On this episode, we discuss our June 2024 book club pick Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly, following the story of two adult siblings from Auckland as they each try to escape from their arrested development and overcome their messy professional and romantic issues, while also dealing with their chaotic but close knit Maori-Russian family. We had …

On this episode, we welcome author Tara Sim to chat about her latest novel, We Shall Be Monsters, a YA dark Indian-inspired fantasy take on the Frankenstein story following a girl on a quest to resurrect her sister (who's accidental death she may also be responsible for) who gets drawn into a web of political intrigue by people who want her knowled…

A very special episode! As Cinema Bing Bong takes to the actual cinema and comes to you Live from Event Queen Street and a bench outside Atrium on Elliott. Then it's back to the studio where Amelia's bragging about how many films are screening in Melbourne and Rebecca can't remember the name of anything just which crimes were involved. Featuring a …

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…

May's Cinema Bing Bong is a treasure trove of delights: After seven years Amelia has finally listened to Rebecca about the films of Alice Rohrwacher and immediately turned bisexual looking at Josh O'Connor. The tables have turned and Rebecca has overthought how to pronounce Franz Rogowski so much she forgot it has a g in it. A damning report on the…

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…

A thrilling new episode of Cinema Bing Bong, which includes two new games to play along with! Spooky scary! Amelia's been watching horror movies by herself, in April. Luckily for the listeners who are yet to see Immaculate (2024) or any of the other American Nun Movies, she's bleeped out the spoilers. Rebecca cried all the way through Civil War (20…

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-…

Beware the Ides of March—awards season is over and no one in Australasia can agree on how to pronounce Dune. Amelia has become the nation's foremost Frank Herbert fanatic and can't stop filling her boots with geriatric spice. The only Sandra Hüller movie Rebecca saw in 2023 was the unpopular Sisi und Ich. This episode contains a dramatic reading of…

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…