Totally Booked with Zibby

Singer/songwriter JJ Heller joins Zibby to discuss her new picture book, Hand to Hold, which was inspired by her hit album I Dream of You. JJ and her husband Dave talk about the collaborative process between both their music and this book, how heartening it is to hear stories from families who have fallen in love with I Dream of You, and share a short song excerpt listeners will love. JJ and Zibby also connect over their thoughts on getting older and the way our society misunderstands women as they age. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KbjRaIBookshop: https://bit.ly/3K9hJAoSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

National Book Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author Jacqueline Woodson joins Zibby to talk about her latest picture book, The Year We Learned to Fly. Although the book is a retelling of an African American folk tale that captures what it means to escape through your imagination rather than through your body, Jacqueline shares how she began writing it before the pandemic began and the story has taken on so much more meaning as a result of Covid. Jacqueline also tells Zibby about when she knew she wanted to be a writer, what it has been like to meet a number of her earliest readers as adults, and which books she currently loves.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3K9pyGoBookshop: https://bit.ly/3GDdIlmSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby is joined by Peloton's Head Instructor Robin Arzón to discuss her first picture book, Strong Mama. Robin talks with Zibby about how she was inspired to show parents that self-care isn't selfish, especially when you have a newborn child. She also shares some of her most motivating messages, the story of how she surprisingly only became an athlete while in law school, and why the best way to workout is often for just ten minutes each day.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3zXhpjrBookshop: https://bit.ly/3tmnKUoSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Novelist Jami Attenberg joins Zibby to discuss her first memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home, which contains a number of stories about how she developed her creative identity. Jami and Zibby talk about the feeling of needing to share everything when writing a memoir, how they both meditate on where their things are going to end up when they're gone, and how Jami envisions the spectrum of her writing from her novels to her tweets. Jami also shares why she misses going on book tours and how her literary career was far from a linear trajectory.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Fg2jqdBookshop: https://bit.ly/3K27rC1Subscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"The idea that people value what you wrote enough to give you that time to read it...what a privilege that time was spent with your book." Zibby is joined by debut novelist Xochitl Gonzalez to talk about her book, Olga Dies Dreaming, out this week. The two talk about Xochitl's thirteen-year career as a luxury wedding planner as well as when she knew it was time to make a change, which led her down a path to publication. Xochitl also shares why her protagonist is like her if she had never started therapy, which aspects of the book were inspired by her real life, and how important it was for her to be involved in the Hulu adaption of the novel.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HWvEaVBookshop: https://bit.ly/3nmgrICSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes joins Zibby to discuss her debut memoir, My Broken Language, which tells both the story of how she became an artist and a woman in the world. Quiara shares the biggest differences between her home life growing up and the culture that existed when she arrived at Yale, how music has shaped her life, and what the continued popularity of her playIn the Heights has been like.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ngwcAQBookshop: https://bit.ly/3jhs8yzSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Erica C. Barnett joins Zibby to discuss her debut memoir, Quitter, about her recovery from alcoholism. The two talk about the connection between addictions and other forms of maladaptive behaviors, how progress starts when you give yourself achievable goals, and why Erica is not a writer who likes to write. Erica also shares how relapsing taught her to stop seeing herself as a failure, as well as why she has no regrets after publishing this book.Purchase on Amazon.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3K0ifkfSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby is joined by best-selling author and speaker Agapi Stassinopoulos to talk about her latest book, Speaking with Spirit. Agapi shares how these 52 prayers were a result of the pandemic and her shift from public speaking to a period of deep introspection, and why they work the best when read aloud. Agapi reads her prayer about perfectionism that not only touched Zibby but will also enlighten any reader who may feel the same.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/33nslukBookshop: https://bit.ly/3F81QqhSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jacqueline Friedland joins Zibby to discuss her latest novel, He Gets That from Me, which was inspired by an article about a surrogacy mix-up that she read while procrastinating work on another project. Jacqueline shares the detailed and compassionate research that went into this project, why she wanted to look critically at the nature-versus-nurture argument, and how her own mother told her not to take a genetics test as her characters do in the book. The two also talk about the importance of the author community as well as what Jacqueline is working on next.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3FSGjCyBookshop: https://bit.ly/3p4RNMASubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby is joined by humor writer Anna Lind Thomas to talk about her first collection of essays, We'll Laugh About This Someday. Anna tells Zibby about the years of work she put in honing her craft after telling her mother that she would be a published author someday, and what chance occurrences led to her going viral online. The two also talk about how Anna's essays serve as a form of therapy for her as she works through once uncomfortable situations and the various projects she is working on now.Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xztSsmBookshop: https://bit.ly/31aogcgSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.