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Boots!

Where would we be without boos?

Where would we be without good?

No to bird.

It's a rhetorical question, sir.

But where would we be without books? From KCROLVORBLE question, sir, but where would we need without books?

From KCRW and KCRW.com, I'm Michael Silverblatt. This is Bookworm, and today it's a kind of rare occurrence.

I don't do very many first novels on the show.

And a book came my way called The Book of X by Sarah Rose Eder.

It's her first novel.

It comes from a press called Two Dollar Radio.

I became exposed to Two2 radio because they had published a book by Rudy

Wurlitzer. Rudy had not published a novel in years and years, and it was his choice.

He could have published anywhere.

People were waiting for his new book, and he published with $2 Radio.

So I started reading books as they came out from $2 Radio,

and this book, The Book of X by Sarah Rose Edder is one of the most recent ones.

Now, first of all, who are you?

I'm a girl who grew up in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, next to some power plants.

And my whole life I was a big reader. You know, my dad was always

reading me in New York Times while I was in my diaper. So words have always been, you know,

...