Totally Booked with Zibby

Novelist Scarlett Thomas joins Zibby to discuss her debut memoir, 41-Love, about how she tried to play tennis competitively to put off her need to grow up. The two talk about their shared love for the game, how Scarlett wove a number of other sports stories into her own, and what happened in her life after quitting tennis that shaped the trajectory of the book. Scarlett also shares her fears about releasing such a deeply personal story into the world and whether or not she'd go through this experience again.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3o2cycvBookshop: https://bit.ly/3xzukH4Subscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (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.

"I love writing. I love telling stories. I love making people feel like they're not alone." Zibby is joined by New York Times bestselling author, blogger, and very funny woman Jen Mann to talk about her latest book, Midlife Bites. Jen explains how this project grew out of a blog post about her midlife crisis that went viral, why there is now nothing in her life she is unwilling to write about, and what she has been reading lately (hint: it made Zibby blush). Zibby also reads some of her favorite passages and shares the ways in which Jen's writing has helped her personally feel less alone.Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ZEoyYmBookshop: https://bit.ly/3FXI81gSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (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.

Literary giant Ann Patchett joined Zibby for a Women on the Move event with the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center to discuss her memoir in essays, These Precious Days. Their conversation spans from topics like their mothers' glamour, the origin story of Ann's bookstore, Parnassus Books, why writers often persevere for far longer than is to be expected in such an uncertain industry, and how this book answers the question, "What did Ann Patchett do during the pandemic?" Ann also answers questions from the event's audience about what genre she finds harder to write, what surprising lessons she's learned during her ten years as a bookseller, and where to find the coat from the title essay about her late friend, Sooki Raphael.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3cYHhkkBookshop: https://bit.ly/3rluNvq** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (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.

Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams joins Zibby to discuss her first children's book, Stacey's Extraordinary Words, inspired by her own lifelong love for books and words. The two talk about the real-life spelling bee and teacher that helped bolster Stacey's confidence, where she finds her courage to put herself out there on the campaign trail and on the page, and, of course, their go-to ice cream flavors. Stacey also shares how her family started and continues to foster her passion for books and what she plans on working on next (besides her 2022 campaign).Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3I4Mo0IBookshop: https://bit.ly/2ZEqsZ0** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (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.

"The idea of a unicorn space, it's magical. It is the antidote to burnout. It is a necessary must-have, but it actually won't exist until we claim it." Eve Rodsky, the bestselling author of Fair Play, joins Zibby to talk about her latest book, Find Your Unicorn Space, and why a form of genuine self-expression is essential to living a happy life. The two discuss the research and data Eve collected to formulate her theories, the importance of balancing the trio of friendships, self-care, and unicorn space, and why protecting ourselves from burnout with passion is a life-saving action. Eve also shares how her new Fair Play Policy Institute intends to help our society reevaluate the value of gendered domestic labor and what else she plans to do to help women everywhere.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3E7LfDhBookshop: https://bit.ly/3o2efGT** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (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.

After five years of working on their debut novel, The Last Season, Jenny Judson and Danielle Mahfood have officially gone from high school best friends to published co-authors. Jenny and Danielle join Zibby to discuss how they managed to write in one cohesive voice despite being both geographically distant and two individual people, the way in which their partnership held them accountable to the work over the course of many years, and why their differences in taste only served to make their story stronger.Purchase on Amazon.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3d21Uw2** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (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.

Zibby is joined by Corie Adjmi to discuss her short story collection, Life and Other Shortcomings, which was an International Book Award winner. The two talk about how Corie's marriage has inspired so much of her work, the phase of her life when she decided to try her hand at writing, and the ways in which her children have gotten involved in her career. Corie also shares why she decided to write this book as a series of stories about one character and how her role in the Orthodox Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn inspired her upcoming debut novel.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/31c26GiBookshop: https://bit.ly/3Elntnv** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (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.

Denise Williams joins Zibby to talk about her latest novel, The Fastest Way to Fall. Denise shares why she loves writing and reading stories about fat women owning their bodies, how she infuses what she has learned on her personal self-love journey into her characters, and the specific post-workout energy she tried to encapsulate in this book. The two also talk about the four books Denise has coming out next year and how Zibby can achieve her M&M-centered dream.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xxAI1GBookshop: https://bit.ly/3d41uW1** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (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.

Debut novelist Emily Itami joins Zibby to talk about her book, Fault Lines, which was inspired in part by her own alternating perceptions of motherhood in Tokyo and London. The two discuss the way women's identities seem to change almost immediately after having children, what it was like for Emily to publish her first novel during the pandemic, and why her husband likes to remind everyone that this story is a work of fiction.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xHXYKnBookshop: https://bit.ly/3xAH5kF** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (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.

Zibby is joined by Eileen Patricia Curran to discuss her debut novel, Hungry Hill, which she self-published. Eileen shares what that journey has been like, from assembling a team of passionate experts to distributing her books as far as she can, as well as why she decided to start her own independent imprint. Eileen also tells Zibby about how her own family's connection to the Hungry Hill neighborhood inspired the setting for this story, which parts of her career set her up for success in writing, and what she is planning on publishing next.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3D7B0NTBookshop: https://bit.ly/3G1yESm** Check out the Z.I.P. membership program—Zibby’s Important People! As a Z.I.P., you’ll get exclusive essays, special author access, discounts at Zibby’s Bookshop, and more. Head to zibbyowens.com to subscribe or upgrade and become a Z.I.P. today!** Follow @totallybookedwithzibby on Instagram for more about today's episode. (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.