Books and Boba

Join us as we discuss our August 2024 book club pick, Land of Milk and Honey  by C Pam Zhang. A story about a Chinese American chef who is stranded abroad when a global climate catastrophe hits and decimates the world's food supply, putting her chosen profession (as well as her own identity and livelihood) in jeopardy. The story follows her journey of self-discovery as she takes a job as a pr...

On this episode, we chat with author Trinity Nguyen about her debut novel,  A Banh Mi for Two , a sweet sapphic romance about a Vietnamese American exchange student and Vietnamese food blogger/street food vendor and their foodie adventures in Saigon. We chat with Trinity about the inspirations for her novel as well as what her favorite Vietnamese foods are! Follow Trinity on Instagram at&nbsp...

On our mid-month check in for July 2024, we recap some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, as well as get some updates on the latest Books & Boba pick to get picked up for TV and which books by Asian authors made it into the New York Time's best 100 books of the century! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Reasons We Break by Jesmeen Kaur Deo Arctic Adventures:...

We're taking the week off so our friends from They Call Us Bruce are helping fill in with their latest chat with author OiYan A. Poon, please enjoy! --- Jeff and Phil welcome writer and race scholar OiYan A. Poon, author of  Asian American Is Not a Color: Conversations on Race, Affirmative Action and Family . She talks about breaking out of her comfort zone to write a sincere and heartfelt ex...

On this episode, we discuss our July 2024 book club pick The Sense of Wonder  by Matthew Salesses, a contemporary Asian American novel following the story of Won Lee, the only Asian American player for an NBA team, and his rise to stardom during a period known as "The Wonder." Inspired on the real life Linsanity phenomenon, and the discourse surrounding it, we dive into Matthew's take on the...

On this episode, we chat with author Amber Chen about her debut novel,  Of Jade and Dragons , a fantasy adventure and murder mystery set in a Silkpunk world, about a girl who loves engineering as she pretends to be her brother to infiltrate a prestigious academy in order to uncover the conspiracy that killed her father. We chat with Amber about her journey as a writer as well as the real life...

On our mid-month check in for July 2024, we recap some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, as well as get some updates on the latest Books & Boba pick to get picked up for TV and which books by Asian authors made it into the New York Time's best 100 books of the century! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Seen: The Story of Corky Lee and His Photographs of Asia...

On this episode, we sit down with author K. X. Song to talk about her newest novel, The Night Ends with Fire , an epic adult fantasy inspired by the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Legend of Mulan, and Chinese folklore, following the adventures of a young woman, touched by the Azure Dragon, who enters the army as a man to escape her fate as a woman in a patriarchal society. We chat with K. X. a...

On this episode, we welcome author Tara Sim to chat about her latest novel, We Shall Be Monsters , a YA dark Indian-inspired fantasy take on the Frankenstein story following a girl on a quest to resurrect her sister (who's accidental death she may also be responsible for) who gets drawn into a web of political intrigue by people who want her knowledge and powers. We chat with Tara about her journe...

On this episode, we discuss our June 2024 book club pick Greta & Valdin  by Rebecca K. Reilly, following the story of two adult siblings from Auckland as they each try to escape from their arrested development and overcome their messy professional and romantic issues, while also dealing with their chaotic but close knit Maori-Russian family. We had a lot of fun discussing this very funny...

On our mid-month check in for June 2024, we recap some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, as well as catch up on some awards news and check in on the latest book tea! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Chasing Sunspots by Victoria Ying Mendell Station by J.B. Hwang Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz Invitation Only by Alexandra Brown Chang Rage Will Be Your Savio...

On this episode we chat with author Malia Maunakea about her latest middle grade novel, Lei and the Invisible Island , which concludes her MG duology following the summer adventures of Lei, a Native Hawaiian girl from Colorado, who rediscovers her roots as she deals with the antics of spirits and gods drawn from Hawaiian folklore while visiting her grandmother in Hawaii for the summer. Malia share...

