Books and Boba

On this episode, we welcome author Sophie Wan to chat about her debut novel Women of Good Fortune , a story of three "leftover" women living in Shanghai each stuck in their own ruts from living under the patriarchy, who decides to do something about it, by planning a heist to steal the red envelope money a crazy rich wedding. We had a great chat with Sophie about her inspirations for the story as...

On this episode, we discuss our February 2024 book club pick, Untethered Sky , an action packed novella by Fonda Lee about a young woman as she becomes a Ruhker, who are warriors that hunt monsters using giant mythical birds called rocs. *Support the podcast by supporting our Patreon * Follow our hosts: Reera Yoo ( @reeraboo ) Marvin Yueh ( @marvinyueh ) Follow us: Facebook Twitter Goodreads Group...

On this episode, we chat with Ray Xu about his debut middle grade graphic novel Alterations , a charming semi-autobiographical tale of a kid growing up in a crowded apartment with his mom, older sister, and grandmother, just trying to fit in and stand out. We chat with Ray about the real life inspirations behind his novel, as well as his own creative journey to becoming an animation story editor a...

On our mid-month check in for February 2024, we recap the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as catch up on the latest book tea, including controversies from a prominent book awards. Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Me and My Pet Demon by Remy Lai Once Upon a Tail by Audrey Perrott & Charlene Chua A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim 100th Day of Sch...

On this episode, we chat with author Sajni Patel to talk about her new YA fantasy novel A Drop of Venom , a retelling of the Medusa myth taking place in an Indian-inspired fantasy setting. Her novel follows the story of two people, one is a naga, deemed a monster by the powers that be, and the other is a slayer, who is sent to kill monsters by those same powers. Sajni shares with us why she was in...

On this episode we discuss our January 2024 book club pick, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City , by Jane Wong. In this memoir, Jane shares about her upbringing in Atlantic City as a restaurant kid, her trials and tribulations in love, as well as her tumultuous journey to becoming a writer and academic. Jane's stories aren't all fun-times, but not all sad-times neither, and they are beautifully broug...

On this author chat, we sit down with French-Chinese-American author Aube Rey Lescure to talk about her debut novel River East, River West , a story that blends coming-of-age and historical fiction following the stories of a young daughter of an expat living in Shanghai who dreams of a better life in America (or at the very least among the Americans living in Shanghai), and her new stepfather, a C...

It's time for our first mid-month book news check-in for 2024! It's been a light news month to start off the year, but that doesn't mean we don't have some exciting new publishing announcements to go over, including a new literary project by Keanu Reeves! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: The Book of Elsewhere  by Keanu Reeves & China Miéville Bones of Jade, Flesh Like Ice&...

On this episode, we discuss our December 2023 book club pick, Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong, a spin-off taking place four years after the events of Chloe's first duology, Foul Lady Fortune follows returning character Rosalind Lang, an supernatural assassin seeking redemption for her actions by working for the Kuomintang in 1930's Shanghai, who is sent on a mission to infiltrate a Japanese aligne...

For our first episode of the new year, we sit down with Wendy Chin-Tanner to talk about her debut novel King of the Armadillos , a historical fiction coming-of-age story of a young Chinese American immigrant from the Bronx in the 1950's, who is sent to a federal medical institution in Louisiana after he is diagnosed with Hansen's Disease (also known as Leprosy). We chat with Wendy about how this s...

On this episode, we chat with graphic novelist (& animation artist) Sage Cotugno about their debut graphic novel, The Glass Scientists Volume 1 , a story mashing up Victorian horror classics about Dr Jekyll and his Society for Arcane Sciences, which provides rogue (not mad) scientists a safe place to practice their rogue experiments. We chat with Sage about their love of anime and Victorian ho...

On our last mid-month check in for 2023, we once again review the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as recap the latest book news including wishing a farewell to a beloved institution for diverse authors and drinking all the tea on the latest controversy to sweep book twitter! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: The Guilt Pill by Saumya Dave Nice to Meet...

