Totally Booked with Zibby

Latest Episodes:

Jonathan Santlofer on His Art World Thriller Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

Jonathan Santlofer joins Zibby Owens for a deep dive into his new novel Ten Perfect Guests, an immersive, fun, “whodunit” thriller following the aftermath of a beloved art figure’s death and the people summoned to a remote island under threat of losing their inheritance.

Jonathan discusses the challenges of juggling ten different points of views, the joy of playing with familiar tropes like greed, lust, and betrayal, and the beauty of finding empathy for his most villainous characters.

He also recounts the discovery of his mild dyslexia in art school, how losing ten years of his artwork to a building fire eventually led him to writing, and the grief of unexpectedly losing his wife.

Learn more about Jonathan at https://jonathansantlofer.com and follow him on Instagram at @jonathansantlofer.

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eriq La Salle (of "ER" Fame) on His Soulful Mystery Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

Eriq La Salle joins Zibby Owens to discuss his new thriller Laws of Solomon, the fourth book in his Martyr Maker series, which takes a previous side character who was inspired by The Godfather’s Luca Brasi and lifts him up to the lead.

Eriq discusses the ever-present question of ‘can our most villainous, vile characters find redemption?’, the journey of a character’s soul, how his favorite films have inspired his work, and the coming of age story of a man.

He also touches on his transition from actor to author, the duality of his thrillers, and the blessings that come from failure.

Learn more about Eriq here https://www.iameriqlasalle.com and follow him on Instagram @eriqlasalle.

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amanda Peters on The Birthing Tree -- Zibby's Book Club Pick Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

Amanda Peters sits down with Zibby Owens to discuss her new novel (and Zibby’s November Book Club pick!) The Birthing Tree, the story of a young girl growing up in a family with secrets, her withdrawal from the grandmother who raised her among the generational traditions of Mi’kmaq women, and what eventually draws her back home as an adult.

Rooted in community and feeling, The Birthing Tree weaves together the chase for identity, connection to home, repairing wounds from the past, and revering not only nature and the land, but the extraordinary feats of the human body.

Amanda touches on how she drew inspiration for this book from a conversation with her own Nan, the importance of tradition within an always advancing modern world, and the terror of writing another book after a bestselling debut.

Join Zibby and Amanda at Zibby’s Book Club on November 11 at 7pm for a virtual Q&A as they dive deeper into The Birthing Tree. Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/zibbys-book-club-amanda-peters-tickets-1994014022619

Learn more about Amanda at https://amandapetersauthor.com and follow her @amandapetersauthor

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah Addison Allen, PAPER GHOSTS, on Grief Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

Sarah Addison Allen’s book Paper Ghosts was, quite fittingly, haunting. We discussed grief, loss, fiction, writing, and more. I left feeling like I had a new friend.

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonah Platt, Being Jewish with Jonah Platt Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

Jonah Platt and I both have TV shows on the JBS network which is how we connected for this episode. I’d been dying to interview Jonah about his Jewish advocacy and what he’d learned from interviewing so many leaders in the field. What he answered surprised me. I also learned about how he’s raising his children and more.

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beth Ricanati, MD, THE BRAIDED PRESCRIPTION: Seven Practices for Living Well from the Ancient Ritual of Making Challah Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

Beth Ricanati, MD, and I made challah together in my kitchen in L.A. eight years ago — and filmed it. Since then, our lives continue to intersect from the podcast to the bookstore to her being part of the On Being Jewish Now anthology. In this conversation recorded at Zibby’s Bookshop, we covered health benefits to baking, her suggestions as a physician for how to live more healthfully, and the windy path to her second book. (If you want to watch our original film, click here!)

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laurie Notaro, I'VE GOT A NEW COMPLAINT: Essays on Aging Disgracefully and Other Small Disasters Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Laurie Notaro makes me laugh. A bestselling humorist, Laurie writes about whatever life stage she’s in with wit and bluntness. We talked about her hilarious parents and how her dad often says he’s glad Laurie didn’t have a twin, how we regress as soon as we go “home,” the indignities of aging, and the free cosmetic procedure she tried and had her skin burned off.

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Community Builders' Spotlight: Jennifer Shoop, Magpie, and the Wine Sisters Book Club Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

Today’s episode features female founders of two communities: Jennifer Shoop, Magpie, and Aly Wente and Niki Wente, The Wine Sisters Book Club. Both groups have prioritized books — in addition to birds, wine, and more interests and avenues. Jennifer Shoop’s book, Small Wonders: A Field Guide to Life’s Quiet Joys, was absolutely beautiful.

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Rachel Zoffness on The Truth About Pain Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Pain psychologist Dr. Rachel Zoffness sits down with Zibby Owens to discuss her new book, Tell Me Where It Hurts: The New Science of Pain and How to Heal. Prompted by one parent’s powerful question and the transformative experience of working with teenagers, Rachel reflects on her personal and professional experiences with pain and her goal of sharing the true science with the world.

They dive deep into overcoming imposter syndrome, how to identify the ingredients of a bad pain day, the genetics of highly sensitive people, and Rachel’s own struggles with chronic pain.

Learn more about Dr. Rachel Zoffness here: https://www.zoffness.com/ or follow her on Instagram @therealdoczoff.

Hosted by Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sara Goodman Confino on Women in Journalism and The Power of a Strong Mentor Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Sara Goodman Confino’s high school journalism teacher was the first person who told her “you can do better than this.” And she did.

Sara joins Zibby Owens for an intimate talk about her new novel Off The Record, a fun, thrilling, and mysterious romantic comedy set in 1962 about 22-year-old Judy Greenberg looking to be the next big reporter as a young Jewish woman in a male-dominated field.

Sara opens up about the challenges she faced as a female teacher with male administrators, the long road from writing to becoming a published author, and how a single mentor can change the trajectory of a life.

Visit Sara’s website here: https://saraconfino.com/ or follow her on Instagram @saraconfino.

Hosted by Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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A story for the messy middle. Zibby's essay collection Between Chapters is out now!

Love to listen? She narrated the audiobook.

Listen on Spotify here.

Listen on Apple here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.