Books and Boba

On this episode we welcome back author E. L. Shen to chat about her newest novel Foreigners! Loosely based on her own family's history, Foreigners is a compelling take on the multigenerational Asian American story following characters from Qing dynasty China, 1960's New York, and present day New England, and the lies (big and small) we tell to fit in.

Follow E. L. Shen on Instagram at @elshenwrites and check out her novel Foreigners, 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:

• Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks
• Purchasing books at our bookshop
• Rocking our Books & Boba merch

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook

The Books & Boba October 2026 pick is Ebony Gate by Julia Vee & Ken Bebelle

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

On this episode, we discuss our September 2026 book club pick, Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim, a classic Asian American multigenerational story, about the tenuous relationship between an immigrant mother and her American daughter, but with a magical realism twist as both mother and daughter also have mysterious powers from a family curse passed down through the generations (the mother can turn invisible and the daughter can feel the history of anything she touches).

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

• Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks
• Purchasing books at our bookshop
• Rocking our Books & Boba merch

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook

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

On this episode, we catch up on the latest Asian American book news and the last 2 month of publishing announcements for our September 2026 mid-month check-is

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• For You I Would Forget by Zeyneb Holdridge
• We Rose from the Sea by Olivia Sun
• Fern and the Fox by Sophie Diao
• A Drop of Kindness by Andrea Wang; illust. by Sally Soweol Han
• Wings by Susan Tan; illust. by Rowan Kingsbury
• Yukiko and the Little Black Cat by Sarah Tsiang; illust. by Joey Ng
• Wanbo by Shiho Pate
• Incomplete Works by Sarah Chihaya
• From the Clear Blue Sky by Jackie Akiko Cloud
• Monster Moon Rising edited by Ellen Oh
• Meow Meow Magic by Yu Kito Lee
• The Boy from Cloud Mountain by B.B. Tan
• 10 Sleepy Cats by Lili Chin
• Z Is for Zoomies by Lili Chin
• Dear June, I'm Mad at You by Vivienne Chang & Eugenia Yoh
• Super Shy by Vivian Truong
• Tapestry of Gold by Tasia M.S
• Write Back Soon by Remy Lai

Book news mentioned on this episode:

• Bridgerton star Yerin Ha to narrate American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee
• R.F. Kuang’s Taipei Story debuts at #3 on NYT Bestsellers List for Hardcover Fiction
• HarperCollins Launches Manga Imprint
• C.B. Lee’s Coffesshop in an Alternate Universe wins Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

• Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks
• Purchasing books at our bookshop
• Rocking our Books & Boba merch

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook

The Books & Boba September 2026 pick is Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim

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

On this episode, we welcome author Julie Abe back to the show to talk about her newest middle grade fantasy novel, The Magic Library of Waterfall Way, a story about an unremarkable girl in a magical world of remarkable people, and her one chance at finding a guild to finally belong to in order to avoid exile, but in order to do so, she must fulfill a quest to save a magical library. We're excited to catch up with Julie as she launches her newest MG fantasy series!

Follow Julie on Instagram at @julieabebooks and check out her latest novel The Magic Library of Waterfall Way 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:

• Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks
• Purchasing books at our bookshop
• Rocking our Books & Boba merch

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook

The Books & Boba September 2026 pick is Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim

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

On this episode,we discuss our August 2026 book club pick, Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, following Klara, an android "artificial friend," and her quest to bring happiness to her teen Josie as she grows up in a dystopic future. Join us as we dive into another masterful Ishiguro tale about the fleeting innocence of children, having conviction in the face of despair, and the complex responsibilities of parenthood (and more specifically, how far should someone go to give their children a better life).

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

• Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks
• Purchasing books at our bookshop
• Rocking our Books & Boba merch

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook

The Books & Boba September 2026 pick is Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim

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

On this episode, we chat with author Momo Yamaguchi about her debut novel, Hello, Limerence, an ode to bad decisions made in our mid-twenties following a young Japanese woman, dealing with a soul-sucking corporate job and a stagnant love-life, who lets a growing crush on a Japanese American man become an obsession that throws her life into chaos.

Follow Momo on Instagram at @momoyamagucci and check out her debut novel Hello, Limerence is 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:

• Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks
• Purchasing books at our bookshop
• Rocking our Books & Boba merch

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook

The Books & Boba August 2026 pick is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

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

On this episode, we're excited to welcome author Susan Lee back to the podcast to catch up on BTS news as well as chat about her latest novel, See You at the Sunset, an adult romantic comedy about a young woman, who is staying with her grandmother in a Palm Springs senior living community after losing her job at a law firm in NYC, as she strikes up a relationship with her grandma's new neighbor's grandson, who also happens to be the man who signed her termination papers (as well as her one night stand)!

Follow Susan on Instagram at @susanleewrites and check out her latest novel See You at the Sunset is 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:

• Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks
• Purchasing books at our bookshop
• Rocking our Books & Boba merch

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook

The Books & Boba August 2026 pick is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

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

On this episode, we chat with author Erin Baldwin about her latest novel Good Luck, Babe! A sapphic YA coming of age romantic comedy about two former best friends who reluctantly agree to work together to pursue their dream of competing on an Amazing-race style reality TV competition, the catch is they also have to pretend to date because their season is for couples-only! Erin shares with us her journey as an author, her inspirations for the novel, as well as her own personal reality TV competition aspirations.

Follow Erin on Instagram at @erinbaldwin.books and check out her newest novel Good Luck, Babe! 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:

• Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks
• Purchasing books at our bookshop
• Rocking our Books & Boba merch

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook

The Books & Boba August 2026 pick is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

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

On this episode, we discuss our July 2026 Patron's Choice Book Club pick, Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen, A family comedy about the Trans of Toronto Canada, a messy but close-knit family who come together to try and save their family's nail salon when gentrification comes into their neighborhood in the form of a high-tech all-inclusive rival nail salon, by any means necessary.

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:

• Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks
• Purchasing books at our bookshop
• Rocking our Books & Boba merch

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook

The Books & Boba August 2026 pick is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

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

On this episode, we sit down with author Tania Tay to discuss her new cafe cozy romance novel The Matcha Maker Café (which she wrote under the pen name Lily Chen). We chat with Tania about her journey to becoming a novelist, her experience writing about the British East Asian experience for IP projects, as well as the rise (and decline) of cafe culture.

Learn more about Tania at taniatay.com and check out her novel The Matcha Maker Café 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:

• Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perks
• Purchasing books at our bookshop
• Rocking our Books & Boba merch

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Facebook

The Books & Boba July 2026 pick is Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

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