Book talk with sharp elbows.
Words About Books follows Ben and Nate through books and book-adjacent obsessions, from The Odyssey and Tolkien to William Gibson, Naruto, and Donkey Kong lore. The pace is chatty, tangent-prone, and openly impatient with anything that bores them.
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Words About Books is a long-running reading conversation with a restless sense of what counts as a book. Ben and Nate move comfortably from The Odyssey to The Two Towers, then over to William Gibson, Naruto, and Donkey Kong canon without treating any category boundary as sacred. The show is not tidy. That is part of its shape. A discussion of The Odyssey can start with translation choices and end up in jokes about illustrated editions, domestic excuses, and whether the harder assignment was quietly avoided. A Tolkien chapter can produce sincere attention to language, chapter structure, and adaptation choices, then immediately collapse into bits about Gollum, crossroads magic, or a ridiculous academic name. The literary attention is real. So is the impatience. When Virtual Light drags for them, they say so, lingering on bike messenger detail, cyberpunk texture, and why a character’s choices do or do not work. When Naruto or Donkey Kong enters the rotation, the same habits carry over: canon is treated as something to argue with, not something to worship. The result is a show for people who enjoy reading but do not need reverence with every page turn. Its register is conversational, skeptical, and frequently absurd. Patreon polls, bonus episodes, the Wobbies, and Words About Books the role-playing game appear as recurring pieces of the show’s wider ecosystem. Those bits do not replace the discussion; they make the show feel like an ongoing argument among people who have been talking too long to pretend at ceremony. The humor can be blunt, and the tangents arrive fast. Still, underneath the jokes is a consistent concern with what a text is doing, where an adaptation changes the meaning, and why some supposedly important material simply fails to land. Words About Books works best when the listener wants literary criticism with crumbs on the table. It is casual, referential, and stubbornly allergic to prestige manners.
Made for: For readers who like The Odyssey, Tolkien, William Gibson, Naruto, and pop-culture canon discussed without academic stiffness. It suits listeners who enjoy long-running in-jokes, candid annoyance, and arguments that wander before finding the point.
What sets it apart: The show treats The Odyssey, Tolkien, Gibson, Naruto, and Donkey Kong as part of the same unruly reading life. Its edge comes from the mix of close textual attention, openly messy tangents, and refusal to sound impressed on command.
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.
Like Ben and Nate's book club, except you can enjoy the argument from a safe distance.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A candid, bantery take on Virtual Light that stays willing to push back when the book drifts.
Words About Books treats Virtual Light as a book that invites argument. It keeps the praise and the irritation in view at the same time, and it does not soften the sense that the novel can feel over-researched, over-detailed, or sleepy.
Reddit nightmares, cleanly narrated and sharply turned.
John Bierce argues that progression fantasy turns powerlessness into stories about agency, change, and people capable of affecting the world.
The Ring offers Sam a garden empire, but his “one small garden” defeats its vision of power.
Epictetus says freedom means controlling your judgment, not controlling women, wealth, or a data center.
This episode humorously discusses Book 9 of Homer's Odyssey, focusing on Odysseus' escape from the Cyclops and his encounter with Circe.
Two hosts discuss a chapter from Tolkien's Return of the King, debating its merits and sharing their favorite parts.
Two hosts chat about their personal lives and promote Patreon bonus content, including a role-playing game spin-off.
Two hosts discuss different translations of Homer's Odyssey, comparing their experiences and the unique features of each version.
Two hosts discuss a chapter from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, debating language and pronunciation.
Two hosts discuss J.R.R.
Two hosts discuss chapter six of The Two Towers, focusing on the Forbidden Pool scene and Gollum's character.
Ben and Nate from Words About Books discuss William Gibson's Virtual Light (1993, Bridge Trilogy book 1), giving it a mostly negative assessment while acknowledging the strength of its central concept: a post-capitalist commune that organically evolved on an earthquake-damaged Golden Gate Bridge in a fictional 2006.
The hosts banter about an award show for their podcast and discuss a weird episode, with one host feeling sleepy from melatonin.
Two wannabe writers discuss books, starting with a humorous debate about Hulk Hogan's books and then moving to a book about Donkey Kong.
Two hosts discuss a chapter from The Lord of the Rings, analyzing character moments and comparing to the film adaptation.
This episode discusses horror literature, including Goosebumps and the Jeff the Killer creepypasta series, with plans for future livestream content.