Totally Booked with Zibby
Zibby Owens
Hi! I'm Zibby Owens, host of Totally Booked with Zibby (formerly Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books). In my daily show, I interview today’s latest, bestselling, buzziest, or underrated authors and story creators whose work I think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author and (obviously) podcaster, I get a comprehensive look at everything that’s coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don’t have to. Stay in the know, get insider insights, and connect with guests like I do. Every single day.FYI, my show has won many awards! It was one of Oprah's top literary podcasts - twice! - and has been downloaded 15 million+ times. With 2,000+ episodes to choose from, you'll never run out of book talk. For more information, go to zibbymedia.com and follow me on Instagram at @zibbyowens. If you love the show, please rate and review it. And go buy the books!(Music by Morning Moon Music. Sound editing by TexturesSound. To inquire about advertising, please contact allie.gallo@acast.com.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 8, 2025 • 20min
Christine Pride, ALL THE MEN I'VE LOVED AGAIN: A Novel
Bestselling author Christine Pride returns to the podcast, this time to discuss her dazzling, unputdownable solo debut novel, ALL THE MEN I’VE LOVED AGAIN, which follows a woman in the impossible situation of being in love with the same two men who won her heart in her early 20s… as she nears 40. Christine delves into the novel’s themes of lost love, second chances, friendship, grief, and identity. She also discusses the joys and challenges of writing solo after co-authoring with Jo Piazza, the real-life roots of her novel’s premise, and her close relationship with her father, who inspired a central character in the book.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3GlHu3dShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 7, 2025 • 25min
Tamara Yajia, CRY FOR ME, ARGENTINA: My Life as a Failed Child Star
Zibby chats with Argentine-American writer, comedian, and ex-child star Tamara Yajia about her wildly unhinged, hilarious, and vulnerable debut memoir, CRY FOR ME, ARGENTINA: My Life as a Failed Child Star. They dive into Tamara’s raw, no-holds-barred memoir chronicling her tumultuous upbringing between Argentina and the U.S., her chaotic family dynamics, her early brushes with fame, and the emotional toll of codependency and abuse. She also reflects on her childhood, chosen family, shocking moments of isolation, therapy, how writing this book helped her process lifelong trauma, and even her surreal summer hanging out with Brad Pitt!Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/44nVIsqShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 4, 2025 • 19min
Ziggy Marley, PAJAMMIN'
In this special episode (a live podcast at Zibby’s Bookshop!), Zibby welcomes Grammy Award-winning musician, author, and father of seven, Ziggy Marley, to discuss his latest children’s book, PAJAMMIN’. Inspired by the playful songs he created for his own children at bedtime, PAJAMMIN’ turns nightly routines into musical adventures. Ziggy shares his philosophy on parenting by example, the deeper purpose behind his work for children, and his lifelong commitment to spreading love. They also discuss his upcoming tour with reggae legend Burning Spear, a re-released documentary about his iconic father, Bob Marley, and the powerful lessons he has learned along the way.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/44hywvTShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 3, 2025 • 28min
Dr. Erin Nance, LITTLE MISS DIAGNOSED: A Surgeon's Guide to Breaking Bones and Bending Rules Erin Nance MD
Zibby interviews renowned orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Erin Nance, about her thought-provoking and revealing debut essay collection, LITTLE MISS DIAGNOSED: A Surgeon’s Guide to Breaking Bones and Bending Rules, which offers a raw, unfiltered look into the exhilarating but complicated world of healthcare. Dr. Erin Nance shares her journey in medicine, from her first day on the job treating her brother after a life-altering accident to exposing the power imbalances, burnout, and ethical dilemmas doctors face behind closed doors. She also discusses patient advocacy, the gendered challenges of medical training, and the unexpected power of TikTok storytelling!Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3I0SrrHShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 2, 2025 • 24min
Morgan Pager, THE ART OF VANISHING: A Novel
