Owens (Princess Charming), host of the podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books and cofounder of Zibby Books, chronicles her path from shy, bookish child to busy mom and media company CEO in this zippy debut…Owens’s infectious enthusiasm radiates with charm, as do her earnest reflections on motherhood. Bibliophiles will breeze through this.” —Publishers Weekly
“Owens recounts falling in love again after divorce and offers encouragement and advice to mothers and women trying to get it all done. Her insights into dealing with grief are touching, and readers experiencing loss may find solace in her story.” —Kirkus Reviews
“This is an endearing memoir reflecting on a woman’s defining moments in life that will likely resonate with Owens’ fans and also readers who enjoy stories about writers with a New York City backdrop.” —Booklist
“Bookends, Zibby’s memoir, is a remarkably poignant story about family, relationships, love, life, and finding one’s true calling…Her writing flows off the page and offers something for everyone. If you’ve experienced heartache, depression, relationship pain, weight issues, felt punched in the face by life and loss…come through it alive and kickin’—you will fly through each page of Bookends. Zibby’s inspiring account provides helpful insight and hope to everyone who reads it.” —Quest Magazine
“Part literary love story, part family history, it’s a propulsive read that chronicles Owens’s complicated relationships—with food, with romance, with books, with vast wealth—all told with self-effacing warmth…heartfelt and touching.” —Claire Gibson, Avenue Magazine
“In this new memoir…she takes on the role of accomplished author herself, as she beautifully reveals the loves and losses that have shaped her life, and discovers what it means to truly find your place in the world.” —Town & Country
“When Owens writes with this blend of vulnerability and approachability, the reader feels as if a close friend is sharing her story with you…Bookends is proof that anyone has the power to rewrite their narrative, if only they are open to fully experiencing all that life puts in their path.” —Hippocampus Magazine
“Owens writes in a conversational, companionable tone befitting a self-described “book messenger” who has made the championing of writers and stories her mission. The result is a briskly paced, heartwarming, and often inspiring journey of discovering comfort, purpose, friendships, and one’s own voice in a lifetime of immersion into transformative reading.” —Post & Courier
“Zibby Owens’s Bookends is a candid and charming memoir about the ups and downs of midlife through the lens of reading and books. Zibby, one of the most beloved book influencers in America, shares how books can help us through tough times. An inspiring and hopeful read.” —Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO, Thrive Global
“I knew Zibby was an ardent supporter of authors, but I didn’t realize she was such a fantastic writer herself. Insightful, helpful, authentic, and unifying, the tone of this beautifully written, memorable memoir is just so Zibby. A great choice for every busy mom.” —Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Four Winds
“Zibby Owens has always been a terrific interviewer of authors, but it wasn’t until I read her book that I realized how deep her passion for literature truly runs. Her story is a valentine to falling in love with the written word, and for a writer—and readers—that’s the sweetest kind of tale.” —Mitch Albom, New York Times bestselling author of The Stranger in the Lifeboat
“A tender, intelligent coming-of-age tale, by turns poignant and hilarious, Bookends gripped me from the first sentence. This is the kind of book you hide in the bathroom to finish, ignoring the cries of your kids and the ringing phone. But it’s also a serious meditation on the dangerous constraints of contemporary motherhood and the nature of privilege. I dare you to read it and not fall in love with Zibby!” —Joanna Rakoff, author of international bestselling memoir My Salinger Year
“Zibby Owens has such an infectious enthusiasm—for life, for love, for her friends and family, but above all else for books—her prose glows with it. Thus Bookends acts on two levels: it is both a personal journey from mute child to gregarious author, who spends her days talking to and about writers, and a virtual bookshelf, the kind you sometimes find in a summer rental, groaning with well-loved spines.” —Deborah Copaken, New York Times bestselling author of Ladyparts and Shutterbabe
“Bookends is a testament to the healing power of literature, love, and above all, allegiance to one’s true self. Zibby Owens guides us, like a comforting friend, through her journey of loss and reinvention, reminding us, in the end, of our endless capacity for love.” —Claire Bidwell Smith, author of The Rules of Inheritance
“Lucky for us, Zibby Owens—a relentless cheerleader for authors known and unknown—has paid homage to books and the role reading has played in her endlessly fascinating life by writing her own.” —Katie Couric
“There are no words other than: WOW! Zibby’s work is gorgeous, raw, honest, heartbreaking, and funny. Zibby inspires me.” —Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author
04/11/2022
Owens (Princess Charming), host of the podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books and cofounder of Zibby Books, chronicles her path from shy, bookish child to busy mom and media company CEO in this zippy debut. “People always ask me how I do it,” Owens writes. “Luckily, I’m fast. I do everything at superspeed, even typing.” At a similarly breakneck pace, she moves through the triumphs and losses of her life while recounting an affinity for literature that led to her “self-discovery, healing, and fortification.” Pinning the genesis of her passion to Charlotte’s Web, the first book to make her cry, she skips from her adolescence in 1980s Manhattan to her years at Yale to, later, juggling the demands of being the mother of twins with a blossoming writing career (“My demand: let us moms just be moms!”). Along the way, other significant books come to the fore: Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted appears alongside recollections of dorm life, Lolly Winston’s Good Grief serves as a balm after the death of a friend on 9/11, and an interview with James Frey on Owens’s podcast helps her deal with the betrayal she felt over Frey’s fabrications in his memoir, A Million Little Pieces. Even at its most brisk, Owens’s infectious enthusiasm radiates with charm, as do her earnest reflections on motherhood. Bibliophiles will breeze through this. (July)
Zibby Owens recounts her meandering path from coping with self-doubt and battling an eating disorder to launching a successful podcasting career. She treats listeners to her characteristic honesty whether she’s describing crippling self-consciousness or later love and finding her métier. Owens's style is gentle, easy on the ears, and relatable. She chronicles her search for happiness as a young woman and then a first-time mother with frankness that many will find refreshing. Listeners will at first root for her and then be exhilarated when she finds love and confidence in using her unique voice through a pandemic-related podcast about motherhood, reading, and life. Owens weaves together several themes that mirror her own complexity and that of contemporary womanhood. M.R. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
2022-04-08
A journey through the losses, experiences, and books that have made one woman’s life.
Owens, creator of the podcast Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books, found solace in books early on in her life, using reading to cope with her social anxiety and her parents’ divorce. Later in childhood, she developed a love of writing as well as a desire to help other girls and women feel less alone by sharing her own stories. Owens writes openly about a college friend who was killed on 9/11, the first in a series of tragedies the author endured. In her grief, she turned to writing, reading, and food. She wrote her first book, which, though the idea didn’t sell, ignited a passion that would direct the course of her life. She married (details of her first marriage are omitted) and had four children, and the combination of fulfillment and stress that came with being a mother inspired her to start her podcast, which she has since expanded into other ventures. Owens recounts falling in love again after divorce and offers encouragement and advice to mothers and women trying to get it all done. Her insights into dealing with grief are touching, and readers experiencing loss may find solace in her story. Though Owens approaches the immense privilege she has enjoyed all her life with tact and honesty, it may still alienate some readers: “I’d taken town cars in my private life: my parents insisted I take a Skyline credit ride car whenever I went downtown. The subway was strictly prohibited.” The author’s candid voice is approachable, but she is prone to clichés. Of a moment between her and her husband, she writes, “If it were a comic book drawing, there would be electric sparks flying as we both stopped to look at the impact of his innocent hand on my shoulder.” At the end, Owens includes a 10-page list of “all books referenced” in her memoir.
The author’s genuine voice and sincere storytelling are marred by clunky prose.