On this episode we sit down with author Abraham Chang about his debut novel 888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers , an Asian American coming-of-age love story that takes place in 1995 New York City. We chat with Abe about the inspirations behind his novel as well as how he transitioned from working in publishing to becoming a published novelist. Follow Abraham Chang on Instagram at @geekomnivo...

On this episode, we discuss out May 2024 Book Club pick, Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee, a YA noir mystery about two Chinese American sisters who investigate the murder of their friend, an up and coming Hollywood starlet, in 1930's Los Angeles. Listen in as we dive into this novel which blends of the gritty themes of noir fiction with the light-hearted tones of a cozy mystery, with a splash of Asian...

On this episode we chat with author E. L. Shen about her YA coming-of-age novel The Queens of New York , which just had its paperback release. We chat with E. L. about the inspirations for her story about three best friends finding themselves over a summer apart, and dive deep into one of her plot points revolving around a surprisingly modern musical with racist themes. Follow E. L. Shen on Instag...

On our mid-month check in for May 2024, we recap the latest Asian American publishing announcements, as well as catch up on some book awards news and hot topics on Booktok. We also share some of the live audio that we captured from attendees at the 2024 Long Beach Festival of AAPI Books! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Immortal the Blood by Molly X. Chang Maggie and the Story Shad...

On this episode we sit down with author Samira Ahmed about her newest novel This Book Won't Burn , a YA coming-of-age story about a girl who moves to a small town in the middle of her senior year and finds herself embroiled in her town's politics as she finds out that hundreds of books in her school's libraries have been marked for book bans. We chat with Samira about her own experiences taking on...

On this episode we discuss our April 2024 book club pick, Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, which follows the story of struggling writer June Hayward who finally finds the publishing success she's always dreamed of... after taking the unfinished transcript of her recently deceased writing bestie, the way more successful Athena Liu, and passing it off as her own. We dive into this provocative novel that ex...

In honor of next weekend's Festival of AAPI Books (which we will be exhibiting at again), we're sharing some of the conversations we recorded at last year's festival which until now were only available on our Patreon exclusive bonus podcast, Boba Chats! We're excited to share our candid chats with author friends Jessica Kim, Phil Yu, Julie Tieu, and Julie Abe. If you like what you head, consider b...

It's a Marvin only episode for this month's book news check-in, let's see how it goes as he reviews some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, as well as some new and potentially exciting adaptation news. Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Adam & Evie’s Matchmaking Tour by Nora Nguyen Sisters at Sea by Yume Kitasei This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki ; illust by...

On this author chat, we sit down with Sheila Sundar about her debut novel Habitations , a decades-spanning story of identity, immigration, expectation and desire, and of love lost and found, exploring the stories of immigrant scholars, and what it means to make a home. Sheila shares with us her journey to becoming a novelist, as well as the inspirations behind the themes of her novel. Follow Sheil...

On this episode, we sit down with author A.H. Kim to talk about her latest novel Relative Strangers , a contemporary adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibilities following the Korean-American Bae-Wood family as they find themselves thrown from their home as the result of an unexpected estate battle. We chat with Ann about her inspirations for the story, and what goes into adapting a timeles...

On this episode we discuss our March 2024 book club pick, Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum & translated by Shanna Tan, a story about a woman who leaves her unfulfilling life in the city to start up an independent bookstore in a small neighborhood. We dive into the book's themes as the owner, workers, and customers of the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop all search for their purpose in...

On this episode, we welcome author Vanessa Le to chat about her debut novel The Last Bloodcarver , a Vietnamese-American inspired YA fantasy about a girl with the power to alter human biology who wants to be a healer even if the world sees her as a monster, who is caught and sold into the service of a wealthy family to heal the last surviving witness to a suspected murder. We chat with Vanessa abo...

On our mid-month check in for March 2024, we recap the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as go over some exciting adaptation and festival news! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: The Perfections by Lulee Ma Revolutions Are Made of Love by Sun Yung Shin and Mélina Mangal ; illust by Leslie Barlow Nunu and the Sea by Isabella Kung   A Home on the Pag...