Totally Booked with Zibby

Alex Berenson is an award-winning novelist, a #1 New York Times best-selling author, and a former New York Times reporter. His latest book, Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence, is his second nonfiction book. It is an intense work of brilliant research. Alex balances the intricate science with some of the extremely practical insights about how to talk to kids about tricky topics and makes a compelling case about the dangers of cannabis.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, author of the award-winning novel Eden and her latest work, The Nine, shares her thoughts on ambitious parenting, boarding school, writing, secrets and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The legendary Susan Orlean is a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and the author of eight books including Rin Tin Tin, Saturday Night, and The Orchid Thief, which was made into the Academy Award-winning film Adaptation. Her latest book, The Library Book, was nominated for the Andrew Carnegie nonfiction prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, which is no surprise to anyone who has read her work! This latest work of nonfiction is about a fire that ravaged the LA Public Library in the 1980s, but it's really an investigation into human behavior. Susan and I talked about everything from the loss of her mother, who used to take her to libraries, to how she hides out from her son to write! Plus she discusses some very exciting new projects.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm thrilled that I got to sit down in person with Tonya Dalton, the author of The Joy of Missing Out: Live More by Doing Less. Just reading that title makes me feel like relaxation could be possible. Tonya is the founder and CEO of inkWELL Press Productivity Co., a business focused on helping women create fulfilling lives around their priorities. Talk about something we could all use! She also has a very successful podcast, “Productivity Paradox." This is Tonya's first book, but it's also a system and a movement to help women stop feeling that heavy burden of busy. You'll feel empowered after listening to her explain her philosophy behind letting go of the feeling that you're failing if you're not busy 24/7! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur are the coauthors of Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses. They met at the University of Chicago in 2002 and founded Of a Kind in 2010. They have become known for discovering the next big things and launched a wildly popular weekly newsletter, 10 Things, and “A Few Things,” the podcast. Their book is yet another collaboration in their already rich history of being a team of "work wives," exploring the power of female friendship to build and power successful businesses not just from their own (super interesting!) lens but from the perspective of other profitable female partnerships.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vanessa Lillie is the debut author of thriller Little Voices, a story of an investigation by a woman who is both struggling as a new mom and whose her friend was murdered on the night she went into labor. It's not just a riveting murder mystery. It's also a story about new motherhood, the doubts we all have, and the pressure to be perfect parents. Vanessa's astute ability to craft characters with relatable experiences adds a world of depth to the novel and intrigue around her writing process.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I get the honor of speaking to the brilliant Alain de Botton, the international philosopher and best-selling author of fourteen books, essay collections, and novels. His most recent book is The School of Life, the same name as the international school he founded dedicated to improving our emotional, interior lives. The book is an amazing guide to exploring your past and present to master emotional maturity ... which we could all use a dose of! Listen to us discuss how to live a better life.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tiffany Shlain is the author of 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week. An Emmy-nominated filmmaker and creator of the Webby Awards, Tiffany has won more than eighty awards and distinctions herself. We talked about her family's practice of unplugging (no phones!!) one day a week, her modern-day interpretation of the sabbath, and how helpful it is to her overall sanity. If this super accomplished tech diva can do it, can't we?! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tui Sutherland is a young adult/fantasy writer who my guest interviewer (my 12-year-old son) is obsessed with! Getting him an advance copy of this graphic novel, which comes out today, was the coolest thing he thinks I've ever done. Tui has written 40 books for children and teens... and she's a two-day Jeopardy champion! Listen to the three of us talk about writing, plot twists, graphic novels, storytelling and more!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adrienne Brodeur's memoir, Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me is absolutely outstanding and will surely be a best-seller. (The film rights have already been sold to Chernin Entertainment with the director attached!) Adrienne's life changed at age 14 when her mother confided something in her. The repercussions from that conversation affected the trajectory of the rest of her life, all her relationships and her sense of self. Listen to Adrienne talk about living through that period of time, her relationship with her mother, writing, parenting her own kids, and what loyalty really means.Also, this episode I announced my partnership with Book of the Month Club! Enter code ZIBBY to get your first book for just $5 -- an exclusive offer!!!   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.