Books and Boba

Latest Episodes:

#363 - Author Chat w/ Tania Tay (aka Lily Chen) Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, we sit down with author Tania Tay to discuss her new cafe cozy romance novel The Matcha Maker Café (which she wrote under the pen name Lily Chen). We chat with Tania about her journey to becoming a novelist, her experience writing about the British East Asian experience for IP projects, as well as the rise (and decline) of cafe culture.

Learn more about Tania at taniatay.com and check out her novel The Matcha Maker Café 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 July 2026 pick is Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

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

#362 - July 2026 Book News Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, we catch up on the latest Asian American book news and publishing announcements for our July 2026 mid-month check-is

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

Swaplife by Abdi Nazemian and Pedro Rhuas
My Heart or Yours by K. Sugimoto
Destined or Damned by Sara Jafari
Chicken's Noodle Soup by Naaz H. Khan; illust. by Valentina Tu
Novae byJennifer Xu and Kate Rhodes

Book news mentioned 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 July 2026 pick is Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

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

#361 - Author Chat w/ Yejin Suh Jul 13, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, we chat with author Yejin Suh to talk about her debut novel The Last Soldier of Nava, a Korean-inspired fantasy novel following a girl named Shadow, a former peerless soldier who awakens after a thousand years of slumber, who struggles to retain her freedom under a new identity, even as she is dragged back to her immortal father's court by his new protege (whom she also feels an attraction to).

Follow Yejin on Instagram at @yejinsuhh and check out her debut novel The Last Soldier of Nava 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 July 2026 pick is Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

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

#360 - The Chosen and The Beautiful by Nghi Vo Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

Join us as we discuss our June 2026 pick, The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo. A queer retelling of the classic American novel The Great Gatsby. Set in a magical alternate Jazz Age New York, this version is told through the perspective of Jordan Baker, a side character in the original text, re-imagined as a Vietnamese American adoptee who does her best to survive in a high society as an outsider while trying to stay afloat amongst the tempest that is Jay Gatsby's obsessive quest to acquire the love of her best friend Daisy.

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 July 2026 pick is Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

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

#359 - Author Chat w/ Yu-Mei Balasingamchow Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, we sit down with author Yu-Mei Balasingamchow to talk about her debut novel Names Have Been Changed, a modern epistolary novel told in the style of tell-all podcast hosted by a Singaporean woman who has been on the run across the world for a decade. We're excited to chat with Yu-Mei about her debut that's part globetrotting adventure and part love letter to diaspora communities and the hidden sides of Singaporean culture.

Follow Yu_Mei on Instagram at @yumei.balasingamchow and check out her debut novel Names Have Been Changed 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 2026 pick is The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

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

#358 - June 2026 Book News Jun 23, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, we catch up on the latest Asian American book news and publishing announcements for our June 2026 mid-month check-is

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

Life Is a K Drama by Sherri Shepherd & Jayci Lee
Ophelia No. 23 by Saou Ichikawa
A Girl’s Spine by Saou Ichikawa
Birchwood Prep #1: Lina’s Secret by Mae Raespicio
Kapa Kuiki: My Hawaiian Quilt by Ilima Kahokuhealani Todd; illus. by Mae Waite
All the Gardeners by Varsha Bajaj; illust. by Grace Easton
Shifu Mama by Roger Lam; illust. by Alina Chau
Bamboo Magic by Teresa Robeson; illust. by Wazza Pink
Kung Fu Crane Girl by Mia Wenjen; ilust. by debut artist Yujie Huang
Boss Games by Kelly Yang
Eight Little Hands by Hanh Bui; illust. By Kerisa Greene
Flickers of Hope by Hanh Bui; illust. By Kerisa Greene

Book news mentioned 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 June 2026 pick is The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

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

#357 - Author Chat w/ Cindy Pham Jun 08, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, we're very excited to welcome booktuber, and now published author, Cindy Pham to chat about her debut novel, The Secret World of Briar Rose, a sapphic dark retelling of the legend of sleeping beauty, following a jaded thief who, while searching for her missing sister, finds herself transported into the dream world of her fallen kingdom's slumbering princess. We chat with Cindy about the inspirations behind her debut, as well as how her experience reviewing books have prepared her to be on the other side as a published author.

Follow Cindy on Instagram at @readwithcindy and check out her debut novel The Secret World of Briar Rose 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 2026 pick is The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

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

#356 - No No Boy by John Okada Jun 01, 2026

Show notes

On this episode we discuss our May 2026 pick is No-No Boy by John Okada, one of the earliest in the Asian American canon following the story of Ichiro Yamada who returns home to Seattle after serving 2 years in prison for refusing to serve in the military during the internment of Japanese Americans during World War 2. We're excited to dive into this Asian American classic from 1957, who's publication journey is just as interesting as the story itself.

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 2026 pick is The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

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

#355 - Author Chat w/ Vincent Yu May 26, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, we welcome author Vincent Yu to chat about his debut novel, Seek Immediate Shelter, which follows the stories of several members of a small town community in Massachusetts, who have to deal with the consequences of their impulsive actions when a faulty mass alert is sent our warning them of an imminent missile strike.

Follow Vincent on Instagram at @vinyu12 and check out his debut novel Seek Immediate Shelter 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 2026 pick is No-No Boy by John Okada

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

#354 - May 2026 Book News May 18, 2026

Show notes

For our mid-month book news check in for May 2026, we catch up on the latest Asian American publishing announcements as well as check in on some of the latest news and tea from the greater book industry.

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

The First White Hair by Yasmin Zaher
The Dragon Thief by Ellen Oh
It Begins with the End by Samira Ahmed
Summers in Syria by Shifa Saltagi Safadi; illust. by Hatem Aly
Our Built World: An Architectural Journey Along the Silk Road by Fiyel Levent; illust. by Daby Zainab Faidhi
Sheen by Cindy Pon
Our Chinatown Market by Jasmine Fang; illust. by Thai My Phuong