Arcade Bookshop
In Arcade Bookshop, listen to Bryce Johle and Caleb James blab about the stories in video games and books. As writers and gamers, the co-hosts want to emphasize the importance of stories told in all forms, as well as the artists behind them. Play and read along every other Monday!
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Episodes
Friday Feb 23, 2024
Friday Feb 23, 2024
Your miniature answer to the full-length episodes of Arcade Bookshop! Every week we take about 20 minutes to catch up on video game progress, book progress, video game news, writing and publishing updates, and more!
Instagram @arcade_bookshop
TikTok @arcadebookshop
arcadebookshop@gmail.com
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
In a special guest interview episode of Arcade Bookshop, Bryce and Caleb finally meet Jaime Alejandro. Jaime hosts the Arts Calling podcast, in addition to functioning as the sole editor for the Coalition for Digital Narratives, a website which houses all of his efforts to support and engage with artists of all kinds. A big component of the site is Coalitionworks, an online literary magazine. coalitionfordigitalnarratives.org
The conversation explores how and why we should be creative, the challenges of being an artist, being inspired by The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, and the effects of social media on contemporary art.
It was a fantastic talk that must be continued in the future!
Jaime Alejandro Cruz (he/him) writes and records. He produces the ArtsCalling Podcast and founded the Coalition for Digital Narratives, anonline collaborative space showcasing short-form literary works andmedia projects. Cruzfolio.com.
Instagram @arcade_bookshop.
TikTok @arcadebookshop
Send book and game pairing suggestions to arcadebookshop@gmail.com
Monday Feb 12, 2024
Monday Feb 12, 2024
In Episode 14 of Arcade Bookshop, Bryce and Caleb talk about literature and media with social or cultural commentary, and whether Dracula does this well, if it truly does it at all.
In the core of the show, the guys talk about Dracula in the cultural context of the 19th century. They look at representations of class, sexuality, and gender. Additionally, Bryce brings a college textbook to accompany a discussion of science and the Industrial Revolution.
Play and read along with the guys! See the UPDATED show schedule for the next 6 episodes below!
(Apologies, as the schedule for the next few episodes was previously incorrect and represented them releasing weekly. The dates have been corrected below.)
Show Schedule:
2/26: The Plague by Albert Camus (Crossover Episode w/ Drunken Pen Writing Podcast)
3/11: Megaman 10
3/25: A Memoir Blue (Cross-platform)
4/8: The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner
4/22: StarTropics (NES)
5/6: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
(Dates subject to change at any time, but these are all real episodes!)
Send game and book pairing suggestions or comments to arcadebookshop@gmail.com.
Follow us on TikTok @ArcadeBookshop!
Find us and send us a message @arcade_bookshop on Instagram.
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Monday Feb 05, 2024
In a special guest interview episode of Arcade Bookshop, Bryce and Caleb hang out with Jay Malone of the YouTube channel, Square Pegs. Jay's channel covers all things video games, including reviews, rankings, building a collection, and more.
The conversation explores thoughts behind being a quality content creator, how Jay came to start his channel, and also some insight into video game development as he describes his experience in video game QA.
Bryce and Caleb learned a lot geeking out with Jay and hope you do, too!
Instagram @arcade_bookshop.
TikTok @arcadebookshop
Send book and game pairing suggestions to arcadebookshop@gmail.com
Monday Jan 29, 2024
Monday Jan 29, 2024
In Episode 13 of Arcade Bookshop, Bryce and Caleb talk about the practicality and ethics of save states, especially as adults with full-time jobs, and how Bryce feels too guilty using them because he's a video game purist.
In the core of the show, the guys talk about how short these games really are if you're good at it, and how remarkable that is since even these little cartridges were pricey back in the day. They touch on Dracula, some details on the games' developers, the bad translation in Simon's Quest, and ideas of what future Castlevania games should be like.
Play and read along with the guys! See the UPDATED show schedule for the next 3 episodes below!
Show Schedule:
2/5: Dracula by Bram Stoker
2/19: The Plague by Albert Camus
3/4: Megaman 10
Send game and book pairing suggestions or comments to arcadebookshop@gmail.com.
Follow us on TikTok @ArcadeBookshop!
Find us and send us a message @arcade_bookshop on Instagram.
Monday Jan 15, 2024
Monday Jan 15, 2024
In Episode 12 of Arcade Bookshop, Bryce and Caleb hang out once more with special guest, Riley Moon, Bryce's oldest friend and artist of the Arcade Bookshop logo and various other ABS illustrations. They talk about how working our everyday jobs is a lot like being an animal on Manor Farm.
In the core of the show, the three guys discuss the political representations of each of the book's characters, the differences between communism and socialism, and whether it's appropriate or effective for this book to be assigned to middle- or high-school-aged kids, amongst many other topics.
They also take some time to talk more about how the book comes back to Pokemon, and free Pokemon healthcare.
Play and read along with the guys! See the UPDATED show schedule for the next 6 episodes below!
Show Schedule:
1/29: Castlevania & Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
2/5: Dracula by Bram Stoker
2/19: The Plague by Albert Camus
3/4: Megaman 10
Send game and book pairing suggestions or comments to arcadebookshop@gmail.com.
Follow us on TikTok @ArcadeBookshop!
Find us and send us a message @arcade_bookshop on Instagram.
Monday Jan 01, 2024
Monday Jan 01, 2024
In Episode 11 of Arcade Bookshop, Bryce and Caleb hang out with special guest, Riley Moon, Bryce's oldest friend and artist of the Arcade Bookshop logo and various other ABS illustrations.
In the core of the show, the three guys discuss what literary merit the third generation Pokemon game does have, in regards to social commentary on things like climate change, as well as some inspiration behind the world and character creation. For how great of an adventure all Pokemon games generally are, it was surprising how little narrative is available at face value.
Look forward to the book companion episode on 1/15 when Bryce, Caleb, and Riley discuss Animal Farm by George Orwell!
Play and read along with the guys! See the UPDATED show schedule for the next 6 episodes below!
Show Schedule:
1/15: Animal Farm by George Orwell
1/29: Castlevania & Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
2/5: Dracula by Bram Stoker
2/19: The Plague by Albert Camus
3/4: Megaman 10
Send game and book pairing suggestions or comments to arcadebookshop@gmail.com.
Follow us on TikTok @ArcadeBookshop!
Find us and send us a message @arcade_bookshop on Instagram.
Friday Dec 22, 2023
Friday Dec 22, 2023
In a very special Christmas episode of Arcade Bookshop, Bryce and Caleb get hammered and ramble about random bullcrap.
In the core of the show, which is very scattered, they discuss Die Hard for Nintendo Entertainment System, and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
Get drunk with them and enjoy!
Merry Christmas, y'all!
arcadebookshop@gmail.com
Instagram: arcade_bookshop
TikTok: ArcadeBookshop