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 true story of the historical detective whose work uncovered the 1000 year-old poem that shook the early Christian world and marked the beginning of the Renaissance...

The true story of the historical detective whose work uncovered the 1000 year-old poem that shook the early Christian world and marked the beginning of the Renaissance...

Stephen Greenblatt: The Swerve

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey Eugenides on his new novel, in which he learned to "do" character.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey Eugenides on his new novel, in which he learned to "do" character.

Jeffrey Eugenides: The Marriage Plot

A rebroadcast of an engaging conversation with our great octogenarian laureate, W.S. Merwin.

A rebroadcast of an engaging conversation with our great octogenarian laureate, W.S. Merwin.

W.S. Merwin: The Shadow of Sirius

With little known about Pat Nixon, Ann Beattie decided to write a novel in the form of a writer's manual, she used Mrs. Nixon as a model of how to create a character.

With little known about Pat Nixon, Ann Beattie decided to write a novel in the form of a writer's manual, she used Mrs. Nixon as a model of how to create a character.

Ann Beattie: Mrs. Nixon

Tony D'Souza reveals the life events that led him to write a novel about a solid, middle-class kid who becomes a drug mule...

Tony D'Souza reveals the life events that led him to write a novel about a solid, middle-class kid who becomes a drug mule...

Tony D'Souza: Mule

The veteran contributor to The New Yorker and McSweeney's distills his knowledge about how to structure the essay—from cultural comedies to political tragedies.

Lawrence Weschler: Uncanny Valley

The author of Affliction and The Sweet Hereafter takes breathtaking risks in exploring a morally complex story. The protagonist is a renegade and convicted sex offender...

The author of Affliction and The Sweet Hereafter takes breathtaking risks in exploring a morally complex story. The protagonist is a renegade and convicted sex offender...

Russell Banks: Lost Memory of Skin

We visited Harold Bloom to talk about his new book, but when you talk with Bloom, you talk about politics, poetry, teaching, aging, reading and ultimately, respect...

We visited Harold Bloom to talk about his new book, but when you talk with Bloom, you talk about politics, poetry, teaching, aging, reading and ultimately, respect...

We visited Harold Bloom to talk about his new book, but when you talk with Bloom, you talk about politics, poetry, teaching, aging, reading and ultimately, respect...

Harold Bloom: The Shadow of a Great Rock

This sequence of short stories, or prose poems, or vignettes (author Justin Torres is open to all three descriptions) adds up to a little novel about an underclass family....

This sequence of short stories, or prose poems, or vignettes (author Justin Torres is open to all three descriptions) adds up to a little novel about an underclass family....

This sequence of short stories, or prose poems, or vignettes (author Justin Torres is open to all three descriptions) adds up to a little novel about an underclass family....

Justin Torres: We the Animals

Wilson's goofy, sweet-hearted first novel is about a family of performance artists. The Fang family's siblings are struggling to leave their parents behind in order to lead a normal life...

Wilson's goofy, sweet-hearted first novel is about a family of performance artists. The Fang family's siblings are struggling to leave their parents behind in order to lead a normal life...

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