Totally Booked: LIVE! In this special episode of the podcast (in-person at the Whitby Hotel with a live audience!), Zibby interviews debut author (and creative force behind @nycbookgirl), Morgan Pager, about THE ART OF VANISHING, a wildly inventive and deeply moving love story between a museum employee and the man in a masterpiece hanging on the walls. Morgan delves into her journey from Broadway assistant to publishing professional, balancing social media, a day job, and her creative life online. She also shares how her childhood summers studying art with her grandmother helped spark her imagination, and then delves into the book’s enchanting premise—stepping into paintings and falling in love inside them—as well as themes of visibility, growing up, art, and self-doubt.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/4k4ZVqUShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 1, 2025 • 24min
Miranda Cowley Heller, WHAT THE DEEP WATER KNOWS: Poems
Zibby Publishing author alert! Zibby chats with #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE PAPER PALACE, Miranda Cowley Heller, about her breathtaking and intimate debut poetry collection, WHAT THE DEEP WATER KNOWS. They discuss how the poems, written over 15 years, unintentionally form a powerful narrative arc about womanhood, motherhood, marriage, heartbreak, and self-reclamation. Miranda reflects on her early love of poetry, her literary lineage, and how poetry ultimately led her to fiction. She also opens up about her personal life—including the dissolution of her marriage—and how writing helped her find clarity and healing.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/4niL12XShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 30, 2025 • 22min
Karen Dukess, WELCOME TO MURDER WEEK: A Novel
Bestselling author Karen Dukess returns to the podcast to discuss her delightful and heartfelt new novel, WELCOME TO MURDER WEEK, which was inspired by a trip to the English countryside with her sister, her love of British mysteries, and a desire to write something purely fun! The novel follows a reserved 34-year-old American woman who travels to a small British town after discovering tickets her estranged late mother had purchased for an immersive murder mystery simulation. Karen explores themes of grief, complicated mother-daughter relationships, the loneliness of feeling like an orphan in adulthood, unexpected friendships, how travel can shake up one's identity, and ultimately, the process of healing.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3ZOADpDShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 29, 2025 • 30min
Dina Alvarez & Dina Aronson, MIDLIFE PRIVATE PARTS: Revealing Essays that Will Change the Way You Think About Age
Totally Booked: LIVE! In this special episode of the podcast (in-person at the Whitby Hotel with a live audience!), Zibby interviews Dina Alvarez and Dina Aronson (as well as 10 other contributors!) about MIDLIFE PRIVATE PARTS, a soulful and revealing collection of essays on what it really feels like to move through the world as a midlife woman and beyond. Zibby, a contributor herself, moderates the conversation on the complexities, challenges, and liberation that come with aging. Touching on shifting identities, raging hormones, sexual awakenings, skin-tightening treatments, menopause, medical gaslighting, empty-nesting, and societal invisibility, each contributor shares a candid, often humorous, and deeply moving reflection on midlife.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/43YpoxrShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 28, 2025 • 15min
Edward Hirsch, MY CHILDHOOD IN PIECES: A Stand-Up Comedy, a Skokie Elegy
Zibby chats with award-winning poet Edward Hirsch about his memoir, MY CHILDHOOD IN PIECES: A Standup Comedy, where dark comic microbursts of prose relate a childhood in an aspiring middle-class Jewish family in the 50s and 60s. Edward discusses the book’s innovative structure—told in punchy, titled snippets that blend humor and heartbreak—and how it allowed him to unpack long-buried memories of a complex, often painful childhood. He reflects on memory, identity, and growing up with sharp-tongued parents and blended family dynamics, and then delves into how comedy and poetry became tools of survival and storytelling.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/45yTqZPShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 27, 2025 • 26min
Joanna Sokol, A REAL EMERGENCY: Stories from the Ambulance
Zibby chats with writer Joanna Sokol about A REAL EMERGENCY, an introspective, richly layered, and surprisingly hopeful memoir about the best and worst parts of her career as a paramedic. Joanna shares gripping insights into the realities of 911 calls, the broken systems behind emergency medical services, and the emotional toll and camaraderie that define life in the ambulance. They discuss everything from the beauty of always showing up—no matter who calls or why—to the burnout and low pay that plague the profession. Finally, Joanna shares how this memoir came to be, after years of collecting stories and needing to get them out of her system.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/45DaTQXShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
