Books and Boba

On this episode we discuss our Books & Boba April 2025 pick is  The Cartographers  by Peng Shepherd, a mystery thriller with magical realism elements about a woman investigating the death of her father who had exiled her from the field of cartography years ago, and uncovering old family secrets through the discovery of the old highway map that had caused their estrangement, which tur...

It's a Marvin solo episode for our mid-month check in for April 2025. Listen in as he highlights some of the latest publishing announcements for novels written by Asian American authors! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: THE MIDNIGHT TAXI By Yosha Gunasekera A TEASPOON OF MAGIC By Jackie Lau MIGRATORY CREATURES By Jennifer Yeh ENVOY By Yume Kitasei DRAGONFLY By Catherine Cho TASTES...

On this episode, we discuss our March 2025 book club pick The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamal, a sweeping historical & contemporary novel about a woman who meets her first love again 60 years ago after he stood her up on the day of their marriage in the midst of political upheaval in 1953 Tehran. Join us as we dive into this not-quite second chance romance as we discuss our own thoughts on the...

On this episode, we chat with author Jane Pek, author of our February 2025 book club pick The Verifiers , and most recently its sequel The Rivals . Jane shares with us her journey into becoming an author as well as the inspirations behind writing a murder mystery series surrounding an online dating detective agency, with the bearing heart of an Asian American family drama. Follow Jane on Instagram...

On our mid-month check in for March 2025, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, discuss the latest book to TV adaptation news, check in as the first book ban case hits the Supreme Court, and share some exciting news for the podcast! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: BLACKPINK: A Little Golden Book Biography by Jessica Yoon The Swan's Daughter: A Po...

On this episode, we discuss our February 2025 pick, The Verifiers  by Jane Pek, following Claudia Lin, an underachieving Asian American woman with a complicated and somewhat dysfunctional family situation, who is recruited to become an investigator for an online dating detective agency and gets drawn into a vast conspiracy involving big tech and data when one of her clients ends up dead under...

Welcome to our first book news check-in for the new year (both new years)! As always, join us as we highlight some of the latest publishing announcements of books by Asian authors, as well as go over some recent awards and industry news! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: But I Won’t Miss Me by Tiffany Tsao The Magnificent Banyan Tree and the Green Tong Lau by Stephanie Ellen Sy ; il...

On this episode, we discuss our first book club pick of 2025, Sister Snake  by Amanda Lee Koe, a modern re-imagining of the classic Chinese folktale The Legend of the White Snake, starring two immortal sisters who used to be best snake friends living along West Lake in Tang Dynasty China. When free-spirited Emerald is involved in an altercation with some cops in Central Park, conservativ...

We're back! After an unintended extended hiatus dealing with the double whammy of early parenthood and uncontrollable wildfires, Books & Boba is back with our belated discussion of our December 2024 book club pick   Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982  by Cho Nam-Joo and translated by Jamie Chang, a seminal modern text about what it's like to be a woman in modern Korea. Helping us discuss this sh...

On our final mid-month book news podcast of the year, we go over some of the latest publishing announcements of books by Asian American authors. Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: To the Death by Andrea Tang Seven: The Courage, Artistry, and Teamwork of BTS by Lilly Lu Jia Has a Dog Problem by Stephanie Ellen Sy; illust by Isabella Kung Yarrow and the Burning Mountain by Wendy Xu A G...

On this episode, we chat with author Clare Osongco about her debut novel Midnights with You , a YA coming-of-age story about a teenage girl living with her strict Filipino mother, and her secret late night driving lessons with the new boy next door. Follow Clare on Instagram at  @clareosongco and check out her debut novel  Midnights with You available now on the  Books & Boba bo...

On this episode, we sit down with debut author Rosa Kwon Easton to chat about her new novel  White Mulberry , a historical fiction novel about a Korean woman who moves to Japan as a child to pursue her education during the period when Korea was occupied by Japan. Rosa shares with us the long journey to publishing her debut based on the real life experiences of her grandmother, who like t...