On this episode, we chat with author K-Ming Chang about her latest novel, Organ Meats , a story about two childhood friends, Anita and Rainie, who realize that they're descended from dogs and connected by a red string of fate. Years after moving away, Rainie returns to her hometown to find her friend lost in a dream and sets out to rescue her. We chat with K-Ming about how she became a novelist, a...

On this episode, we discuss our November 2023 book club pick, Squire by Nadia Shammas & Sara Alfageeh, a graphic novel about a girl who belongs to a conquered group of a great empire, who sees an opportunity to rise above her station when an opportunity arises to become a squire in service to the imperial army. However, along the way she begins to realize that maybe there's no glory to be foun...

On this episode, we chat with author Kate Chenli about her debut novel, A Bright Heart , a Chinese-inspired imperial court fantasy about a girl who wakes up in the past after being betrayed by the prince she loved, and armed with knowledge of the future, has the opportunity to take revenge on those who wronged her. Kate shares with us her own personal journey to becoming a published author, as wel...

We have a little pre-thanksgiving treat for you all! Recently, Reera & Marvin had the pleasure to guest on a fellow book podcast The Novel Tea , hosted by Neha and Shruti, to chat about the modern classic Pachinko. If you like what you hear, remember to subscribe to The Novel Tea on your favored podcatcher! --- We had so much to say about Pachinko that we had to record a part 2! Joining us on...

On our mid-month check in for November 2023, we review the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as follow up on the recent Scholastic book fair controversy as well as checking in on the latest literary awards! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: We Will Go to Jinju by Grace M. Cho The Typing Lady and To Live for Now by Ruth Ozeki Tea Is Love written by Adib...

On this episode, we sit down with author Ye Chun to chat about her newest novel, Straw Dogs of the Universe , an decades spanning historical fiction about the early Chinese immigrants in America, following a daughter's search for her father who went missing after helping complete the transcontinental railroad. Check out his novel, Straw Dogs of the Universe , available now on the Books & Boba...

On this episode, we discuss our October 2023 book club pick, Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, a story about a piano prodigy conservatory dropout who takes a job at the high-end wellness company Holistik and gets drawn into the unsettling world of beauty for rich people, and what they're willing to pay to attain it. Part satire, part dystopian horror, with a helping of body horror and child of im...

On this episode, we are joined by Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng to talk about his new Booker Prize long-listed novel The House of Doors , a historical fiction story about British citizens living in colonial Malaya and their personal dramas that play out against the backdrop of significant real life events, including the murder trial Ethel Proudlock and the revolution of Dr. Sun Yat Sen. We chat...

On our mid-month check in for October 2023, we review the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as catch up on the latest controversial moves by a prominent book corporation. Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie Untitled middle grade by Karina Yan Glaser One Mad Cat by Vicky Fang  Zuni and th...

On this author chat episode, we sit down with bestselling author Jean Kwok to discuss her latest novel THE LEFTOVER WOMEN, a suspenseful story about 2 women, one recent immigrant from China searching for the daughter that was taken from her at birth, and an affluent publishing executive trying to balance the needs of her career with her beloved adopted daughter. We chat with Jean about her persona...

On this episode, we discuss our September 2023 book club pick The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang, an Asian American family drama about a multi-generational restaurant family from the midwest and what happens to them and their town's Chinese American enclave when their tyrannical patriarch is found dead. *Support the podcast by purchasing books at our bookshop or by buying Books & Boba merch...

On this episode, we sit down with bestselling author Olivie Blake to chat about the revised release of her first self-published novel, Masters of Death , a genre-bending contemporary fantasy about an aswang real estate agent and the godson of death just trying to get by in the modern world as anomalous beings. We chat with Olivie about not only her own journey as an author, but the journey of her...

On our mid-month check in for September 2023, we review the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as catch up on some news from the ongoing literary awards season. Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Toward Eternity by Anton Hur Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi Ahimsa is Everywhere by Suma Subramaniam; illust by A...