Totally Booked with Zibby

Dana Canedy's career is incredible — a senior editor at the New York Times, the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, and now the senior vice president and publisher of Simon & Schuster — but it's her lost love story that has shaped who she is today. Dana joined Zibby to discuss her book, A Journal for Jordan, which tells the story of how Dana's fiancée Charles managed to write down all of the life lessons he wanted to teach their son in a blank journal before he was suddenly killed by an IED while deployed in Iraq. Dana and Zibby talk about the need for community when faced when an unprecedented situation, how they have learned to be resilient in the wake of their losses, and what the experience was like for Dana to have the book adapted into a movie by her good friend, Denzel Washington.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rlSnIIBookshop: https://bit.ly/3lBR8kU** 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.

New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager joins Zibby to discuss his latest thriller, Survive the Night. Riley shares why he loves writing plot twists that the readers will least expect, as well as how this book started with the simplest pitch: "a girl, a killer, a car." The two also talk about why it is that they remember the 1990s better than they remember the last few days, the importance of starting a chapter with a captivating sentence, and how Riley has adjusted to living the life he once dreamed he would have.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/319VbO8Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3xB7GhE** 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 professor and poet Maggie Smith to discuss her latest collection, Goldenrod, which includes a selection of the poems Maggie has written since 2016. Maggie shares why she calls herself a recovering pessimist, the reason she doesn't write when she's in the midst of big feelings, and how she often pulls together poems from lines she writes as they come to her. Zibby also reads two selections from the book, including a piece Maggie forgot she had written.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xBYAkTBookshop: https://bit.ly/3G1xGpc** 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 the fact that we all try and replicate our parents and rebel against them at the same time." Novelist Esther Freud joins Zibby to talk about her latest book, I Couldn't Love You More, and how her fascinating family history inspired its intergenerational story. The two discuss why Esther sought to work on a lighter project than her last, as well as which writing techniques Esther employed as she braided three storylines together.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/31gu5VABookshop: https://bit.ly/3FWHAbH** 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 author and dog mother Chloe Shaw to discuss her debut memoir, What Is a Dog? Chloe shares her unique literary career as well as the stories of some of the dogs who have impacted her the most. The two also talk about the importance of community in Chloe's life, why this is the perfect book to gift any dog lover, and how the many forms grief may take are all equally valid.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3lmjHCDBookshop: https://bit.ly/3FZr0YY** 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 Nora Zelevansky to talk about her latest novel, Competitive Grieving. The two discuss how the death of a friend often also means the loss of a shared history, why moms often feel the need to conceal their grief from their children, and what they each have planned for their own funerals. Read Nora's essay on Moms Don't Have Time to Write.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3D34MDyBookshop: https://bit.ly/3D6yho3** 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.

Although Jodi Picoult is the bestselling author of 26 novels which have collectively sold over 40 million copies, the pandemic affected her just like everyone else. After interviews with frontline workers, Covid-19 survivors, and a man who accidentally got trapped on the Galapagos Islands in March 2020, Jodi wrote Wish You Were Here, her take on a pandemic book. She joined Zibby to talk about the horrific stories she heard through her interviews, which projects she has resumed working on, and what questions she hopes all readers will ask themselves as we begin to emerge out from Covid-19's shadow.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XRZoVhBookshop: https://bit.ly/3vYU9je** 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.

Pamela Paul, editor of the New York Times Book Review, joins Zibby to discuss her latest book, 100 Things We've Lost to the Internet. The two joke about the irony of their meeting about this book on Zoom as well as all of Pamela's promotional coverage on social media. They also talk about the pandemic's effect on our online activity, how our online consumption is a result of marketing messaging, and the relationship between parenting and technology.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3nxpxS8Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3ErkYzB** 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 Bernhard Schlink, author of the international bestselling book, The Reader, to discuss his latest novel, Olga. Bernhard shares how the titular character was inspired by the women in his family, which of his own experiences shaped the novel's premise, and why he prefers to read a very specific type of book.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3GrIaiWBookshop: https://bit.ly/2ZsRgeJ** 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 think making mistakes is a really important part of parenting. It's actually good for our kids when we screw up because it's an opportunity for us to take responsibility." Melinda Wenner Moyer joined Zibby and former podcast guest Christina Hillsberg for a virtual event with the Strand Bookstore to discuss her first book, How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes, and parenting at large. The three talked about why mothers carry so much guilt (as well as how they can start letting some of it go), the different ways anxiety manifests in kids and parents both seeking to do the right thing, and their top tips for raising well-adjusted kids. The three moms also acknowledge that it doesn't take years of research or hundreds of parenting books to be a good parent; all you truly need to do is be a good person.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3jIhmBiBookshop: https://bit.ly/3mj12sg** 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.