Books and Boba

Latest Episodes:

#323 - Author Chat w/ Julia & Brad Riew Aug 11, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, we chat with Julia and Brad Riew, the sibling writing duo behind the new Asian-inspired fantasy novel The Last Tiger! Julia and Brad share their experiences writing a novel as a team as well as how they were inspired to write their fantasy epic, which takes place in a world inspired by Japanese-occupied Korea in the 1940's, by the real life star-crossed love story of their grandparents.

Follow Julia and brad on Instagram at @juliariew and @bradriew and check out their debut novel The Last Tiger 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 August 2025 The Wangs Vs. The World by Jade Chang

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

#322 - Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, we discuss our July 2025 pick is Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon, a coffee house romantic comedy set in Seattle about high school senior River, who is reeling from the consequences of a series of disastrous personal decisions and seeks refuge at a small Korean cafe where he finds a found family and maybe even an enemies-to-lovers romance with the goth Korean girl of his dreams/nightmares, too bad that it's also the coffee house that his chain family business is directly targeting to put out of business.

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 August 2025 The Wangs Vs. The World by Jade Chang

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

#321 - July 2025 Book News Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

Note: This is a re-upload of episode 321 since we had the wrong audio file uploaded last week, apologies for any confusion!

On our mid-month check in for July 2025, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, and catch up on the latest book news!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

Break Room by Miye Lee; translated by Sandy Jooson Lee
Gods & Comics by Kat Cho
Yuki's Special Delivery by Chloe Ito Ward; illust. by Jiangshan Lyu
The Pain Chasers by Bora Chung; translated by Anton Hur
Monkey Dragon Rabbit! A Wild Lunar New Year Stampede by MeiLin Chan; illust. by Kristen Chow
Friends Furever by Sylvia Liu

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 2025 pick is Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon

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

#320 - Author Chat w/ Allison King Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, we sit down with author Allison King to chat about her debut novel The Phoenix Pencil Company, a novel that's part historical fiction, part magical realism, and part sapphic romance about a young woman who discovers her family's secret magical power to reconstruct anything written by a pencil while taking care of her ailing grandmother and learning about her own family's history from Shanghai to Taiwan to the States.

Follow Allison on Instagram at @allisonkingwrites and check out her debut novel The Phoenix Pencil Company 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 2025 pick is Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon

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

#319 - Author Chat w/ Naomi Xu Elegant Jul 07, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, we're joined by author Naomi Xu Elegant to chat about her debut novel Gingko Season, a story about a young Chinese American woman finding love, identity, purpose, and political awakening alongside her friends, set in New York City in 2018.

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 2025 pick is Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon

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

#318 - Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, we discuss our June 2025 book club pick is Afterparties by the late Anthony Veasna So, a short story collection about a community of Cambodian Americans in San Joaquin County. Join us as we discuss all nine short stories that take us through a myriad of emotions with Anthony's often melancholic, sometimes hopeful, and darkly funny storytelling.

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 2025 pick is Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon

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

#317 - Author Chat w/ Mike Curato Jun 20, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, we welcome award winning author and illustrator Mike Curato to the podcast to chat about his latest graphic novel, Gaysians, an adult graphic novel following four gay Asians navigating love, identity, found family, and friendship in early 2000's Seattle.

Follow Mike on Instagram at @mike_curato and check out his latest graphic novel Gaysians 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 2025 pick is Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

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

#316 - June 2025 Book News Jun 13, 2025

Show notes

On our mid-month check in for June 2025, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, and catch up on the latest book tea!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

Stormraven by Kelsea Yu
Momma's Christmas Gift by Kao Kalia Yang; illust. by Jacqueline Tam
Blood of Silver by Allie Nguyen
Worth a Shot by Dora Wang
Lion Dancer's Lost Lettuce by Michelle Jing Chan
Leaf It to Me! by Katrina Moore; illust. by Biva Nguyen
Fried Rice Surprise by Patricia Tanumihardja; illust. by Shiho Pate
More Than What Eyes See by Miso Kwak; illust. by Thaís Mesquita
Kiri by Alice Chu
The Quest for the Longest Noodle by Stephanie Sy; illust. by Cindy Wume
Hunger Fighter by Jacqueline Chio-Lauri; illust. by Kristin Sorra
Oh, My Affogato! by Daphne Ang and Donna Ghorbanpoor
Planted by Niña Mata
Today Is Children's Day by Aram Kim
The Shape of Love by Carren Jao; illust. by Corinne Caro
Shaping RamadanbyMustaali Raj
Beneath the Same Round Moon by Jasmine Fang; illust. by Rồng Phạm & Vinh Nguyễn

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 2025 pick is Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

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

#315 - Author Chat w/ Susan Lee Jun 06, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, we're excited to welcome author Susan Lee to the podcast to chat about her latest novel, The Romance Rivalry, a YA romantic comedy about two rival booktubers who find themselves as freshmen at the same small liberal arts college and enter a competition with each other to see who can find love first using nothing but romance tropes!

Follow Susan on Instagram at @susanleewrites and check out her latest novel The Romance Rivalry 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 2025 pick is Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

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

#314 - Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su May 30, 2025

Show notes

On this episode, we discuss our May 2025 book club pick Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su. A story about Vi, a twenty three year old biracial midwest Asian American woman, reeling from a bad breakup and a lifetime of bad choices, who finds a sentient blob in the alleys behind a bar and decides to mold it into her ideal romantic partner. What could go wrong?

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: