
Words About Books
Words About Books is a podcast where two wannabe writers read and discuss books. Read along with us, or just enjoy the show! New episodes every Sunday.
Latest episodes

Sep 22, 2024 • 1h 30min
Nate Discusses Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
This week the BAD BOY OF PODCASTING Nate talks about a Chess romance book with Ben, who is just trying to provide for his family. If you want to join the patreon so that you can vote in great books like this, go do that. Right away. 'K bye.Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

Sep 18, 2024 • 1h 4min
Talking About Tolkien - Three is Company (Fellowship, Ch3)
Frodo meets an elf and we somehow wind up revisiting the entire 10,000 year history of the Noldor.Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

Sep 15, 2024 • 1h 2min
Discussing William Gibson's Unused Screenplay for Alien 3
Ben and Nate share their thoughts on William Gibsons's unused screenplay for Alien 3, a film that is hated by the fanbase. Could Gibson have done it better? Yeah, probably, but it's still kind of mid. You wanna hear about how my landlord took out a wasp nest? It is a metaphor for the Alien franchise, and also practical pest control advice? All this and more in another (exciting) episode of Words About BooksSupport the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

Sep 11, 2024 • 1h 20min
Talking About Tolkien - The Shadow of the Past (Fellowship Ch2)
Gandalf's back and he has some explaining to do.Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

Sep 8, 2024 • 1h 12min
A Night With Ben & Nate: Dune Post-Mortem
Words About Dune is over. Well, mostly. This is the finale where we wrap up talking about the book series that Ben started this podcast for. This whole thing has been an excuse to force someone to read Dune so he could talk to someone about it. Good times... good times.Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

Sep 4, 2024 • 49min
Talking About Tolkien - A Long Expected Party (Fellowship Ch1)
Bilbo throws the largest party that the Shire has ever seen. Nate wonders if it is irresponsible to use the weapon of The Enemy to annoy your terrible relatives.Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

Sep 1, 2024 • 1h 40min
Continuing to Discuss Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert
This week we wrap up our discussion of Chapterhouse: Dune. We leave the series on a bit of a downer note with our heroes (or whatever we would call them) taking off in a No Ship while the Bene Gesserit and Honored Matre leadership becomes one. The villains of this trilogy reveal themselves to be some higher level of Face Dancer, something beyond anything we've ever seen before. How will our heroes defeat this new threat and the transformation of an old threat? Will they need to call upon their Super Mentat and Super Ghola powers, that will surely be explained in the finale, and merge them with our past protagonists? Will all of humanity be merged into some sort of new super organism and finally take us to the end of the Golden Path and to, perhaps, something even the God Emperor himself couldn't see with all of his prescience? Find out... never. Yeah, big bummer. Turns out they're just robots now and two untalented hacks finish the series. Byeeeee.Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

Aug 28, 2024 • 1h 2min
Talking About Tolkien - Prologue (The Fellowship of the Ring)
First, we're going to check back in with the gang from The Hobbit and see where they are now. Then we're going to get a little refresher on Hobbit lore.Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

Aug 25, 2024 • 1h 35min
Discussing Chapterhouse Dune by Frank Herbert (Dune VI) Part I
Welcome back, Dune fanatics! This week, Ben and Nate tackle the mind-bending first half of Frank Herbert’s Chapterhouse: Dune. With the Bene Gesserit teetering on the edge of annihilation and the Honored Matres breathing down their necks, Chapterhouse is all that stands between the Sisterhood and total extinction. As expected, Herbert spins a web of political intrigue, philosophical quandaries, and ecological puzzles that only he could imagine—or make us question why we’re still trying to unravel them.We’ll dig into the high-stakes drama facing the Bene Gesserit, ponder the curious case of Duncan Idaho (again), and debate what Herbert was really trying to say about the future of humanity—or if he was just messing with us all along. As usual, our analysis comes with a side of sharp wit and a good dose of snark.And, of course, we can’t talk about Dune without addressing the elephant in the room: Brian Herbert. Let’s just say that if literary talent were genetic, Brian might have gotten the recessive genes. Frank Herbert’s legacy casts a long shadow, and Brian’s efforts to carry the torch are, well… let’s just say some things are better left untouched.So gear up for a journey through the weird and wonderful world of Dune. If you’re a fan of the series—or just enjoy watching us dissect a good book—this is an episode you won’t want to miss.Words About Books: Where the spice flows, and our critiques are as brutal as a Bene Gesserit truthsay.This episode's summary was generated by AI: the real enemy all along! Don't trust machines! That's the real message of Dune! There's no hidden meaning! There are no themes! There's nothing but the one obvious message! Robots bad! Crash the system!Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/

Aug 18, 2024 • 52min
Discussing The Old Man and The Sea
In honor of "Back to School" month, we're talking about The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Will this book be the one that finally changes the boys' minds on fancy-pants literary fiction? The answer may surprise you. Support the showBlue Sky - https://bsky.app/profile/wordsaboutbooks.bsky.socialDiscord - https://discord.gg/6BaNRtcP8CThreads - https://www.threads.net/@wordsaboutbookspodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/wordsaboutbookspodcastBlog - https://blog.wordsaboutbooks.ninja/