Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby is joined by  New York Times  journalist and memoirist Sopan Deb to talk about his debut novel,  Keya Das's Second Act . Sopan shares the actual details from his life that inspired the story, why he wanted to shift the focus away from his family story after publishing his 2020 memoir,  Missing Translations , and how he manages to write for the  Times  as well as...

Broadway and film star Idina Menzel and teacher and author Cara Mentzel join Zibby to discuss their new picture book,  Loud Mouse . The three talk about the inspiration for the story, how Idina and Cara managed to reconnect during the pandemic after busy schedules kept them apart, and the best lessons the sisters have learned from one another that they want to pass down to their readers. Idin...

Zibby is joined by  New York Times  bestselling novelist Tom Perrotta to talk about his latest novel,  Tracy Flick Can't Win , which is something of a sequel to his 1998 hit,  Election . Tom explains how this story took shape first as a novel about the character Vito Falcone, then as a response to the way the world has changed since we first met Tracy Flick (who was made f...

Writer, literary critic, and host of the podcast  Missing Pages  Bethanne Patrick flips her role to join Zibby as a podcast guest. The two talk about how Bethanne became an acclaimed literary insider, why the original tone of her podcast shifted once she and her showrunner realized they wanted to go even deeper into their stories, and who inspired her to become such a big reader. Bethann...

Zibby is joined by her longtime sound editors Steve Ejbick and Ryan MacNeill to offer listeners a glimpse behind the making of  Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books . The three discuss how they have grown and changed with the podcast, from Zibby's growth as an interviewer to Ryan's ability to find when the episode starts in every audio file and Steve's reading habits. They also do the math...

#1  New York Times  bestseller Emily Giffin returns to talk with Zibby about her eleventh novel,  Meant to Be , which was inspired in part by John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy's tragic love story. Emily shares why she wanted to return to the nineties for this book, where she continues to find inspiration for each new story (hint: it starts with thinking of her fans),...

Former CBS News correspondent and guest host Julianna Goldman interviews NBC News and  Today Show  meteorologist Dylan Dreyer about her  Misty the Cloud  picture book series. Dylan shares the original idea that inspired her to create Misty, how she incorporates real weather facts into each story, and what it is like working at the  Today Show . Julianna and Dylan...

Zibby is joined by  New York Times  bestselling author Lauren Willig to talk about her latest novel,  The Lost Summers of Newport , which she wrote with her fellow bestsellers, Beatriz Williams and Karen White. Lauren explains how the trio crafts their historical fiction, when she decided to make the shift from practicing law to writing full-time, and how the pandemic affected her d...

Listen to former CBS News correspondent Julianna Goldman's first Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books interview as she talks with author Allison Gilbert about her latest book,  Listen, World! , which she co-wrote with Julia Scheeres. Allison shares how she first discovered the book's subject, columnist Elsie Robinson, the shortcomings of history curriculums around the country when it comes...

"I love to use my work as a way to rectify my ignorances." Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anthony Doerr joins Zibby to talk about  Cloud Cuckoo Land , which is out in paperback today! The two discuss the piece of often forgotten history that inspired one-third of this story, how the pandemic and our current political climate impacted Anthony's reading and writing, and why he wanted to depict t...

Zibby is joined by the writing duo behind Cassidy Lucas, Julia Fierro and Caeli Wolfson Widger, to talk about their second book,  The Last Party . Julia and Caeli share how they met through Julia's Craigslist listing for a writing group, the ways in which working as partners has strengthened their skills, and what's happening next for Cassidy Lucas and both writers individually. Jul...

Listen to Zibby Books author Alisha Fernandez Miranda's first Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books interview as she talks with bestselling author Sally Koslow about her latest novel,  The Real Mrs. Tobias . Sally shares how she was inspired by her relationships with her own mother-in-law and daughters-in-law and wanted to capture those dynamics in a multi-generational family. Sally and Alisha a...

Zibby is joined by publisher and poet Jonathan Galassi to talk about his latest novel,  School Days , which follows students at an all-boys boarding school through graduation and into their lives as adults. The two discuss Jonathan's use of sexuality as a common thread through the characters' development, the importance of loyalty in this story and the real-life atmosphere it was inspire...

