Today on the Bookum Author Talks Podcast, we sit down with Shellye Archambeau, former CEO of MetricStream and one of Silicon Valley’s first African American female CEOs.

Shellye has spent over 30 years in business and technology with leadership experience at major companies including IBM, Blockbuster, and Loudcloud. She is also a Fortune 500 board member, serving on boards such as Verizon and Nordstrom Inc.

She is the author of Unapologetically Ambitious, where she shares how she built a highly strategic and intentional career path from IBM to becoming a Silicon Valley CEO.

Shellye is also the founder of Ignite Ambition, a nonprofit and community focused on helping early to mid-career professionals gain clarity, build strategy, and achieve their career goals.

In this conversation, we explore ambition, career strategy, leadership, and what it truly takes to become a CEO in today’s world.

We also dive into her journey through IBM, Blockbuster, Silicon Valley in the early 2000s, and leading a company through the 2008 financial crisis.

⏱️ Timestamps

1:22 - Family Legacy
2:38 - Being Organized // Resourceful
3:30 - Little Girl with Ambition
4:18 - "Life is not fair"
5:44 - Wanted to be CEO at 16
7:08 - Imposter Syndrome
10:12 - Setting and Achieving Goal
11:02 - Taking the right steps to win
13:12 - Being strategic
13:56 - Letting People Know what You Want
15:21 - Can you be too Unapologetically Ambitious?
16:23 - Courage Muscle
17:30 - Doing Business in Japan & Internationally
21:02 - Leaving IBM
23:01 - Working at Blockbuster
24:23 - Silicon Valley in 00s and AI
25:23 - Working at Loudcloud
26:34 - Core Principles of Marketing
27:33 - Becoming CEO of MetricStream
30:00 - Market Crash of 2008
31:10 - Leading as CEO During Uncertainty
32:21 - The Role of the CEO
33:10 - Bill Campbell and Mentorship
34:08 - Silicon Valley Leaders (Vinod Khosla, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz)
35:34 - Phase II and Ignite Ambition
37:12 - Ignite Ambition App and Community
38:45 - Measuring Success of Ignite Ambition
40:12 - Family Life Integration
43:01 - Writing Process and Perfect Day
45:01 - Writing Real Holistic Business Books
46:25 - Unapologetically Ambitious Toolkit

Resources

Get Shellye Archambeau’s book: Unapologetically Ambitious

Join Ignite Ambition:
https://shellye.com/ignite-ambition/

Join the Bookum community and book club conversations:
https://www.bookumapp.com

Topics Covered

CEO career path, how to become a CEO, IBM careers, Silicon Valley leadership, ambition mindset, career strategy, leadership lessons, corporate growth, Black female CEO, MetricStream, Ignite Ambition, Unapologetically Ambitious book, executive leadership, business strategy, mentorship in Silicon Valley

This Podcast is to brought you by Bookum - The book communities NEW and BEST way to host dynamic online book clubs.

Download the App and Start your Book club today at www.bookumapp.com

Catch all of conversations live on the Bookum App Nooks!

This week on the Bookum Authors Talk Podcast we sit down with writer, producer, and author Angela Nissel to discuss her powerful new memoir 'Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom is Dead'.

In this conversation, Angela opens up about grief, caregiving, family secrets, humor as a survival tool, and what it means to process loss while becoming the caretaker of a parent.

We also talk about her work on The Boondocks, the emotional weight of writing a memoir, loneliness in adulthood and aging, and how storytelling helps us make sense of life’s hardest moments.

📚 Book discussed: Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom is Dead by Angela Nissel - Get your copy today!

Timestamps:

01:05 - The Boondocks
4:40 - How Humor Helps us Deal with Life
8:24 - How the Title Came to Be?
10:02 - Christmas Stories and Family Drama
11:03 - Withholding Information from Family about health issues
12:20 - Keeping family secrets
15:20 - Caretaking for a Love One
17:45 - How to be a good caretaker
19:40 - Loneliness Epidemic in Elder Ages
22:10 - How Older People Are Getting Scammed from AI
23:01 - What to Share and Not Share in a Memoir
25:10 - The Craziness of Life
25:44 - The importance of sharing stories with each other
26:44 - Dealing with grief and losing
28:09 - Honoring her Mother with the book
30:22 - Enjoying the small things in life
30:33 - On Religion and Rev Bill
33:01 - Becoming the Matriarch
35:20 - Dealing with Mother's Day after loss
36:58 - Managing Emotions for Grief
37:54 - Writing Process for the Book
39:32 - Writing a Memoir
41:08 - What Should Be In A Writer's Toolkit?

Join our book community and discover more conversations like this:
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This Podcast is to brought you by Bookum - The book communities NEW and BEST way to host dynamic online book clubs.

Download the App and Start your Book club today at www.bookumapp.com

Catch all of conversations live on the Bookum App Nooks!

In this episode of the Bookum Creators Talk Podcast, we sit down with Turnpageswithmimi to explore what it means to be a reader in New York and how book culture continues to evolve across libraries, social media, and community spaces.

