Totally Booked with Zibby

Catherine Newman is the author of the fantastic book How to Be a Person: 65 Hugely Useful, Super-Important Skills to Learn before You're Grown Up. She's the etiquette columnist at Real Simple magazine and the editor of the James Beard Award-winning nonprofit kids' cooking magazine ChopChop. I'm so glad Catherine was inspired to write this book because it's an amazing way to get kids comfortable with basic skills from table-setting to apologizing and help them feel independent while doing it. I followed Catherine's advice to get the book and just leave it somewhere accessible for everyone in the family - they'll be inclined to read this practical, fun, graphic novel-esque book. It's a favorite in my house! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I had the most fun laughing and talking with Kevin Kwan who is the author of Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, the international best-selling novels and almost unprecedented single-author trifecta. The film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians became Hollywood's highest-grossing romantic comedy in over a decade. His latest book is called Sex and Vanity. Kevin and I talked about his upbringing in Singapore and Texas, satirizing social codes and outlandish snobbery, being a lifelong observer, and his funny and terrific advice to authors: "don't be afraid to really take a chance and let your freak flag fly" because you never know what'll happen when you just write from your own place of authenticity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I adored interviewing J. Courtney Sullivan about her latest book Friends and Strangers, which comes out today! She is a New York Times best-selling author and her newest novel has been on every most-anticipated list and best-book-of-the-summer list there basically is for 2020. I felt like Courtney was in my brain when I was reading - it took me back to being a new mom. We talked about her book's central and intricate dynamic between a babysitter and a new parent, what it means to have a safety net, and what we envision as marriage and raising children and the nuances we learn along the way about what those things *really* look like. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kerry Kletter is a critically acclaimed author who also has an extensive background in theater and has appeared in film, television, and on stage. I loved talking to her about her most recent book and first adult novel, East Coast Girls. We went deep about the central theme of shared trauma that appears in her work: how does an author's experiences impact what they want to write about and how they shape their characters? How do you excavate your true self and dismantle dysfunctional coping mechanisms? How can writers give words to experience so that other people feel seen and validated? How can we adapt to give people room to grow? I think you'll really enjoy Kerry's insights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonnie Tsui’s mom actually reached out to me after seeing me on and suggested I interview her daughter! Turns out, Bonnie wrote a fantastic, thought-provoking book recently called Why We Swim, a perfect book for these summer months. Part-memoir and part-investigative journalism, Why We Swim will make anyone long for the blood-pressure-lowering effects of staying underwater. Bonnie is a native New Yorker, Harvard University graduate where she rowed crew and snowboarded, a frequent contributor to The New York Times and California Sunday magazine, a live storyteller, author, and surfer. Bonnie's parents met in a swimming pool in Hong Kong, which is just so fitting. Her book is absolutely fascinating - a personal, cultural, scientific, and journalistic exploration of the human relationship with water and swimming. Bonnie explained how we're wired to respond to water and the psychological benefits of being around and in water for our mental health. I think you'll want to take a swim after listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I am such a HUGE fan of Glennon Doyle’s. I loved her book Untamed and could relate to so many parts of it. Talking to Glennon and hearing her soulful advice was just second to none! An activist and thought leader, parent, wife, and inspired writer, Glennon is the author of #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed, a Reese's Book Club selection, Love Warrior, an Oprah's Book Club selection, and the New York Times bestseller Carry on, Warrior. Glennon founded Together Rising, a non-profit that “transforms collective heartbreak into effective action.” I felt like I was bordering on obsequiousness in this episode as I gushed and gushed, but I truly loved talking to Glennon about following her heart, remarriage, kids, and role modeling. Funny enough, the day after I interviewed her and discussed her marriage to Olympic soccer champion, I interviewed another member of the US Olympic soccer team. None of it helped with the backyard soccer I attempted with my kids, but all of it inspired me in many, many ways! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Morris is the author of the new, critically acclaimed travel memoir All the Way to the Tigers. She is an award-winning author and has written three story collections, four travel memoirs, and five novels. She also teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence. Mary and I talked about how an accident halted her regular state of constant motion, spurred her on to deep self-exploration, and created this brilliant memoir. Her skating incident even served as a roadmap to helping her cope with the pandemic pause. Mary has an exceptional zest for life that's clear in our conversation and her writing. Find out if she ever makes it to the tigers! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carlos Whittaker is the author of three books, Moment Maker: You Can Live Your Life or It Will Live You, Kill the Spider, and most recently, Enter Wild: Exchange a Mild and Mundane Faith for Life with an Uncontainable God. Carlos's wife calls him "a hope dealer" (listen to learn what that means!). Carlos has been a recording artist signed to a major label, a social media maven, and now spends the majority of his time writing books and speaking on stages around the world. His first speaking engagement happened just two weeks after he decided to leave his music career behind when he was invited to speak at the White House for President Obama's Easter Prayer Breakfast. I think you'll love hearing Carlos's story as much as I did. By the end I accomplished my goal of being allowed to use his friends-only nickname: Los! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susan Burton's memoir, Empty, is one of my favorite recent books. I'm really excited to share our conversation which we had at the beginning of the pandemic. Now it feels like a lifetime ago! Susan is an editor at This American Life on where the episodes she has produced include "Ten Sessions," "Five Women," and "Tell Me I'm Fat.” Her writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Slate, The New Yorker, and others. Empty is the story of Susan’s secret eating disorders, both anorexia and binge eating disorder, that defined her adolescence and adulthood. We talked about her book becoming both a confession about the painful secrets she had been living with and sharing her story as a means of recovery and connection. Our interview was the first one she had done and she meaningfully shed light on habits and compulsions, how we hide our turmoil, and the road to sharing ourselves with the people closest to us.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julie Clark's latest book, The Last Fight, was powerful and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. I loved talking to Julie about her suspenseful book centered around two women who are desperate to escape their lives for very different reasons. We discussed the feeling of powerlessness that I think we can all relate to in some way, how Julie writes characters that have agency and are resourceful, her personal story cancer story and what it means to be afraid but make a new plan and move forward, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.