Books and Boba

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 dreams after his life was derailed during the Cultural Revolution. We chat with Aube about her inspirations for he story as well as her personal journey to becoming a novelist.

Follow Aube on Instagram @aubenoisette and check out Aube's debut novel, River East, River West, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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

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The Books & Boba January 2024 pick is Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong

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

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 Inn by Nisha Sharma
• Men Like Ours by Bindu Bansinath
• Make My Wish Come True by Alyson Derrick & Rachael Lippincott
• She Gets the Girl: A Christmas Novella by Alyson Derrick & Rachael Lippincott
• Sun, Moon and Star by Nancy So Miller
• A Fly in the Chai by Zenia Wadhwani; illust by Chaaya Prabhat
• I Am a Bon Dancer by Brandi-Ann Uyemura; illust by Amy Matsushita-Beal
• No Purchase Necessary by Maria Marianayagam
• Follow Us by Liann Zhang

*Support the podcast by supporting our Patreon*

Follow our hosts:

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

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The Books & Boba January 2024 pick is Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong

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

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, an infuriatingly charming spy, to uncover a suspected international terror plot.

*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

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The Books & Boba January 2024 pick is Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong

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

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 of her father who spent his formative years being treated for Hansens, as well as how she skillfully mixed in Asian American history into her coming-of-age story.

Follow Sage on Instagram @wendychintanner at Check out Wendy's debut graphic novel, King of the Armadillos, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

*Support the podcast by supporting our Patreon*

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

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The Books & Boba January 2024 pick is Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong

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

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 the animation industry and how that led them to creating comics.

Follow Sage on Instagram @arythusa at Check out Sage's debut graphic novel, The Glass Scientists Volume 1, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

*Support the podcast by supporting our Patreon*

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Facebook
• Twitter
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The Books & Boba December 2023 pick is Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

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

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 Carolina Coroa
• Cookies and Crescents: An Eid Story by Nada Shawish Dutka; illust by Zelma Firdauzia
• Bing's Cherries by Livia Blackburne; illust by Julia Kuo
• To Have and Have More by Sanibel Chai
• Princess Bulldog by Lovi Goyal Yu; illust by Stephanie Laberis
• Embrace the Serpent by Sunya Mara
• So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole
• The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste
• To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X Chang
• Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
• Mistress of Lies by KM Enright 
• Gods of Hunger by R.M. Virtue

News stories covered on this episode:

• Cait Corrain Controversy
• DVpit announces indefinite hiatus

*Support the podcast by supporting our Patreon*

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

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The Books & Boba December 2023 pick is Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

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

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 her writing style that steeped in Chinese folklore and metaphor.

Check out K-Ming's latest novel, Organ Meats, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

*Support the podcast by supporting our Patreon*

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Facebook
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The Books & Boba December 2023 pick is Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

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

On this episode, we discuss our November 2023 book club pick, Squire by Nadia Shammas & Sara Alfageeh, a graphic novel about a girl who belongs to a conquered group of a great empire, who sees an opportunity to rise above her station when an opportunity arises to become a squire in service to the imperial army. However, along the way she begins to realize that maybe there's no glory to be found after all in the practice of empire.

*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

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The Books & Boba December 2023 pick is Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

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

On this episode, we chat with author Kate Chenli about her debut novel, A Bright Heart, a Chinese-inspired imperial court fantasy about a girl who wakes up in the past after being betrayed by the prince she loved, and armed with knowledge of the future, has the opportunity to take revenge on those who wronged her. Kate shares with us her own personal journey to becoming a published author, as well as the challenges of bringing tropes that are popular in Asian fiction to the west.

Follow Kate on Instagram at @katechenli.author and check out her debut novel, A Bright Heart, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Goodreads Group

The Books & Boba February 2023 pick is The Charmed List by Julie Abe

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

Follow our hosts:

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

Follow us:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Goodreads Group

The Books & Boba November 2023 pick is Squire by Nadia Shammas & Sara Alfageeh

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

We have a little pre-thanksgiving treat for you all! Recently, Reera & Marvin had the pleasure to guest on a fellow book podcast The Novel Tea, hosted by Neha and Shruti, to chat about the modern classic Pachinko.

If you like what you hear, remember to subscribe to The Novel Tea on your favored podcatcher!

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We had so much to say about Pachinko that we had to record a part 2! Joining us on this episode are special guests Marvin and Reera from Books & Boba. We talk to them about their podcast and mission, and get to hear more about Asian diaspora stories and their impact.  

In continuing our discussion on Pachinko, we talk about themes of wealth and opportunity, generational trauma, and relate these to some of our own family’s struggles. We talk more about Min Jin Lee’s process in writing this book, and we also share our unfiltered opinions on the Apple TV adaptation. 

Books mentioned:

Straw Dogs of the Universe by Ye Chun

Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

Sorcerer of the Crown by Zen Cho

The Magical Language of Others by E.J. Koh