Entrepreneur, author, and musician Nabil Ayers joins Zibby to discuss his debut memoir,  My Life in the Sunshine , which tells the story of his unique family structure and how he met his father, jazz artist Roy Ayers, when he was 35. The two talk about Nabil's mother and his reactions to the decisions she made that ultimately shaped his life, his relationship with Judaism, and how Zibby accid...

Zibby is joined by  New York Times  bestselling author, poet, and professor Erika L. Sánchez to talk about her memoir,  Crying in the Bathroom . Erika shares how she first fell in love with poetry and writing, the ways in which her rebellion against cultural and religious norms has shaped her work, and why she decided to start this memoir by sharing intimate deta...

Listen to Allison Pataki's first Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books interview as she talks with Lynda Loigman about her latest book,  The Matchmaker's Gift , which was inspired in part by her "bonus daughter" who stayed with her family during the pandemic. The two discuss how Lynda developed her characters by thinking about them so regularly that they became real to her, why she wanted to inc...

This is part two of a double episode! Neil deGrasse Tyson is a genius. Truly. An astrophysicist whose family pushed him to follow his dreams of being an athlete when really he wanted to study the universe, Dr. Tyson has become a cult celebrity, regularly stopped on the street to talk selfies with his adoring fans. You know how some people just get it?! You know they hold all the secrets as if carr...

This is part one of a double episode! Neil deGrasse Tyson is a genius. Truly. An astrophysicist whose family pushed him to follow his dreams of being an athlete when really he wanted to study the universe, Dr. Tyson has become a cult celebrity, regularly stopped on the street to talk selfies with his adoring fans. You know how some people just get it?! You know they hold all the secrets as if carr...

Former staff writer at  The New York Times  Katie Hafner joins Zibby to discuss her debut novel,  The Boys , which grew out of a conversation she and her daughter overheard on a vacation years ago. The two talk about Katie's thoughts on her own twist ending, why she wanted to work with a smaller publisher, and her love story with her late husband. Katie also shares why she warn...

Writer and historian Nishant Batsha joins Zibby to talk about his debut novel,  Mother Ocean Father Nation , which he wrote in tandem with his dissertation on Indian indentured labor in Trinidad and Fiji. Nishant shares how he wrote four different books and pulled parts from each before combining them all and arriving at the story that was eventually published. The two also discuss the a...

Zibby is joined by teacher and debut memoirist Leah Witman Moore to talk about her new book,  Loving You Big , which tells the story of how Leah found her voice as a mother to children with disabilities. The two discuss when Leah managed to write during her busy days, which things she wishes society better understood about those with disabilities, and the moment in her classroom when she...

Zibby is joined by the founder and CEO of Copper Books, Allison Trowbridge, to discuss her new company and her book,  Twenty-Two: Letters to a Young Woman Searching for Meaning . The two talk about the experiences Allison and her family went through that inspired her to write an epistolary memoir to a fictional friend and how her struggles have inspired her to make positive changes in the wor...

Zibby was joined by Lauren Billings, one half of the internationally bestselling writing duo Christina Lauren, for a Bookcation conversation with The Gloss Book Club. The two talked about how Lauren and her writing partner Christina Hobbs began working together, how they feel about the way others tend to view romance novels, and what she likes to read in her spare time. Lauren also share...

Candice Carty-Williams, the bestselling author of  Queenie , joins Zibby to talk about her latest novel,  People Person , which follows five half-siblings and their larger-than-life father. The two discuss how the writing process for this book differed from writing  Queenie , the impact Covid had on Candice's work and her personal life, and how being shy affects her interactions wit...

New York Times  bestselling author Jenny Mollen talks with Zibby about her new cookbook,  Dictator Lunches , which grew out of the popular Instagram where she shares the lunches she prepares for her children. The two discuss their kids' eating habits, hacks to make lunches more interesting without making them more complicated, and why food is Jenny's love language. Jenny also shares the...