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Where would we be without boos?

Where would we be without good-nosed to bird?

It's a rhetorical question, sir.

But where would we need without books?

From KCRW and KCRW.com, I'm Michael Silverblatt, and welcome to Bookworm.

And I want you to know that the book we're about to talk about today, called Preparation for

the Next Life by my guest,icus Lish was a book that

really slayed me. It kept me up all night for several nights. I think it's unforgettable.

And as a result, I chose it to be the Bookworms book club book. If you're a member of the

book club, you'll be getting it in the mail. If you're not a member, think about joining the

book club, because I really am scavenging all over to find the very best. This is from a literary press,

an independent press called Tyrant best. This is from a literary press, an independent press called Tyrant Books.

This is your first novel. Yes, it is. And you're what? I'm 43 and a half.

And had you been writing before? No. No, I just started writing to write this book the only other

thing I wrote was in 2004 I tried to write a short story I took a summer school class

to complete my credits for college and at that time I wrote a short story. My writing teacher was named

Deborah Wilkes, and she gave me a lot of encouragement. And also she put some good writing

...