KCRW's Bookworm

Susan Orlean on her moving account of how an orphaned puppy from France became a Hollywood movie star and a beloved canine icon.

British Indian writer Hari Kunsru on his new novel that explores loss, spiritual reconnection and sacrifice.

Adam Levin on how behavior, B.F. Skinner, and his own training to be a therapist influenced his wild and crazy collection of stories.

Israeli writer Etgar Keret talks about the explosive and funny stories that voyage into the fantastic in his new book.

Peter Behrens on his epic family saga, a compelling tale of Irish immigration during the first half of the twentieth century.

Heidi Julavits on female rivalry and the psychic bonds between mothers and daughters in her imaginative new novel.

Eighty-seven-year-old, William Gass discusses his new book of essays on the art of crafting words into prose.

Krys Lee on her collection of short stories about immigrants leading two lives: the ones they left behind, and new lives they can't quite inhabit.

Jeanette Winterson on her new memoir that details how she survived being adopted by a dominating and wildly eccentric Pentecostal mother.

The true tale of a white boy from Oakland who became a drug addict, criminal, mental patient, and then turned 16.

Edward St. Aubyn on his a five-book series, The Patrick Melrose Novels. (Part 2 of 2)

Edward St. Aubyn on his a five-book series, The Patrick Melrose Novels. (Part 1 of 2)

What if language turned on its human users? Ben Marcus his novel, a dark story about language and the breakdown of language.

Jonathan Lethem and Steve Erickson discuss science fiction-prophet, writer Philip K Dick.

Can a gay man and a straight man be friends? Edmund White explores the gay-straight axis in Jack Holmes & His Friend.