Weekly Highlights for Book Lovers
My new favorite book, plus upcoming retreats
Hi everyone! Hope you all saw my Most Anticipated List for Summer!
Just have to rave a minute about one of the books on my list:
The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff
I sobbed on an airplane finishing it. It’s so, so good. It’s about a couple on the brink of divorce when a house fire destroys their home. They move back in with the wife’s parents and find out her dad is succumbing to early onset Alzheimer’s. But really it’s about love, loyalty, memory, compassion, marriage, motherhood, overcoming the past, what we teach and learn, and how to live. Oh my gosh, I loved it. It goes on my top 10 books ever list. Which I have to make.
Retreats
The New York Post ran a feature by Alyson Krueger about reading retreats and quoted me about ours! We’ve hosted 12 retreats since 2023. Graca Tito and I are an event-planning machine at this point. We have four more retreats in the planning stages that will go on sale shortly. Save the dates:
Highland Park, IL with Matchmaker Bookshop
July 25, 9 am - 2 pm: Petite Retreat, Totally Booked: Live & Lunch
Santa Monica, CA with Zibby’s Bookshop
October 2-4: Weekend Retreat
October 3, 9 am - 2 pm: Day Pass, Totally Booked: Live & Lunch
New York, NY with the Whitby Hotel
October 25, 9 am - 2 pm: Petite Retreat, Totally Booked: Live & Lunch
Naples, FL with Books on Third
January 22-24: Weekend Retreat
January 23, 9 am - 2 pm: Day Pass, Totally Booked: Live & Lunch
Totally Booked with Zibby
We’ve moved to three times a week, Tuesday - Thursday. Delighted to still be in the top 200 podcasts in the Apple Arts charts. (Phew.)
Tuesday: Getting Through Grief — with Humor and Heart
Hear from two amazing women authors who have survived loss and learned to live with it by finding humor in the darkest times. Screenwriter Angela Nissel writes about the loss of her mother — who had been caught up in a deceptive relationship — in Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom is Dead. Content creator Leslie Harter-Berg shares how she survived the sudden loss of her 30-year-old husband while on vacation post-Disneyland with their family and small children in You’re So Strong. The two of them are funny, sensitive souls who should really be friends. Taken together, these two conversations highlight how writing is healing, how humor is necessary, and how we can get through the hardest things life throws our way.
Wednesday: Annabelle Gurwitch on Lung Cancer, Humor, and Adventure
I’ve been a fan of actress and bestselling author Annabelle Gurwitch since I first read You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up. I’ve interviewed her on my podcast about her last book You’re Leaving When? and then got lucky enough to publish her new book, The End of My Life is Killing through Zibby Publishing — which has now been on the USA Today bestseller list for two weeks! You might have seen Annabelle lately because she has been all over the media with shout-outs from and interviews with Bill Maher, Drew Barrymore, Terry Gross at NPR, and Jenna Fischer. The book is hilarious and heartbreaking, fast-paced, thought-provoking, and a must-read.
Thursday: Book of the Month Club pick Sally Hepworth’s Mad Mabel
Yes, Sally Hepworth and I spoke about her new novel, Mad Mabel, which features an older, quirky protagonist whose neighbor dies in the opening, and the young friend who comes along. But we also spoke about Sally’s recent divorce and how she has been getting through that. Sally is such a good storyteller that anything out of her mouth is captivating. No wonder her latest book is a Book of the Month Club pick.
Events This Week
New York, NY. Tuesday, April 21st from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm with discussion at 6:15 pm. Old Mates Pub. 170 John Street, New York, NY 10038.
Join the Zibby Publishing team and me for food, drinks, conversation and giveaways. I’ll be in conversation with international bestselling author Emma Grey at 6:15 pm. Tickets include a copy of her new book Start at the End. Apparently Old Mates Pub is super fun! Bring a friend. Tickets here. Remember: the ticket includes drinks, food, AND a book. A steal!
White Plains, NY. Thursday, April 23rd at 7 pm: I’ll be interviewing Rachel Goldberg-Polin about her book When We See You Again. Honored. Gutted. Hosted by the UJA Federation of New York. Details here.
Save the date: Monday, June 1st at 8 pm: I’ll be at the 92nd Street Y in New York (and streaming) with actor Mark Feuerstein, Rabbi Steve Leder and Allison Gilbert to discuss On Being Jewish Now. Mark is our latest addition! Tickets here.
Weekly Additions
Watch the “Totally Booked” TV Show on JBS. New episodes every Thursday at 7:30 pm ET on the JBS network. Watch here.
Read On Being Jewish Now, the Substack: On Being Jewish Now. Writers from all over the world have been reflecting on what it means and how it feels to be Jewish now.
Product of the Week
My phone is always dying while I’m on the go. Obsessed with my new light blue portable battery pack. Now I’m almost as cool as my daughter. This one’s from Velvet Caviar. Link here.
