one of TBS's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2017. 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.

Jan 31, 2022 • 23min
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
First the good news about this book — one of us really liked it! You’ll have to listen to the episode for the bad news. (This is called clickbait. We clickbaited you.) The Space Between Worlds is a scifi story that stretches across multiple universes, and is also about love. Plus, Dave and Kellen says something CRAZY about Nazis. (As we wrote that last clickbait, we chuckled and muttered to ourselves, “We have you now…”)*To buy the book, The Space Between Worlds, or listen to it free on Audible AND support the podcast, click here!https://amzn.to/47f6Mc8*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*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 50 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, Quebec. Kellen was named one of TBS's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2017. 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.

Jan 24, 2022 • 27min
Einstein by Walter Isaacson
Here at The Book Pile, we connect deeply with Einstein, since all 3 of us are creative and none of us graduated from an American high school. Today we cover Isaacson’s excellent biography of Einstein — a man we would go so far as to call a genius! Plus, Kellen uses relativity to win at laser tag, and Dave once again brings Al-Qaeda into this.*To buy the book, Einstein, or listen to it free on Audible AND support the podcast, click here!https://amzn.to/3OjqN8A*TheBookPilePodcast@gmail.com*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 50 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, Quebec. Kellen was named one of TBS's Top Ten Comics to Watch in 2017. 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.