Books and Boba

On this episode, we're excited to welcome Carolyn Huynh, the author of Books & Boba pick The Fortunes of Jaded Women, to discuss her sophomore novel, The Family Recipe, another dramedy about a messy Vietnamese American family, this time following the estranged scions of a banh mi empire who are thrown into competition with each other for their inheritance by their eccentric father.

Follow Carolyn on Instagram at @carolynkh...

On this episode we discuss our Books & Boba April 2025 pick is The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd, a mystery thriller with magical realism elements about a woman investigating the death of her father who had exiled her from the field of cartography years ago, and uncovering old family secrets through the discovery of the old highway map that had caused their estrangement, which turned out to be the last map of its kin...

It's a Marvin solo episode for our mid-month check in for April 2025. Listen in as he highlights some of the latest publishing announcements for novels written by Asian American authors!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• THE MIDNIGHT TAXI By Yosha Gunasekera
• A TEASPOON OF MAGIC By Jackie Lau
• MIGRATORY CREATURES By Jennifer Yeh
• ENVOY By Yume Kitasei
• DRAGONFLY By Catherine Cho
• TASTES LIKE SEEING GOD By Nina Michiko Tam
• SPA...

On this episode, we discuss our March 2025 book club pick The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamal, a sweeping historical & contemporary novel about a woman who meets her first love again 60 years ago after he stood her up on the day of their marriage in the midst of political upheaval in 1953 Tehran. Join us as we dive into this not-quite second chance romance as we discuss our own thoughts on the existence of destiny and true love...

On this episode, we chat with author Jane Pek, author of our February 2025 book club pick The Verifiers, and most recently its sequel The Rivals. Jane shares with us her journey into becoming an author as well as the inspirations behind writing a murder mystery series surrounding an online dating detective agency, with the bearing heart of an Asian American family drama.

Follow Jane on Instagram at @janepekwrites and check out ...

On our mid-month check in for March 2025, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, discuss the latest book to TV adaptation news, check in as the first book ban case hits the Supreme Court, and share some exciting news for the podcast!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• BLACKPINK: A Little Golden Book Biography by Jessica Yoon
• The Swan's Daughter: A Possibly Doomed Love Story by Roshan...

On this episode, we discuss our February 2025 pick, The Verifiers by Jane Pek, following Claudia Lin, an underachieving Asian American woman with a complicated and somewhat dysfunctional family situation, who is recruited to become an investigator for an online dating detective agency and gets drawn into a vast conspiracy involving big tech and data when one of her clients ends up dead under mysterious circumstances.

Books &am...

Welcome to our first book news check-in for the new year (both new years)! As always, join us as we highlight some of the latest publishing announcements of books by Asian authors, as well as go over some recent awards and industry news!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• But I Won’t Miss Me by Tiffany Tsao
• The Magnificent Banyan Tree and the Green Tong Lau by Stephanie Ellen Sy; illust by Ishita Jain
• Go Tuk Tuk Go! b...

On this episode, we discuss our first book club pick of 2025, Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe, a modern re-imagining of the classic Chinese folktale The Legend of the White Snake, starring two immortal sisters who used to be best snake friends living along West Lake in Tang Dynasty China. When free-spirited Emerald is involved in an altercation with some cops in Central Park, conservative and pragmatic Su flies to NYC to w...

We're back! After an unintended extended hiatus dealing with the double whammy of early parenthood and uncontrollable wildfires, Books & Boba is back with our belated discussion of our December 2024 book club pick  Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo and translated by Jamie Chang, a seminal modern text about what it's like to be a woman in modern Korea. Helping us discuss this short but dense novel is our special gu...

On our final mid-month book news podcast of the year, we go over some of the latest publishing announcements of books by Asian American authors.

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• To the Death by Andrea Tang
• Seven: The Courage, Artistry, and Teamwork of BTS by Lilly Lu
• Jia Has a Dog Problem by Stephanie Ellen Sy; illust by Isabella Kung
• Yarrow and the Burning Mountain by Wendy Xu
• A Ghost Is a Wish by Wendy Xu
• The Bloods...

On this episode, we chat with author Clare Osongco about her debut novel Midnights with You, a YA coming-of-age story about a teenage girl living with her strict Filipino mother, and her secret late night driving lessons with the new boy next door.

Follow Clare on Instagram at @clareosongcoand check out her debut novel Midnights with You available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedi...

On this episode, we sit down with debut author Rosa Kwon Easton to chat about her new novel White Mulberry, a historical fiction novel about a Korean woman who moves to Japan as a child to pursue her education during the period when Korea was occupied by Japan. Rosa shares with us the long journey to publishing her debut based on the real life experiences of her grandmother, who like the main character of her novel, worke...

On this episode, we discuss our November 2024 book club pick,  Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu, an award winning novel about a guy living in cop show version of Chinatown who dreams of becoming a "Kung Fu Guy" but is stuck playing generic Asian guy roles, a metaphor for not only how Hollywood treats its Asian actors, but for the model minority myth as well.

To help us discuss this book, we've invited our friends Ada Tsen...

On this episode, we chat with author Julie Leong chat about her debut novel The Teller of Small Fortunes, a cozy fantasy about a young traveling fortune teller who embarks on a journey across her adopted kingdom alongside her party of found family members. Julie shares her inspirations for writing her cozy adventure that explores western fantasy with a distinctly Asian diaspora lens.

Follow Julie on Instagram at @ju...

Our world may have shifted to a darker timeline, but at the very least, there will still be books! On our November 2024 mid month check-in, we review the latest Asian American publishing announcements as well as check in on the latest book tea and awards!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• The Offer by Neel Patel
• Benny's Bright Qing Ming, by Michelle Jing Chan
• Melodies of the Sitar by Shachi Kaushik; illust. by Geeta...

On this episode, we welcome author Nayantara Roy to chat about her debut novel The Magnificent Ruins, a story about an up and coming literary editor in New York who returns to Kolkata (where she was born) after finding out that she has inherited her family's manor from her grandfather and has to deal with her extended family who all still live there. Tara shares with us her personal inspirations for her debut as well as her jo...

On this episode, we discuss our October 2024 pick, The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. A story following a flesh-eating mermaid and a plague doctor who encounter a village of children with an unsettling secret while on a journey through a snowy forest. Join us a we dive into this spooky read that melds the fairy tales of Anderson and Grimm and asks the question, what happens after the prince marries a creature from the dep...

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 ...