On our mid-month check in for June 2024, we recap some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, as well as catch up on some awards news and check in on the latest book tea! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: Chasing Sunspots by Victoria Ying Mendell Station by J.B. Hwang Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz Invitation Onl…

On this episode we chat with author Malia Maunakea about her latest middle grade novel, Lei and the Invisible Island, which concludes her MG duology following the summer adventures of Lei, a Native Hawaiian girl from Colorado, who rediscovers her roots as she deals with the antics of spirits and gods drawn from Hawaiian folklore while visiting her …

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.…

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-heart…

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 musica…

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…

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 cha…

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 he…

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, an…

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 Th…

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 inspirat…

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…

On this episode we discuss our March 2024 book club pick, Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum & translated by Shanna Tan, a story about a woman who leaves her unfulfilling life in the city to start up an independent bookstore in a small neighborhood. We dive into the book's themes as the owner, workers, and customers of the Hyunam-…

On this episode, we welcome author Vanessa Le to chat about her debut novel The Last Bloodcarver, a Vietnamese-American inspired YA fantasy about a girl with the power to alter human biology who wants to be a healer even if the world sees her as a monster, who is caught and sold into the service of a wealthy family to heal the last surviving witnes…

On our mid-month check in for March 2024, we recap the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as go over some exciting adaptation and festival news! Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news: The Perfections by Lulee Ma Revolutions Are Made of Love by Sun Yung Shin and Mélina Mangal; illust by Leslie Barlow Nunu and …

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 wit…

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)…

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 creativ…

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 For…

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…

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 …

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…

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…

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…

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…