Saturday, July 11, 2026
Special Edition: Read More, Scroll Less – 13 Books for Summer
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A great book can be one of the best ways to relax and reset this summer, but with so many options and so little time, it’s not always easy to know where to start.
Bestselling author, editor, podcaster, bookshop owner and Zibby Media founder Zibby Owens returns to share her updated summer reading recommendations, along with practical advice for fitting more reading into our busy lives.
She explains what readers are looking for right now, what makes a great summer read, and which specific books to pick next — whether you want to laugh, cry, learn something new, or escape into another world.
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Guest: Zibby Owens
ZIBBY OWENS is the bestselling author and editor of seven books including Blank, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, Princess Charming, and the On Being Jewish Now anthology, which has spent 29 weeks on the USA Today bestseller list and inspired a companion essay platform and a stage adaptation. Between Books: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot comes out September 22, 2026. She also edited the anthologies Moms Don’t Have Time to Have Kids and Moms Don’t Have Time To. She has contributed to Vogue, Oprah Daily, Good Morning America, and the Washington Post among other outlets, and writes a weekly bestselling Substack “Zibby’s Highlights.”
Owens hosts the award-winning podcast Totally Booked with Zibby with more than 2,300 author episodes, and the weekly TV show Totally Booked with Zibby on JBS (Jewish Broadcasting Service). A frequent speaker repped by UTA, moderator and broadcast guest, Owens is known for highlighting the book industry’s most anticipated new releases and emerging authors.
In 2021 she founded Zibby Media with the launch of Zibby Publishing and unique year-round hosted retreats and events for book lovers. In 2023, she opened Zibby’s Bookshop, the independent bookstore in Santa Monica, CA. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School, Owens, a mother of four, lives in New York and L.A. with her husband, Kyle Owens of Morning Moon Productions.
Join Zibby’s Substack here: zibbyowens.com
Follow Zibby on Instagram: @zibbyowens
Preorder Zibby's upcoming book, Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot (available September 22).
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