Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books™️

Award-winning author Kit de Waal chats with Zibby Owens about her beautiful new novel, Sweet Pea, which was just chosen as Read with Jenna's November 2026 pick! Kit shares the story of her main character, Paulette, a 29-year-old woman who wants nothing more than life's modest necessities: a home, good neighbors, a child, and to be loved. Kit explains how the narrative follows Paulette’s life across decades, acting as a testament to her profound kindness and her unique ability to welcome the most unexpected people into her world.Kit reveals how Paulette originally outgrew her role as a side character in a failed manuscript, and shares her own unique childhood as the daughter of an African-Caribbean father and an Irish mother. She also reflects on starting her own writing journey later in life at age 45, the "magical, secret love affair" of plotting a book, the deep power behind the kindness of strangers, and why the publishing industry needs to embrace vibrant debut writers over 50.Learn more about Kit de Waal and her work here and follow her on Instagram @kitdewaal. You can purchase Sweet Pea here.

James Beard Award-winning writer and food journalist Tarajia Morrell speaks with Zibby Owens about her beautifully written new book, Desire Feeds the Feast: A Memoir, a coming-of-age story about food, family, loss, love, and finding your way, published by Zibby Publishing. It’s also Zibby’s December Book Club pick! Returning as a single mother to the apartment where she grew up, Tarajia began writing to make sense of life's unexpected twists. As she shares, happiness can look very different from what we once imagined.Born into one of New York's most celebrated wine families, Tarajia grew up where food was a love language and every meal told a story. In this conversation, she reflects on growing up on Manhattan's Upper East Side, searching for belonging, and finding herself through food, travel, grief, and unexpected detours. Along the way, she shares how food became both a language and a throughline, connecting her family history, travels, and deepest memories.Learn more about Tarajia Morrell here and follow her on Instagram @tarajiamorrell. You can purchase Desire Feeds the Feast here and register for the virtual book club meeting here.

Psychotherapist, writer, and co-author of the New York Times bestseller The Tools, Barry Michels joins Zibby Owens to discuss his powerful new memoir, Ahead of All Parting: On Learning to Live with an Open Heart. After being diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a disease that also affected his father, Barry found himself facing profound questions about mortality, identity, and connection.Barry shares how his diagnosis unexpectedly opened him up to deeper friendships, greater vulnerability, and a surge of creative energy that inspired hundreds of poems. He also reflects on the difficult family experiences that shaped him, the practical tools that helped him navigate fear and grief, and the role music continues to play in his life.Along the way, Barry offers advice for writers, discusses the importance of community, and shares what it means to live fully in the face of uncertainty.Learn more about Barry Michels and his work here, and follow him on Substack. You can purchase Ahead of All Parting: On Learning to Live with an Open Heart here.

Writer and producer Blake J. Harris spoke to Zibby Owens about his latest book Emperor of Nothing: The Making of Larry David, an inside look at the real man behind the comedy empire that includes TV hits Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Blake shares how he convinced Larry to participate in the book (spoiler: it involved the Yankees). Blake recounts how Larry David pulled many bits from his own life for his career, from a real-life Kramer neighbor to his eventual catchphrase on Curb. Despite what his character may be like on the show (and some say the real-life counterpart is similar), Blake reports that Larry David is a loving, happy man and devoted father. Blake J. Harris is also the writer of Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation. Learn more about him and his work here and follow Blake on Instagram @blakeharrisnyc. You can purchase Emperor of Nothing: The Making of Larry David here.

Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Good Neighbors Sarah Langan joins Zibby Owens in person to chat about her new book Trad Wife, which takes readers on a scary ride with a cancelled journalist out to save her reputation by interviewing a “trad wife.”Sarah discusses the online phenomenon around the “trad wife” trend, the research she did for the book, and the ways social media distorts what information we may see. She also touches upon the isolation and lack of agency women can face, especially related to femininity.Sarah shares the books she’s been reading lately and the next project she’s already working on.Learn more about Sarah Langan and her books here and follow her on Instagram @sarahlangan. You can purchase Trad Wife here.

James Beard Award-winning chef Alon Shaya talks with Zibby Owens about his new book, Memories of a Good Meal: Recipes of Resilience Inspired by Stories of World War II Survival, which he co-wrote with author June Hersh. The book includes recipes and stories from Holocaust survivors and WWII heroes.Alon discusses the power of food as a learning tool of history and as a source of identity and safety. He also shares memories of his Safta cooking for him and the encouragement he received from a high school teacher, Donna Barnett, to enter the world of cooking. They later started the Shaya Barnett Foundation together to help other high school students. Learn more about Alon Shaya, his restaurants, and the Shaya Barnett Foundation here and follow him on Instagram at @alonshaya. You can purchase Memories of A Good Meal here.

Former Christian pop star turned activist Julianna Glasse speaks with Zibby Owens about her new book This is What Happens When Women Read. Her memoir shares the same name as her global foundation which supports women’s autonomy through education, curriculum, and community. Julianna shares what happened when she started reading. She liberated herself, leading to the end of a marriage, a dark period of shame including suicidal ideation, and a new period of play and discovery, and ultimately finding the hero in herself. She also discusses the work of her foundation and how the greatest change someone can make is changing possibilities for others. Learn more about Julianna Glasse here and follow her on Instagram at @juliannaglasse. Visit her foundation’s website here. You can purchase This is What Happens When Women Read here.

New York Times bestselling author Mary Beth Keane talks with Zibby Owens about her new book, this month’s GMA Book Club pick Whale Harbor, an epic, multigenerational story about 11 brothers in Ireland in 1963 who become scattered after their mother’s death. The author of Ask Again, Yes shares how her new book focuses on “love and forgiveness” and especially “forgiveness of one’s self.”Mary Beth explains how the story is based on two events from her own family: the death of her father’s mother and the disappearance of one of her father’s brothers. She touches upon how Whale Harbor is just one take on the family’s story and how there can be multiple versions of the same event, just as people show grief in different ways.In addition to chatting about the critically-acclaimed new story, Mary Beth also talks about “feeling like an alien” as a student at Barnard College and her time teaching the next generation of writers at her alma mater.Learn more about Mary Beth Keane here and follow her on Instagram at @marybethkeane. You can purchase Whale Harbor here.

Wall Street Journal journalist Meghan Cox Gurdon talked to Zibby Owens about her new book Free Range Girl: A Memoir which focuses on the year that twelve-year-old Meghan spent with her father in rural Maine in 1976.Meghan shares how her life shifted from conventional (with her mother) to highly unconventional on a homestead with her father and how memoir writing helped her make sense of her life and unearth memories.She and Zibby also talked extensively about the role of books. Meghan went from being a "greedy reader" as a kid to reading aloud to her five children and eventually covering children’s books. Learn more about Meghan Cox Gurdon here. Follow her on Instagram here. You can purchase Free Range Girl: A Memoir here.