Books and Boba

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
• This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki; illust by Nicole Goux
• Alice Chen’s Reality Ch...

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 inspirations behind the themes of her novel.

Follow Sheila on Twitter at @sundarsheila and che...

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 the story, and what goes into adapting a timeless story with an Asian American lens...

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-Dong Bookshop all search for their purpose in life, and how the answers clash wit...

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 witness to a suspected murder. We chat with Vanessa about her inspirations for her fantasy ...

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 the Sea by Isabella Kung
•  A Home on the Page by Kao Kalia Yang;
• illust by Seo Kim
• Dea...

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 with Sophie about her inspirations for the story as well as what goes into constructing ...

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.

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• Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
• Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

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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 creative journey to becoming an animation story editor and published author.

Follow Ray on In...

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 Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
• 100th Day of School with Yasmin by Saadia Faruqi; il...

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 same powers. Sajni shares with us why she was inspired to adapt Medusa's story, and ...

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 sad-times neither, and they are beautifully brought to life with her evocative prose ...

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 living in Shanghai), and her new stepfather, a Chinese businessman pursuing his own ...

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 Miéville
• Bones of Jade, Flesh Like Ice by Gracie Marsden
• The Lotus In...

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 sent on a mission to infiltrate a Japanese aligned newspaper alongside Orion Hong, a...

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 as Leprosy). We chat with Wendy about how this story was inspired by the true story ...

On this episode, we chat with graphic novelist (& animation artist) Sage Cotugno about their debut graphic novel, The Glass Scientists Volume 1, a story mashing up Victorian horror classics about Dr Jekyll and his Society for Arcane Sciences, which provides rogue (not mad) scientists a safe place to practice their rogue experiments. We chat with Sage about their love of anime and Victorian horror, as well as their background in...

On our last mid-month check in for 2023, we once again review the latest Asian American book and publishing announcements, as well as recap the latest book news including wishing a farewell to a beloved institution for diverse authors and drinking all the tea on the latest controversy to sweep book twitter!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• The Guilt Pill by Saumya Dave
• Nice to Meet Eat You by Karen Yin; illust by C...

On this episode, we chat with author K-Ming Chang about her latest novel, Organ Meats, a story about two childhood friends, Anita and Rainie, who realize that they're descended from dogs and connected by a red string of fate. Years after moving away, Rainie returns to her hometown to find her friend lost in a dream and sets out to rescue her. We chat with K-Ming about how she became a novelist, as well as the inspirations behind he...