Totally Booked with Zibby

Author Charleen Hurtubise paints a picture of a woman reinvented. We meet  Saoirse   on an airplane, faking her identity with a friend’s passport, on her way to start over entirely overseas. Why? You’ll find out. Art plays a central role in Saoirse’s new life — and in her unraveling. Does her husband know? You’ll find out. (Note: We had some technical issues during this episode, but...

Sometimes you just click with someone. By the end of my in-person interview with Israeli poet Rachel Tzvia Back, we were hugging — having laughed, cried, and truly connected in just 30 minutes. Why? Because she’s awesome, yes, but also because her memoir,  The Dark-Robed Mother , is so intimate, vulnerable, and beautiful that it would endear her to anyone. It’s funny and hopeful, dark and poi...

I am obsessed with the TV show “The Middle” starring Patricia Heaton, Eden Sher, and an all-star cast. It ran for nine years starting in 2009, but I only discovered it recently thanks to the clips my kids saw on TikTok. I wrote a Substack for my Z.I.P. members called “Here in the Middle” about how much I love this smart show about a family in Indiana who mirrors my own in ways that make me laugh o...

This Book Made Me Think of You ,  an instant  USA Today Bestseller  by top UK author Libby Page, is an ode to bookstores, an ode to love, and an ode to the power of books to get us through anything. Libby came to my home and stayed for lunch when she was in town from the U.K. We could’ve talked about books  forever . I don’t know what was cuter — the book or the purse she broug...

Jennifer Reid, MD, author of  Guilt Free , has the answers. For those of us who feel guilty about almost everything having to do with parenting, psychiatrist Dr. Reid hears us — and has solutions. I recorded this live at my children’s school, where I peppered her with questions that were, perhaps, too personal?! Share, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens!...

Wall Street Journal  journalist Francesca Fontana shares her surprising journey of researching her own father’s jail time, crimes, and friendships in this fast-paced story. Ultimately, she not only finds the truth, but herself. Dive into  The Family Snitch. Share, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign...

I interviewed Gillian Deacon in person at Totally Booked: Live about her book  A Love Affair with the Unknown . Both the guests and I were riveted by her story. Gill’s medical mystery unfolds slowly in her book. Instead of coping in solitude, Gill turns to research and learns everything about uncertainty. Now we can, too, thanks to her.  Share, rate, & review the podcast, and follow...

Have you listened to Dan Senor’s podcast  Call Me Back ? If you have, you’ll know how incredibly bright he is and how informed he is on all things Israel. In his book, The Genius of Israel , co-written with Saul Singer, Dan writes vignettes and stories about Israelis who make a difference and how societal norms created such a unique and often rated as “happy” country despite it all. We r...

Suzy Ultman is a gifted artist who has turned her gifts into a series of children’s board books designed to elevate the Jewish experience in a fun, whimsical way. Think: gifts for a bris and beyond.  How Do You Jew  is the latest in the series. Hear how she turned to this format, her own experiences as a mother and artist, and where she finds hope. Share, rate, & review the podcast,...

Matt Fogelson shares his thoughts and feelings about becoming a new dad having lost his own father in  Restrung: Fatherhood in a Different Key . He retraces the relationship, describes coping with his dad’s diagnosis and subsequent loss, and makes sense of the senseless in time to parent his own son. All of this is set to music as Matt navigates his life through the tunes that matter. (For th...

Bestselling author and Reese’s Book Club pick for  The House of Eve , Sadeqa Johnson has been on this podcast several times and is now back to discuss her latest historical novel,  Keeper of the Lost Children . We discussed writing itself, her new book, and more. Share, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! ** Want more? Become a part of my community!...

I loved this book so much that it’s my April Zibby’s Book Club pick. (You can get a signed copy  delivered right to your door  through my  Allstora Zibby’s Book Club  subscription offering!) Sign up for the Zoom meeting — open to all! — with Q&A with Emma  here  on April 15th at 7 pm ET. Emma’s book, NO ONE YOU KNOW, about what happens to a mother and daughter whe...

