Books and Boba

On this episode we chat with author Malia Maunekea 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 grandmother in Hawaii for the summer. Malia shares with us her journey as an author, the inspirations for her series, as well as her thoughts on Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander representation in literature.

Follow Malia on Instagram at @maliamaunakea and check out her novel Lei and the Invisible Island, 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 June 2024 pick is Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly

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

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.

Follow Abraham Chang on Instagram at @geekomnivore and check out his debut novel 888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers, 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 June 2024 pick is Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly

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

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-hearted tones of a cozy mystery, with a splash of Asian American coming-of-age for good measure.

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 June 2024 pick is Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly

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

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 musical with racist themes.

Follow E. L. Shen on Instagram at @elshenwrites and check out her novel The Queens of New York, 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 May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee

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

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 Blood by Molly X. Chang
• Maggie and the Story Shadows by Annabelle Oh
• Big Jobs for Little Babies Series by Katrina Moore; illust. by Benson Shum
• Ex Marks the Spot by Gloria Chao
• Hairy Man Suit by Haleh Massey
• Gwei, the Hungry Ghost by Emeline Lee; illust. by Basia Tran
• In the Country I Love by Alaa Al-Barkawi
• Ai & Aiko and the Little Curve by Peter Draw
• Binna's Dalgona by Sojung Kim-McCarthy
•  As Long as You Loathe Me by Swati Hegde
• The Vastness of Us written by Terisa Siagatonu; illust. by Lucyola Langi
• Sparkles for Sunny: A Lunar New Year Story by Sylvia Chen; illust. by Thai My Phuong
• Ramadan on Rahma Road: Celebrating Food, Family, and Friendship by Razeena Omar Gutta & Faaiza Osman; illust. by Atieh Sohrabi

News stories covered on this episode:

• Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Awards

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 May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee

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

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 chat with Samira about her own experiences taking on book bans across the country as well as her thoughts on the importance of reading diversely.

Follow Samira on Instagram at @sam_aye_ahm and check out her novel This Book Won't Burn, 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 May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee

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

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 her own. We dive into this provocative novel that explores how far some people are willing to go to be anointed in a system that's rigged from the start.

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 May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee

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

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, and Julie Abe. If you like what you head, consider becoming a Patreon supporter!

And if you're in the Long Beach area next weekend, don't forget to come say hi!

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 April 2024 pick is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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

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 Check by Kara Loo & Jennifer Young
• Dreamt I Found You by Jimin Han
• The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
• Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim
• The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau
• A Dark and Narrow House by Usman T. Malik
• Ten Incarnations of Rebellion by Vaishnavi Patel
• The Ex-Boyfriends Favorite Recipe Funeral Committee by Saki Kawashiro
• The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu
• Leverage by Amran Gowani
• The Art of Love by Kristi Hong
• When Sleeping Women Wake by Emma Pei Yin
• The Satisfaction Café by Kathy Wang

News stories covered on this episode:

• Festival of AAPI Books – May 5, 2024
• The Sympathizer on HBO
• Crazy Rich Asians to become a musical

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 April 2024 pick is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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

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 check out her novel Habitations, 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 April 2024 pick is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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