Longtime friend and editor of Bookworm, Alan Howard, returns to host this episode, the last of 10 shows to journey through Bookworm’s 33 years and offer a retrospective look at Michael’s accomplishments on behalf of writers and readers. For decades Michael has read almost all of a writer’s work, not just the book which has been most recently published. Howard has watched writers glow as they realize that they’ve been seriously witnessed by the ultimate Bookworm. All of the writers on today’s show have become friends of Michael’s and of Bookworm. We’ll hear from rock band Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael), Art Spiegelman, Françoise Mouly, Ann Beattie, Susan Sontag, and Dennis Cooper.

Longtime friend and editor of Bookworm, Alan Howard, returns to host this episode, the last of 10 shows to journey through Bookworm’s 33 years and offer a retrospective look at Michael’s accomplishments on behalf of writers and readers. For decades Michael has read almost all of a writer’s work, not just the book which has been most recently published. Howard has watched writers glow as they realize that they’ve been seriously witnessed by the ultimate Bookworm. All of the writers on today’s show have become friends of Michael’s and of Bookworm. We’ll hear from rock band Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael), Art Spiegelman, Françoise Mouly, Ann Beattie, Susan Sontag, and Dennis Cooper.

Longtime friend and editor of Bookworm, Alan Howard, returns to host this episode, the last of 10 shows to journey through Bookworm’s 33 years and offer a retrospective look at Michael’s accomplishments on behalf of writers and readers. For decades Michael has read almost all of a writer’s work, not just the book which has been most recently published. Howard has watched writers glow as they realize that they’ve been seriously witnessed by the ultimate Bookworm. All of the&nbsp;writers on today’s show have become friends of Michael’s and of Bookworm. We’ll hear from rock band Sparks (brothers Ron and Russell Mael), Art Spiegelman, Françoise Mouly, Ann Beattie, Susan Sontag, and Dennis Cooper.

Friends of Michael

Acclaimed novelist, poet, and essayist <a href="https://www.taolin.us">Tao Lin</a> (“Taipei,” “Shoplifting from American Apparel”) speaks about growing as a writer, and growing his idea of himself in a book, including his latest, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/547887/leave-society-by-tao-lin/">Leave Society</a>,” about the blurred lines between life and fiction.

Acclaimed novelist, poet, and essayist Tao Lin (“Taipei,” “Shoplifting from American Apparel”) speaks about growing as a writer, and growing his idea of himself in a book, including his latest, “Leave Society,” about the blurred lines between life and fiction.

Acclaimed novelist, poet, and essayist <a href="https://www.taolin.us" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tao Lin</a> (“Taipei,” “Shoplifting from American Apparel”) speaks about growing as a writer, and growing his idea of himself in a book, including his latest, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/547887/leave-society-by-tao-lin/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Leave Society</a>,” about the blurred lines between life and fiction.&nbsp;

Tao Lin’s ‘Leave Society’ shifts the author’s perspective to love and kindness

Author Zac Smith speaks about the extreme juxtaposition of the very short, dense, and clipped stories in his new book, “Everything is Totally Fine.” He says that by removing a lot of exposition, he was able to create intense emotions in a small space. His energetic and thoughtful stories of absurdity and minutiae are things that could not be said any other way, and usually don’t get said. Plus, special guest Tao Lin explains why “Everything is Totally Fine” inspired him to reopen his <a href="http://muumuuhouse.com/about.html">Muumuu House</a> imprint after it was closed for more than ten years.

Author Zac Smith speaks about the extreme juxtaposition of the very short, dense, and clipped stories in his new book, “Everything is Totally Fine.” He says that by removing a lot of exposition, he was able to create intense emotions in a small space. His energetic and thoughtful stories of absurdity and minutiae are things that could not be said any other way, and usually don’t get said. Plus, special guest Tao Lin explains why “Everything is Totally Fine” inspired him to reopen his Muumuu House imprint after it was closed for more than ten years.

Author Zac Smith speaks about the extreme juxtaposition of the very short, dense, and clipped stories in his new book, “Everything is Totally Fine.” He says that by removing a lot of exposition, he was able to create intense emotions in a small space. His energetic and thoughtful stories of absurdity and minutiae are things that could not be said any other way, and usually don’t get said. Plus, special guest Tao Lin explains why “Everything is Totally Fine” inspired him to reopen his <a href="http://muumuuhouse.com/about.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Muumuu House</a> imprint after it was closed for more than ten years.

Zac Smith’s ‘Everything is Totally Fine,’ the book that reopened Tao Lin’s Muumuu House

Arthur Golden Memoirs of a Geisha (Knopf) A Harvard-educated man writes the fictional life of a famous courtesan. A Westerner reveals the secrets of Asia. How does a writer assume the authority to transcend gender and culture?

Arthur Golden

George Plimpton Truman Capote (Doubleday) Plimpton, the founding father of the modern literary interview and for years the editor of The Paris Review, talks about the nature of the literary interview and the art of biography.

George Plimpton

Miroslav Holub Shedding Life (Milkweed) The renowned Czech poet and immunologist explores the border between art and science, questions the beloved tenets of humanists--and reveals his own latent tenderness.

Miroslav Holub

Tess Gallagher At the Owl Woman Saloon (Scribner) Tess Gallagher reveals her "witching;" techniques that transform talk into literary language. She also speaks candidly about her relationship with Raymond Carver and explains how each influenced the other's work.

Tess Gallagher

David Grossman The Zig Zag Kid (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) The Israeli writer tells the story of how a book written for his son's coming-of-age became a cross-over hit--an adult best-seller in Israel.

David Grossman The Zig Zag Kid (Farrar, Straus &amp; Giroux) The Israeli writer tells the story of how a book written for his son's coming-of-age became a cross-over hit--an adult best-seller in Israel.

David Grossman

The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye (Random House) Why do adults need fairy tales? What is, at its essence, the heart of a story? The answers appear as international wise-woman A. S. Byatt unravels the "fairy stories for adults" in her most-recent book.

The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye (Random House)Why do adults need fairy tales? What is, at its essence, the heart of a story? The answers appear as international wise-woman A. S. Byatt unravels the "fairy stories for adults" in her most-recent book.

The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye (Random House) Why do adults need fairy tales? What is, at its essence, the heart of a story? The answers appear as international wise-woman A. S. Byatt unravels the "fairy stories for adults" in her most-recent book.

A. S. Byatt

An unusually revealing conversation about female masochism and creativity: Oates on the harrowing of the flesh, penitence and salvation.

An unusually revealing conversation about female masochism and creativity: Oates on the harrowing of the flesh, penitence and salvation.

Joyce Carol Oates: Man Crazy

Open Me...I'm a Dog (Harper Collins) In this discussion of a "mind trip" for children, Art Spiegelman reads from his new	children's book--with running commentary from the Bookworm.

Open Me...I'm a Dog (Harper Collins)In this discussion of a "mind trip" for children, Art Spiegelman reads from his new children's book--with running commentary from the Bookworm.

Open Me...I'm a Dog (Harper Collins) In this discussion of a "mind trip" for children, Art Spiegelman reads from his new	children's book--with running commentary from the Bookworm.

Art Spiegelman

The infrequently interviewed Don DeLillo discusses his epic novel, Underworld, particularly the movement toward sincerity and simplicity that characterizes the book's climactic chapters.

The infrequently interviewed Don DeLillo discusses his epic novel, Underworld, particularly the movement toward sincerity and simplicity that characterizes the book's climactic chapters.

Don DeLillo: Underworld

A close look at the waves of passion and neutrality that comprise the style of this elegy on the death of Jamaica Kincaid's brother.

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