
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

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

Jul 18, 2024 • 27min
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
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.

Jul 1, 2024 • 34min
The Devil’s Candy by Julie Salamon
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.

Jun 18, 2024 • 22min
Swan Song, by Robert R. McCammon
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.

May 28, 2024 • 36min
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Interestingly, this is also the title of the world’s saddest and shortest autobiography.Also on this episode, Kellen and Dave pitch a much better sequel to Jurassic Park.*JOIN OUR PATREON FOR BoNuS EPISODES!https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile*If you want to read/listen to Catching Fire 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/3VjtZGc*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.

May 20, 2024 • 28min
Re-Issue: The Return of the King
JOIN OUR PATREON FOR BoNuS EPISODES!https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile*Rediscover this gem of a Book Pile episode (originally episode #92) that we dug up and polished from July of 2022! Dave brings up Sauron's oversight on Mt. Doom; Kellen thinks Frodo fell short; Dave first asks the question "What would you do if there were no consequences?" then promptly makes fun of Kellen's answer and never answers it himself (so clearly he would have failed the Fellowship).*If you want to read/listen to The Return of the King AND support the podcast at the same time, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers!https://amzn.to/3V7BDDe*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.

May 13, 2024 • 27min
Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott
JOIN OUR PATREON FOR BoNuS EPISODES!https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile*Picture a bird. Pretty cool, right? Now open your eyes. There’s another bird by that bird. I bet you feel so racist.Anyway, Bird by Bird is a beautifully written, witty, unpretentious book about writing. *If you want to read/listen to this Bird by Bird and support the podcast in a fun way, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers!https://amzn.to/4akxRei*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.

May 6, 2024 • 22min
Re-Issue: The Big Short
JOIN OUR PATREON FOR BoNuS EPISODES!https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile*Rediscover this gem of a Book Pile episode (originally episode #84) that we dug up and polished from May of 2022!The Big Short is a little nostalgic jaunt back into the greatest financial collapse of our lifetimes. Also on this episode, the duo discuss air fryers, hot tubs, and nuclear-bomb insurance (in that order of priority). *If you want to read/listen to this book and support the podcast at the same time, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers!https://amzn.to/4b7hZwQ*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.

Apr 30, 2024 • 34min
The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran
JOIN OUR PATREON FOR BoNuS EPISODES!https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile*Look, we’re going to level with you. If we describe this episode's book right here, you’ll leave. The description sounds boring. Your feeble attention span has been weakened by the internet age. So just trust us and try this one. Some parts are about love. Is that enough of a dopamine hit for you? You sad sack of TikTok-addled chemicals?*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! Free on Kindle to Amazon Prime members!https://amzn.to/3Uoi6gi*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.

Apr 23, 2024 • 27min
Re-Issue: The Inner Game of Tennis
JOIN OUR PATREON FOR BoNuS EPISODES!https://www.patreon.com/TheBookPile*Rediscover this gem of a Book Pile episode (episode #99) that we dug up and polished from 2022!The Inner Game of Tennis describes an innovative approach to better, easier mastery of tennis and other activities. Plus, Kellen tries to never praise his kids, and Dave gets better at sports by focusing REALLY hard on relaxing, and yelling at himself when he doesn't do it right.*If you want to read/listen to this book and support the podcast at the same time, click here to buy the book! Free on Audible to first-time subscribers! https://amzn.to/4aOE5Em*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.