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

The Kitchen God's Wife; The Joy Luck Club
As author Amy Tan examines the image of the passive, compliant, Asian-American woman, she reveals some personal secrets.

The Kitchen God's Wife; The Joy Luck Club As author Amy Tan examines the image of the passive, compliant, Asian-American woman, she reveals some personal secrets.

Amy Tan

Wall To WallThe author makes an emotional and political journey from the Great Wall of China to the Berlin Wall on the Trans-Siberian Express.

Whitney Otto

Wall To Wall The author makes an emotional and political journey from the Great Wall of China to the Berlin Wall on the Trans-Siberian Express.

Mary Morris

U and I Nicholson Baker, the American chronicler of berserk technology talks about his imaginary friendship with John Updike.

U and INicholson Baker, the American chronicler of berserk technology talks about his imaginary friendship with John Updike.

U and I Nicholson Baker, the American chronicler of berserk technology talks about his imaginary friendship with John Updike.

Nicholson Baker

Pledge of Allegiance; Like ChinaTwo first novelists, currently living in California, discuss their books: Lapin's, about the McCarthy era and O'Connor's, about domestic violence.

Mark Lapin and Varley O'Conner

When One Has Lived A Long Time Alone The poet discusses the solitude necessary for poetry and the ways in which the imagination keeps us from suicide.

Galway Kinnell

The Book of Embraces The South American surrealist turns from the terror of American history to dreams and visionary prose.

Edwardo Galeano

One of the great writers of contemporary short stories in the Flannery O'Connor tradition, Joy Williams writes about salvation, damnation and the rot of modern culture

One of the great writers of contemporary short stories in the Flannery O'Connor tradition, Joy Williams writes about salvation, damnation and the rot of modern culture

Joy Williams: Escapes

Quincunx; The Sensationist The author of an enormous modern Victorian novel (Quincunx) speaks about his new work, The Sensationist, a brief, mysterious book about lust and disappearance

Charles Palliser

Writer-director John Sayles discusses the creative process and the politics shaping his novel about the Cubano exile in Florida.

Writer-director John Sayles discusses the creative process and the politics shaping his novel about the Cubano exile in Florida.

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