We discuss growing up reading in Philadelphia and New York, the influence of the Brooklyn Public Library and The Book of HOV, and how fashion, identity, and culture shape modern reading experiences.

This conversation also explores how book content creators are building communities online and offline, hosting book clubs, and redefining what it means to engage with books in a digital age.

Topics include:

• reading culture in New York City
• libraries and literary spaces
• BookTok and book content creation
• building a book community
• hosting in-person book clubs
• avoiding burnout as a creator
• building a personal library

If you are interested in books, reading culture, book clubs, libraries, and literary community building, this episode is for you.

📚 Book Recommendations Mentioned:

• Big Girl Blitz by Danielle Allen
• Where the Wildflowers Grow
• Brady: A Memoir
• The Seven Daughters
• With Love From Harlem
• Last Stop from Innocence
• Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane

Where to Find More from Mimi:

https://linktr.ee/turnpageswithmimi?utm_source=threads&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

ABOUT BOOKUM:

Make sure to download our Book Club App to join our Book Club or Start Your Own at https://www.bookumapp.com

This Podcast is to brought you by Bookum - The book communities NEW and BEST way to host dynamic online book clubs.

Download the App and Start your Book club today at www.bookumapp.com

Catch all of conversations live on the Bookum App Nooks!

In this episode of Bookum Author Talks Podcast, we sit down with author Paul Fischer, writer of The Last Kings of Hollywood, to explore one of the most important eras in film history.

We break down how Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg transformed Hollywood forever, shifting it from the old studio system into the blockbuster-driven industry we know today.

From The Godfather, Star Wars, and Jaws to Indiana Jones and the rise of “high concept” filmmaking, this conversation explores how a generation of filmmakers gained creative control and reshaped global entertainment.

We discuss:

• What Hollywood looked like before the “New Hollywood” era
• How American Zoetrope changed filmmaker independence
• The business deal behind Star Wars that changed Hollywood economics forever
• The creation of the summer blockbuster with Jaws
• How studio power shifted during the Paramount “high concept” era
• And how this era compares to today’s creator economy

This is an hour conversation about storytelling, power, creativity, and the business decisions that defined modern cinema.

Join our book community and book networking app:
https://www.bookumapp.com

This Podcast is to brought you by Bookum - The book communities NEW and BEST way to host dynamic online book clubs.

Download the App and Start your Book club today at www.bookumapp.com

Catch all of conversations live on the Bookum App Nooks!

On this episode of the Bookum Author Talks Podcast, we sit down with Emely Rumble, author of Bibliotherapy in the Bronx, to explore how books and poetry can heal your mind, boost confidence, and help you grow emotionally. Em shares insights on the transformative power of reading, re-reading, and bibliotherapy — plus practical ways literature can connect you to your past, present, and future.

We also talk about the books that shaped her life, the role of poetry in personal growth, and how reading can be a radical form of self-care.

Get your copy of Bibliotherapy in the Bronx: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Bibliotherapy-in-the-Bronx/Emely-Rumble-LCSW/9781955905879

Join the Bookum Book Club & Download the App: https://www.bookumapp.com

Books Mentioned:
Maya Angelou – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Toni Morrison – Beloved, Jason Reynolds, Frederick Joseph, Mindset, Love by the Books, Sky Full of Elephants, The Cost of Healing, Afurvent, Something We Said, Conjuring America

Why Listen:

• Learn how reading can heal trauma
• Build confidence through literature
• Discover the power of bibliotherapy for personal and collective growth
• Practical tips to make reading a tool for self-care and emotional development

Timestamps:
1:15 - Bad Bunny SB Halftime Show
3:12 - The Power of Poetry
5:35 - The Power of Books
7:01 - What is Bibliotherapy?
7:35 - Getting into teaching Bibliotherapy
10:01 - How Books Help you Heal
10:54 - Why the Caged-Bird Sings?
13:01 - Gaining back your free time with reading
15:12 - The Power of Re-Reading
16:22 - Reading Beloved
18:12 - Your Past, Present, Future all live within the book
19:12 - Reading Children and Middle Grade Books for Healing Trauma
21:05 - Seeing yourself/your culture through books
24:01 - Sky Full of Elephants
25:53 - Seeing Progress through Bibliotherapy
28:55 - Using Reframing Language and Words
30:01 - Controlling Language
30:50 - How Different Genders Handle Bibliotherapy
33:01 - Handling and Naming Emotions
34:01 - Client Story on Growing through Bibliotherapy
37:20 - On Community
38:12 - Balancing Personal v. Work Reading
40:11 - On Book Clubs
41:03 - Writing Process
44:32 - Naming the book Bibliotherapy in the Bronx
48:22 - Last, Now, Next book
50:11 - Rapid-Fire Book Questions
52:55 - What Should Be In A Reader's Toolkit?

This Podcast is to brought you by Bookum - The book communities NEW and BEST way to host dynamic online book clubs.

Download the App and Start your Book club today at www.bookumapp.com

Catch all of conversations live on the Bookum App Nooks!

Join us on Bookum Author Talks Podcast with James Keyes, former CEO of 7-Eleven and Blockbuster, and author of Education is Freedom.

