Why would you try to feed your tumor to a snapping turtle?

David Sederis will explore this and other pressing issues when he joins us to talk about

his latest book, Calypso.

How is America's justice system failing the mentally ill?

Alisa Roth will be here to talk about her book, Insane, America's criminal treatment

of mental illness.

Alexander Altar will give us an update from the literary world, plus we'll talk about

what we and the wider world are reading.

This is the Book Review Podcast from the New York Times.

I'm Pamela Paul.

David Sederis joins us now to talk about his new collection, Calypso.

David, thanks for being here.

Thanks for having me back, Pamela.

You are at the very end of a book tour.

A lecture tour.

A lecture tour.

What's the difference between a book tour and a lecture tour?

I read in theaters and people buy tickets.

When we're on a book tour generally, you read for, I don't know, 20 minutes.

People are standing up and they're not comfortable.

But on a lecture tour, they're in a theater and they have comfortable seats.

So you carry on for an hour and a half.

...