On this episode, we discuss our November 2024 book club pick,   Interior Chinatown  by Charles Yu, an award winning novel about a guy living in cop show version of Chinatown who dreams of becoming a "Kung Fu Guy" but is stuck playing generic Asian guy roles, a metaphor for not only how Hollywood treats its Asian actors, but for the model minority myth as well. To help us discuss this boo...

On this episode, we chat with author Julie Leong chat about her debut novel  The Teller of Small Fortunes , a cozy fantasy about a young traveling fortune teller who embarks on a journey across her adopted kingdom alongside her party of found family members. Julie shares her inspirations for writing her cozy adventure that explores western fantasy with a distinctly Asian diaspora lens. F...

Our world may have shifted to a darker timeline, but at the very least, there will still be books! On our November 2024 mid month check-in, we review the latest Asian American publishing announcements as well as check in on the latest book tea and awards! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: The Offer by Neel Patel Benny's Bright Qing Ming , by Michelle Jing Chan Melodies of the Sitar...

On this episode, we welcome author Nayantara Roy to chat about her debut novel The Magnificent Ruins , a story about an up and coming literary editor in New York who returns to Kolkata (where she was born) after finding out that she has inherited her family's manor from her grandfather and has to deal with her extended family who all still live there. Tara shares with us her personal inspirations...

On this episode, we discuss our October 2024 pick,  The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. A story following a flesh-eating mermaid and a plague doctor who encounter a village of children with an unsettling secret while on a journey through a snowy forest. Join us a we dive into this spooky read that melds the fairy tales of Anderson and Grimm and asks the question, what happens after the pr...

On this episode, we chat with Joanne Howard to talk about her debut novel Sleeping in the Sun , a coming of age story about a family of American missionaries living in India during the final years of the Brisish Raj. Joanne shares about her writers journey as well as how finding out about her own family's history as missionaries in India inspired her to write this story. Follow Joanne on Instagram...

On our mid-month check in for Spooky Month 2024, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, check in on the latest winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, and weigh in on the possible TV adaptation of RF Kuang's Yellowface! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Kingdom of Waves by Melissa de la Cruz One Word, Six Letters by Adib Khorram Never, Ever After...

On this episode, we sit down with Chinese-Canadian author and cartoonist Teresa Wong to chat about her new graphic memoir,  All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey , an generation spanning recounting 100 years of her own family's history in China and Canada. Teresa shares how she became a author/illustrator of graphic novels, as well as what it was like sharing her family...

On this episode, we discuss our September 2024 pick, A Burning by Megha Majumdar, a social novel about a poor girl in Kolkata accused of a terrorist attack she wasn't involved in, and the aspiring actress and teacher who have the chance to clear her name but at the cost of their own social ascension. Join us as we dive into Megha's modern social novel which asks the question, who are the ones...

On this episode, we sit down with prolific writer Preeti Chhibber to talk about her new YA rom com novel,  Payal Mehta's Romance Revenge Plot ,  about high school junior Payal Mehta and her ill-conceived plan to get back at her longtime crush for micro-aggressing against her by making him fall in love with her... for revenge of course, in the process enlisting the help of her academic ne...

On this episode, we welcome author Aurora Palit to talk about her debut novel,  Sunshine and Spice ,  an adult romance story between two members of a conservative Bengali Canadian community who enter into a fake relationship to help solve each others cultural dilemmas out despite being complete opposites. We chat with Aurora about her writer's journey as well as the inspirations for her...

On our mid-month check in for September 2024, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, get some updates on which authors of Asian descent who made it to the National Book Awards long-lists, and touch a little on the latest controversy with NaNoWriMo! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Flashlight by Susan Choi Let It Be a Tale: Palestinian Journalists o...

On this episode, we chat with author Randy Ribay about his latest novel,  Everything We Never Had, a YA story about four generations of Filipino men, each grappling with their own unique relationships with identity, masculinity, and father-son relationships. We talk with Randy about his inspirations for the book, as well as his thoughts on its themes of breaking out of toxic cycles. Follow Ra...