Zibby Owens of the popular podcast “Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books” normally enjoys hosting monthly book events at her New York City apartment, where a mix of authors and readers meet, mingle and discuss books and life.

But these aren’t really meet-and-mingle times, so when New Yorkers started sheltering in place, Owens decided to start a weekly book club online through Bookclubz.com, an app and Web site for organizing book clubs (the video portion is hosted by Zoom, as is much of everyday life right now).

A week ago, around 43 people conferenced in from their apartments to discuss Bess Kalb’s new book, “Nobody Will Tell You This But Me” (Knopf).

“It felt like a breath of fresh air to connect with people in real time and introduce people to each other . . .

People said it was an escape and a reminder that this period of time will end.”.

The book is a family memoir of sorts that is based on the incredible relationship Kalb had with her late grandmother.

One of her grandmother’s mantras, repeated throughout the book: “When the earth is cracking behind you, put one foot in front of the other and keep walking.”.

In addition to the book club, Owens is also highlighting a new author each day on her “Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books” podcast.

The support comes at a crucial time: An author’s book launch can be make-or-break?

Many bookstores are shuttered nationwide, all book tours canceled, and Amazon has put book deliveries in the slow lane for now, choosing to focus on delivering household goods

She’s encouraging people to buy books from Bookshop.org (you can shop Zibby’s Picks: Coronavirus New Releases at the site which, unlike Amazon.com, always deems books essential items.)

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