In this episode, James shares his journey from working at McDonald’s as a teen to leading billion-dollar companies, and how education and lifelong learning empower freedom and success. Discover:

• The lessons from his book Education is Freedom
• How cultural literacy and continuous learning shape leaders
• Insights from running 7-Eleven Japan and revitalizing Blockbuster
• The power of being multidisciplinary—music, painting, flying—and how it impacts leadership
• His perspective on student loans, reimagining education, and philanthropy

📚 Get James Keyes’ book: Education is Freedom

📱 Download the Bookum app: https://www.bookumapp.com

Whether you’re an aspiring leader, entrepreneur, or lifelong learner, this episode is packed with actionable lessons and career insights from one of the most accomplished business leaders today.

Subscribe to Bookum Author Talks Podcast for more interviews with inspiring authors, creators, and leaders.

This Podcast is to brought you by Bookum - The book communities NEW and BEST way to host dynamic online book clubs.

Download the App and Start your Book club today at www.bookumapp.com

Catch all of conversations live on the Bookum App Nooks!

Join the Author Talks Podcast as Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling shares his experiences from over 40 years in the United States Army, including combat in the Gulf War and reflections on leadership, courage, and character. Drawing from his book If I Don’t Return, Mark discusses the personal letters he wrote to his sons during wartime, the lessons he learned about faith, integrity, and leading under pressure, and what civilians need to understand about war in the Middle East.

Whether you’re interested in military and veteran stories, leadership lessons, or understanding the personal cost of combat, this episode delivers insights you won’t hear anywhere else.

Get your copy of "If I Don't Return" https://www.amazon.com/If-Dont-Return-Fathers-Wartime/dp/1966786727

Download the Bookum App to join the conversation, explore author notes, and connect with other readers: https://www.bookumapp.com

Optional Timestamps for Podcast Apps

• 1:06 ‑ Faith and Religion
• 3:48 ‑ Being in War
• 6:55 ‑ Writing Letters to His Son During War
• 9:02 ‑ Character & The Responsibility of Leadership
• 11:35 ‑ Revisiting Painful War Stories
• 13:19 ‑ Experiencing Survivor’s Guilt
• 14:10 ‑ Integrity & Leadership Values
• 17:43 ‑ Showing Emotions as a Leader
• 20:02 ‑ Fog of War // Making Decisions Under Pressure and Uncertainty
• 22:50 ‑ Wartime vs. Peacetime Leadership
• 26:19 ‑ Dealing With Fear During War

This Podcast is to brought you by Bookum - The book communities NEW and BEST way to host dynamic online book clubs.

Download the App and Start your Book club today at www.bookumapp.com

Catch all of conversations live on the Bookum App Nooks!

On this episode of Author Talks Podcast, PBS NewsHour’s Geoff Bennett breaks down the golden age of Black comedy and its impact on American culture.

We explore iconic shows like:

• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
• Living Single
• Martin
• A Different World
• In Living Color
• Sanford and Son

…and legendary comedians including Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Moms Mabley, and Redd Foxx. Geoff shares insights on:

• How comedians became truth tellers and cultural critics
• The evolution from minstrel shows and the Chitlin’ Circuit to mainstream success
• Iconic 90s sitcom moments and their lasting impact on Black TV culture
• Behind-the-scenes influence of Quincy Jones, Barry Diller, and FOX
• What makes a great comedic bit and the essentials for a writer’s or comedian’s toolkit

Whether you grew up laughing at Carlton’s dance, Will’s antics, or watching Chappelle push the limits of comedy, this episode is packed with insights on why the 90s changed TV forever.

Timestamps

00:58 - Top 5 Comedians
2:11 - Comedians are Truth Tellers
4:32 - TOBA & Minstrel Shows
5:20 - Billy Kersands
6:33 - Hattie McDaniels
7:31 - Comedy Styles (Bill Cosby & Richard Pryor)
9:01 - The Cosby Show
10:15 - The Art vs The Artist (Bill Cosby)
10:58 - A Different World
12:20 - Living Single
13:08 - A Different World Impact on HBCUs
13:44 - In Living Color
14:34 - Unreleased Pilot of In Living Color
15:37 - In Living Color – The Super Bowl
16:52 - Quincy Jones Impact on TV Sitcoms
17:46 - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
18:22 - Barry Diller & FOX
19:42 - Living Single Impact on TV
20:55 - Chappelle Show
21:18 - Who is the Joke for?
22:35 - 90s Impact on Culture
23:33 - Writing Process & Perfect Day of Writing
25:10 - Were the 90s the Best Decade?
28:18 - What Makes a Great Comedic Bit?
29:04 - What Should Be in a Writer’s Toolkit?
30:05 - What Should Be in a Comedian’s Toolkit?

📚 Geoff Bennett’s Book

Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to ’90s Sitcoms
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/black-out-loud-geoff-bennett

Join the Bookum Community

Discover books, join book clubs, and connect with readers:
https://www.bookumapp.com

This Podcast is to brought you by Bookum - The book communities NEW and BEST way to host dynamic online book clubs.

Download the App and Start your Book club today at www.bookumapp.com

Catch all of conversations live on the Bookum App Nooks!