
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

Sep 26, 2024 • 31min
11/22/63 by Stephen King, OUR 200th EPISODE!
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.

Sep 16, 2024 • 25min
Re-Issue: The Art of War, by Sun Tzu
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 KELLENERSKINEhttps://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.

Sep 13, 2024 • 34min
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever WITH GUEST Dallas Jenkins
Dallas Jenkins, the creator of the hit series The Chosen and director of the movie adaptation, shares insights about his latest project based on The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. He discusses the themes of humor and childhood poignancy found in the book. Fun anecdotes reveal a serendipitous meeting with Kellen Erskine, highlighting their comedic connections. Jenkins dives into casting choices and how they enrich emotional storytelling, illustrating how laughter can deepen our understanding of heartfelt narratives.

Sep 9, 2024 • 25min
THE LIVE ROAST OF Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday, by Alan Dean Foster
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.

Sep 2, 2024 • 39min
The Creative Act, by Rick Rubin, with GUEST Zoltan Kaszas!
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/TheBookPileSee 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=WebsiteTo 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."

Aug 26, 2024 • 32min
Re-Issue: THE ROAST OF The Da Vinci Code
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/TheBookPileOR WATCH his new special here for free with promo code KELLENERSKINEhttps://www.drybarcomedy.com/kellenerskineSee 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 Rubinhttps://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.

Aug 21, 2024 • 38min
THE ROAST OF: The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne
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/TheBookPileSee 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.

Aug 7, 2024 • 31min
The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft
-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/TheBookPileSUMMARY: 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.

7 snips
Jul 30, 2024 • 33min
Re-Issue: Goodnight Moon with guest Chad Daniels
Chad Daniels, a comedian known for his Netflix special Empty Nester, joins the discussion about the classic children's book Goodnight Moon. They humorously tackle the struggles of bedtime with lively anecdotes, including a charismatic pitch for a demonic toy. The conversation unveils the quirky backstory of the book’s author, Margaret Wise Brown, along with a hilarious dive into a dark salsa commercial from the 90s. The hosts also engage in a lively debate about the merits of reading versus listening to stories.

Jul 24, 2024 • 15min
Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World, by Matt Parker
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/4cUrRLkClick 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
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.