Creator Spotlight: 2 to Ramble

 

As someone that reads throughout the year, I realize that there is a finite number of books that I will be able to read in my lifetime compared to how many are being published. I appreciate the people that talk about books on all the media platforms— whether it is a podcast, booktuber, or social media— they help me know which books I would be interested in reading and help me discover some of my favorite books and authors.

 

Richard with his manly beard on the left and

Austin with his luscious hair on the right

I am not saying this lightly: if you like fantasy and sci-fi, then 2 to Ramble is by far the best I have come across. With a strong intro of them singing the tune of The Bridge of Khazad Dum from Lord of the Rings they are “2 guys (Austin and Richard) talking about books, movies, and shows.” Thanks to them I want to read The Sword of Kaigen, a self-published book (which is rare for me) and I have read the Lightbringer series, The Shadow of What Was Lost, and Hyperion, one of the best sci-fi books I have ever read. 

 

Older photo but similar setup

I am untraditional and I watch podcasts on Youtube and their setup feels welcoming. Austin and Richard sit at a round table where they are sitting at a 120° angle from each other. By doing this they each take a third of the table leaving the other third for us, the viewer, which makes the viewer feel welcome as if we are part of the discussion. 

When I am rating a book out of 10 points to me an average book would get a score of 5 points (Goodreads 3/5). Not many people have a rating system as harsh as I do. On Goodreads I feel like most people are generous and have averages close to 5 stars, while mine is 3 stars. I thought I was being too critical but then I found 2 to Ramble. Now I feel great that there are people just as harsh and analytic as I am. 

Normal people rate things as an integer, elects might use the tenth decimal, but these two masterminds go one step beyond and go to the hundredth decimal. To be fair it goes to the hundredth decimal because they take an average of a detailed rating system. When they review material, they rate them on a scale of 10 for emotional impact, characters, plot, dialogue / prose, and worldbuilding / magic systems to the tenth decimal point. By taking an average of their categories they will have a total that ends up being in the hundredth decimal place.

Personally, I like their rating system and how I rate a book is very similar to theirs. My only complaint is that I think their dialogue / prose shouldn’t have as much weight as the other categories. There are books where the prose can be ignored because the emotional impact, characters, and plot are so great that we ignore the prose.

 

If you are a fan of the Wheel of Time and Red Rising trilogy, you should watch their reviews on the first two books of those series, Eye of the World and Red Rising, respectively. It’s great to see the banter between these two friends. For example, Richard, who gave it a 6.85, defends Eye of the World while Austin, rating 4.4, takes the offense detailing the similarities that the book has with Lord of the Rings. Usually, Richard is the more critical reviewer as it can be seen in their spoiler-free / spoiler review of Red Rising.

Richard, having read the trilogy, gave the book 6.55. Austin, who was enthusiastic and recently finished reading the first book, gave it a 9.7. In their review Richard disputes with Austin about how unreasonable his high score is because the next book is leagues better than the first book and emphasizes on the weakness that the book has. While Austin defends his stance by highlighting the best parts that make him give it a perfect score. They are both right, but I tend to agree more with Richard. As someone that has read the trilogy the second book is better than the first. The first book is like a darker version of Hunger Games while the second book becomes its own narrative. 

Not only does 2 to Ramble review books, but they also review movies and shows, like Glass Onion, Rings of Power, and Kenobi. In their Eye of the World book review Austin mentioned about watching the show since he has finished the first book and I hope they do. I would love to see Austin and Richard tear this show apart for hours. I want them to review each episode individually so we can have 8 hours of dissection on everything that went wrong in the show. 

If you want to get into reading or you would like a good book recommendation; if you want to feel included in a ramble about books, movies, and shows, then there is one podcast I would recommend 2 to Ramble. They have a goal to become big enough so they can interview Brandon Sanderson on their podcast, and I hope that happens for them. All their media can be found here.

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