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Boots!

Where would we be without boos?

Where would we be without good?

No, Timberd.

It's a rhetorical question, sir, but where would we be without books?

From KCRW and KCRW.com, I'm Michael Silverblatt.

This is Bookworm, and today I'm very pleased and proud and excited to have as my guest, David Sedaris.

David Sedaris is a star, and he has been, from the word go,

I think, from the time that he was on this American life,

doing his piece about having been an elf for Santa, I think at Macy's.

It became a famous piece.

It was part of the launching of this American life.

Now it's what, 10 books later?

Ten books.

Ten books.

The new book is Calypso. It's published by Little Brown, and I'd say it's a doozy

because he's gone from being an elf in phase one to being a middle-aged man on the verge of old age trying to decide when you cross the line. When is that line crossed?

Well, you know, I think there's a difference between when you cross it and when other people cross it. Other people have crossed it already. I was in an elevator and I was saying to someone after you, after you, after you, after you, after you. That's what happens in a nice hotel. And so finally I thought, fine, I'll go. And I stepped out of the elevator and I fell into a puddle of, there was some water there. And I tripped and I fell and someone said, don't move him. And then I thought, I must be old, you know, if people are saying, don't move him.

And then, you know, I get called sir now and I, my father wanted a cane and it was a very

specific kind of cane that I bought him in England.

And I was coming to the United States, so I thought, well, I'll just bring the cane

...