Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby speaks to author Amy Fusselman about The Mean$, a breezy and hysterical new novel about a stay-at-home Manhattan mom who is hell-bent on purchasing a Hamptons house (or shipping container, if necessary!). Amy talks about the inspiration behind the story, her fascinating protagonist (Shelly Means–disgruntled, enraged, and deep in capitalist delusion), and the themes she enjoyed exploring–wealth, desire, and the value of a mom’s unpaid labor. She also describes her journey to becoming an author and shares her best advice for aspiring authors.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3HN0xSlBookshop: bit.ly/3FHOlQcSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch 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.

Zibby interviews Emmy Award-winning reporter Jen Maxfield about her extraordinary new book More After the Break: A Reporter Returns to Ten Unforgettable News Stories. Jen describes the unrelenting curiosity and profound empathy that drove her to revisit the most memorable interviewees of her career, from Staten Island ferry crash survivor Paul Esposito to domestic violence survivor Tamika Tompkins. She offers us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the demands and challenges of her job and reveals how she has kept her emotions in check for the last 20 years (especially when she goes home to her children!).Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3BMJ0G9Bookshop: bit.ly/3jf4lBNSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch 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.

Zibby speaks to bestselling and award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken about her remarkable new novel The Hero of This Book (a Best Book of the Year by Time, People, Washington Post, and more). Elizabeth discusses the autobiographical elements that made their way into the story and then delves into the poignant portrayal of her mother. She also talks about her journey to becoming a successful author (befriending Ann Patchett helped!), the projects she is working on now, and the books on her TBR list (one of which is Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro, which was featured on MDHTTRB just a few episodes ago!).Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3V9v28iBookshop: bit.ly/3FZfNueSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch 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.

Zibby speaks to bestselling author Rebecca Woolf about her beautifully written and provocative book All of This: A Memoir of Death and Desire, which tells the story of how her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer two weeks after she asked for a divorce and how she navigated feelings of grief and relief after he died. Rebecca shares the most intimate details of her story, from a marriage riddled with lies and infidelity to a widowhood marked by primal desire and sexual experimentation (all while raising four resilient children). She also shares her admiration of divorced women and describes the online community she built to provide resources and advice to women trying to end their marriages. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3WlscOfBookshop: bit.ly/3VYWh6GSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch 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.

Guest host Julianna Goldman speaks to best-selling author A.M. Homes about The Unfolding, a hilarious and sharp political satire about a family’s unraveling in the wake of the 2008 presidential election. A.M. describes the inspiration behind this story, her interest in American society and culture, and the process of developing a cast of characters whose backgrounds and philosophies differ vastly from her own (like The Big Guy–a politically conservative and delusional white male). She also talks about her writing regimen and how she balances being an author with her roles of parent, partner, and teacher.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3WgTrcNBookshop: bit.ly/3PrSk7YSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch 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.

Guest host Allison Pataki interviews health and science journalist Chelsea Conaboy about her groundbreaking and myth-busting new book Mother Brain: How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood. Chelsea analyzes the postpartum experience–a time of distress, adaptation, and powerful neurological and hormonal shifts for parents. She also dismantles the dangerous myth of maternal instinct and outlines the sociopolitical areas that desperately need reform in the United States. Finally, she describes her research and writing process and shares her best advice for aspiring authors. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3PuDGwEBookshop: bit.ly/3WgZDl5Subscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch 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.

Zibby interviews internationally acclaimed speaker, renowned podcast host, and bestselling author John O’Leary about his heartfelt and empowering new book On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life. At the age of 9, John survived a near-fatal fire. He shares the gutwrenching details of the accident, the heroic siblings who saved him, the torturous hospital treatments, and the unconditional love that guided him through it all. He also describes the journey from hiding his past to selling out arenas and shares his hope that people will find themselves in his story and be inspired to live a life on fire, filled with possibility and purpose. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3PqfkV4Bookshop: bit.ly/3Fre6UNSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch 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.

Zibby speaks to author duo and repeat MDHTTRB guests Alli Frank and Asha Youmans about Never Meant to Meet You, a sparkling new book about two outwardly different neighbors (a Black Baptist kindergarten teacher and a white Jewish cookbook editor) and the beautiful friendship that forms between them. Alli and Asha describe the origins of their writing partnership, the eye-opening conversations they had as they developed their Black and Jewish characters in a time of racial crisis in America, and their hope to highlight the simple things that unite us (like food!). Finally, they reveal what they are working on next and spill the secrets of their successful, long-distance writing relationship!Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3hkFqwcBookshop: bit.ly/3UZxiirSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch 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.

Zibby interviews award-winning children’s author Hena Khan about Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun, the first book in a humor-filled middle-grade series about neighborhood antics starring Zara, a young Muslim girl and the queen bee of it all! Hena talks about the childhood memories that inspired the story (it involves dreams of breaking a Guinness World Record and a tragic hula hoop incident) and her ultimate goal of adding diversity to children’s literature (she is Pakistani American and Muslim, and never saw herself in books growing up!). She also discusses her writing, publishing, and touring experiences (and the impacts of the pandemic and imposter syndrome on it all). Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3hpbVsWBookshop: bit.ly/3VXM36FSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch 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.

Zibby is joined by shamanic energy teacher (and former Federal Judge, U.S. Army officer, and Fulbright Scholar) Karen V. Johnson to discuss her fascinating new book Living Grieving: Using Energy Medicine to Alchemize Grief and Loss. Karen shares the heartbreaking story of her 27-year-old son Ben’s death, and describes the unique way she grieved the loss–by leaving her job (a lifetime appointment!) and embarking on a journey to learn from spiritual leaders in all corners of the world. She also reveals that she is trained as a medium, and talks about communicating with her son, helping others heal, and dealing with the skeptics who think she’s crazy!Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3HBl6BaBookshop: bit.ly/3VQqkNPSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch 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.