Never mind the fact that I accidentally deleted my first podcast interview recording with  Susan Lucci . She’s just that gracious that we re-recorded in person in New York the next day. You may know her from “All My Children.” But while Susan’s latest memoir,  La Lucci , does focus on that, it focuses more on the behind-the-scenese: how she parented while acting for decades, what came be...

This book isn’t just about running. It’s about perseverance, focus, choices, mastery, drive, and fatherhood.  Nicholas Thompson  has had many swoon-worthy literary jobs, including being an editor at  The New Yorker , editor-in-chief at  Wired  magazine, and now running  The Atlantic.  His personal story includes his career trajectory and how he became one of the...

Just Watch Me  has such a creative concept behind it. Each chapter starts with how many fictitious streaming followers the main character has on her feed. She livestreams her life including eating hot peppers and more funny antics to survive but also to help her sister who is ill. It’s subversive and quirky and really funny. Plus the author shares her ties to Israel which I loved.  Share...

I’m obsessed with this book.  Meet the Newmans  by  Jennifer Niven  is one of those can’t-put-down stories about a family, a woman coming into her own, coping with the unexpected, all set in the 1950s and 1960s as women came into their own — with the backdrop of a TV sitcom. Just trust me. It’s so good. Jennifer Niven and I did an event together at the Minnie Rose x Zibby’s Boo...

Award-winning, bestselling author  Jewell Parker Rhodes  and I have become good friends. She has been on my podcast several times, we’ve done events together, and she even contributed to one of my first anthologies. Sometimes in life, you just click with someone — across generations, across backgrounds — united by words and souls. Jewell is like that for me. We were crying by the end of...

Podcast guru and bestselling author Krista Williams joined me to discuss her book ALMOST 30 (which would be ALMOST 50 in my book). We really discussed life transitions, creating something from nothing, resilience, pivoting, and how we need to go to lunch together.  Share, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! ** Want more? Become a part of m...

Have you heard of the Algemeiner? I must admit, I hadn’t until they made me one of their  Jewish 100 in 2024. (I was  blown away  to be selected as one of the top 100 people in the world who positively affected Jewish life.) Well, anyway, this media organization is amazing in large part thanks to the deft leadership of Rabbi Cohen. Their big gala is coming up. You should check it ou...

No, her name isn’t Carolyn. Hear what other comments and indignities Carol had to put up with on her rise to become one of the most accomplished Asian American woman on-air reporters. No, she isn’t Connie Chung. Plus, read about the devastating loss of her husband. Gutted. Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/4rbKlha Share, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens...

Turns out, it’s pretty simple: you can make someone feel good with just a sentence. Start with, “If it weren’t for you…” You can also orient your life and actions to give a new sense of meaning to everything you do, and change your life—easily. NYT bestselling author (and my friend) Jennie Wallace shows you how. (And btw, all of YOU matter to me! If it weren’t for you, I’d have no show!) Purchase...

Poet, bestselling author, and TikTok star  Josie Balka ’s second collection, LOVES OF OUR LIVES ,  connects mothers and daughters by love, heartbreak, and the ones who got away. It shifts perspectives. It warns. It empathizes. And it entertains. Josie has a rare talent to craft zingers on every page.  Perfect Valentine’s gift,  FYI.  Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3L...

What’s the secret to longevity? Is it really okay to eat ice cream? What do you mean I shouldn’t retire? These two experts weigh in from our event at the CORE Club last week. Purchase on Bookshop: Eat Your Ice Cream: https://bit.ly/4r63VLF The New Rules of Women's Health: https://bit.ly/4bHLgkQ Share, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens ! ** Want more? Become...

Lew Frankfort  wasn’t into fashion before he took the helm at Coach, so it’s quite improbable that he turned it into a billion-dollar business. But he did. How? By wielding exceptional managerial gifts, fine-tuned instinct, and creativity. Learn his secrets to success in our episode discussing his memoir, BAG MAN .  And I  still  need to get the number of his bodywork guy! Purc...

Co-founder of A Mighty Blaze  Jenna Blum discusses the inspiration for her latest novel,  Murder Your Darlings.  Think: creepy book event guests, big-deal authors with shameful secrets, and more. Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3NuWm2z Share, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens ! ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibb...