Books and Boba

Latest Episodes:

#293 - Author Chat w/ Joanne Howard Oct 25, 2024

Show notes

On this episode, we chat with Joanne Howard to talk about her debut novel Sleeping in the Sun, a coming of age story about a family of American missionaries living in India during the final years of the Brisish Raj. Joanne shares about her writers journey as well as how finding out about her own family's history as missionaries in India inspired her to write this story.

Follow Joanne on Instagram at @joannesbooks and check out her debut novel Sleeping in the Sun 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 October 2024 pick is The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

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

#292 - October 2024 Book News Oct 18, 2024

Show notes

On our mid-month check in for Spooky Month 2024, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, check in on the latest winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, and weigh in on the possible TV adaptation of RF Kuang's Yellowface!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

Kingdom of Waves by Melissa de la Cruz
One Word, Six Letters by Adib Khorram
Never, Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan
Wild Song by Candy Gourlay
Ask the Doctor: 75 Wacky and Wise Health Questions from Curious Kids by Betty Choi; illust by Jannie Ho
Don't Eat Eustace by Lian Cho
The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye
Casting April by Wendy Lu
Accidentally on Purpose by Kristen Kish
The Ex-girlfriend Murder Club by Gloria Chao
Schooltime Grumps by Katrina Moore; illust by Xindi Ya
Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus
Jeong Is Jeong by Jessica Yoon; illust by Michelle Lee
The Legendary Allies series by Linda Trinh; illust by Quynh Anh Nguyen

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 October 2024 pick is The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

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

#291 - Author Chat w/ Teresa Wong Oct 11, 2024

Show notes

On this episode, we sit down with Chinese-Canadian author and cartoonist Teresa Wong to chat about her new graphic memoir, All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey, an generation spanning recounting 100 years of her own family's history in China and Canada. Teresa shares how she became a author/illustrator of graphic novels, as well as what it was like sharing her family's stories with the world.

Follow Teresa on Instagram at @by_teresawong and check out her debut novel All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey 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 October 2024 pick is The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

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

#290 - A Burning by Megha Majumdar Oct 04, 2024

Show notes

On this episode, we discuss our September 2024 pick, A Burning by Megha Majumdar, a social novel about a poor girl in Kolkata accused of a terrorist attack she wasn't involved in, and the aspiring actress and teacher who have the chance to clear her name but at the cost of their own social ascension. Join us as we dive into Megha's modern social novel which asks the question, who are the ones being burned in a society where anyone can become kindling?

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 October 2024 pick is The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

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

#289 - Author Chat w/ Preeti Chhibber Sep 27, 2024

Show notes

On this episode, we sit down with prolific writer Preeti Chhibber to talk about her new YA rom com novel, Payal Mehta's Romance Revenge Plot , about high school junior Payal Mehta and her ill-conceived plan to get back at her longtime crush for micro-aggressing against her by making him fall in love with her... for revenge of course, in the process enlisting the help of her academic nemesis who's prickly exterior may be hiding something more.

Follow Aurora on Instagram at @runwithskizzers and check out her debut novel Payal Mehta's Romance Revenge Plot 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 September 2024 pick is A Burning by Megha Majumdar

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

#288 - Author Chat w/ Aurora Palit Sep 20, 2024

Show notes

On this episode, we welcome author Aurora Palit to talk about her debut novel, Sunshine and Spice , an adult romance story between two members of a conservative Bengali Canadian community who enter into a fake relationship to help solve each others cultural dilemmas out despite being complete opposites. We chat with Aurora about her writer's journey as well as the inspirations for her spicy debut.

Follow Aurora on Instagram at @aurorapalit and check out her debut novel Sunshine and Spice 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 September 2024 pick is A Burning by Megha Majumdar

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

#287 - September 2024 Book News Sep 13, 2024

Show notes

On our mid-month check in for September 2024, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, get some updates on which authors of Asian descent who made it to the National Book Awards long-lists, and touch a little on the latest controversy with NaNoWriMo!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

Flashlight by Susan Choi
Let It Be a Tale: Palestinian Journalists on Survival and Resistance edited by Zahra Hankir
The Singular Life of Aria Patel by Samira Ahmed
Stars, Stripes, and Summer Nights by Celeste Dador
How to Free a Jinn by Raidah Shah Idil
Okchundang Candy by Jung-soon Go, translated by Aerin Park
Nest of Tongues by Randy Ribay
Every Single Splendor by Mae Respicio
A Zombie Day by An Na; illust by August Zhang
A Space for Nina by Karen Koh
When They Burned the Butterfly by Wen-yi Lee
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay
Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada
The Tale of a Wall: Reflections on the Meaning of Hope and Freedom by Nasser Abu Srour, translated by Luke Leafgren
The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa; translated from Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain
Taiwan Travelogueby Yáng Shuāng-zǐ; translated by Lin King
Where the Wind Calls Homeby Samar Yazbek; translated by Leri Price

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 September 2024 pick is A Burning by Megha Majumdar

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

#286 - Author Chat w/ Randy Ribay Sep 06, 2024

Show notes

On this episode, we chat with author Randy Ribay about his latest novel, Everything We Never Had, a YA story about four generations of Filipino men, each grappling with their own unique relationships with identity, masculinity, and father-son relationships. We talk with Randy about his inspirations for the book, as well as his thoughts on its themes of breaking out of toxic cycles.

Follow Randy on Instagram at @RandyRibay and check out his novel Everything We Never Had, 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 September 2024 pick is A Burning by Megha Majumdar

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

#285 - Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang Aug 30, 2024

Show notes

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 private chef for an elite research colony in the Italian mountains, one of the few places left in the world with sunlight and abundance, but not all is as it seems.

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 September 2024 pick is A Burning by Megha Majumdar

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

#284 - Author Chat w/ Trinity Nguyen Aug 23, 2024

Show notes

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 @thetrinitytran and check out her debut novel A Banh Mi for Two, 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: