Books and Boba

Latest Episodes:

#274 - Author Chat w/ Abraham Chang Jun 07, 2024

Show notes

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 @geekomnivore and check out his debut novel 888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

Follow our hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba June 2024 pick is Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly

This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

#273 - Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee May 31, 2024

Show notes

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 American coming-of-age for good measure.

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

Follow our hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba June 2024 pick is Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly

This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

#272 - Author Chat w/ E. L. Shen May 24, 2024

Show notes

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 Instagram at @elshenwrites and check out her novel The Queens of New York, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

Follow our hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee

This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

#271 - May 2024 Book News May 18, 2024

Show notes

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 Shadows by Annabelle Oh
Big Jobs for Little Babies Series by Katrina Moore; illust. by Benson Shum
Ex Marks the Spot by Gloria Chao
Hairy Man Suit by Haleh Massey
Gwei, the Hungry Ghost by Emeline Lee; illust. by Basia Tran
In the Country I Love by Alaa Al-Barkawi
Ai & Aiko and the Little Curve by Peter Draw
Binna's Dalgona by Sojung Kim-McCarthy
As Long as You Loathe Me by Swati Hegde
The Vastness of Us written by Terisa Siagatonu; illust. by Lucyola Langi
Sparkles for Sunny: A Lunar New Year Story by Sylvia Chen; illust. by Thai My Phuong
Ramadan on Rahma Road: Celebrating Food, Family, and Friendship by Razeena Omar Gutta & Faaiza Osman; illust. by Atieh Sohrabi

News stories covered on this episode:

Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Awards

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

Follow our hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee

This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

#270 - Author Chat w/ Samira Ahmed May 10, 2024

Show notes

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 book bans across the country as well as her thoughts on the importance of reading diversely.

Follow Samira on Instagram at @sam_aye_ahm and check out her novel This Book Won't Burn, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

Follow our hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee

This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

#269 - Yellowface by R.F. Kuang May 04, 2024

Show notes

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 explores how far some people are willing to go to be anointed in a system that's rigged from the start.

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

Follow our hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee

This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

Conversations from Festival of AAPI Books 2023 Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

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 becoming a Patreon supporter!

And if you're in the Long Beach area next weekend, don't forget to come say hi!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

Follow our hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba April 2024 pick is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

#268 - April 2024 Book News Apr 20, 2024

Show notes

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 Nicole Goux
Alice Chen’s Reality Check by Kara Loo & Jennifer Young
Dreamt I Found You by Jimin Han
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim
The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau
A Dark and Narrow House by Usman T. Malik
Ten Incarnations of Rebellion by Vaishnavi Patel
The Ex-Boyfriends Favorite Recipe Funeral Committee by Saki Kawashiro
The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu
Leverage by Amran Gowani
The Art of Love by Kristi Hong
When Sleeping Women Wake by Emma Pei Yin
The Satisfaction Café by Kathy Wang

News stories covered on this episode:

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

Follow our hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba April 2024 pick is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

#267 - Author Chat w/ Sheila Sundar Apr 12, 2024

Show notes

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 Sheila on Twitter at @sundarsheila and check out her novel Habitations, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

Follow our hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba April 2024 pick is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

#266 - Author Chat w/ A.H. Kim Apr 05, 2024

Show notes

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 timeless story with an Asian American lens.

Follow Ann on Instagram at @ahkim.writer and check out her novel, Relative Strangers, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

Follow our hosts: