On this episode, we chat with debut author Julie Abe about her new book Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch (on sale now)! Julie shares with us about her journey to becoming a published author, her inspirations behind the magical world of Eva Evergreen, and more!

Follow Christina at @JulieAbeBooks and pick up Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch at your favorite bookseller!

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On this episode, we discuss our July 2020 pick is The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. A cozy murder mystery set in 1920’s Bombay (current day Mumbai), The Widows of Malabar Hill marks the debut of our new favorite investigator, Perveen Mistry, the first woman lawyer in India, she uses the power of the law and her investigative ability to suss out lies and contradiction to seek justice for her clients.

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This episode is brought to you by Libro.fm, your independent bookstore for digital audiobooks! Get 2 audiobooks for the price of one month by signing up with the promo code “booksandboba” – Subscribe here

We’re more than halfway through July so it’s time for another mid-month news roundup. We go over the latest book and publishing news in Asian American literature for July 2020, as well as discuss the latest book related news from the world of TV and movies.

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This episode is brought to you by Libro.fm, your independent bookstore for digital audiobooks! Get 2 audiobooks for the price of one month by signing up with the promo code “booksandboba” – Subscribe here

On this episode, we discuss our June 2020 book club pick, Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata & translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori. A short and humorous novel about Keiko, a Japanese who finds it hard to interact with people, who finds contentment in the routines of working at a convenience store, where she can do a good job and feel like a “normal person” contributing to society. We discuss what happens when  her ideal life is thrown for a loop as societal pressure mounts for her to settle down and get a real job, get married, or both. 

On this episode, we go over the latest book and publishing news in Asian American literature for our June 2020 mid-month check-in. We also discuss some of the recent social media movements in literature including #BlackoutBestsellerList and #PublishingPaidMe.

We chat with Joe Ide, author of the IQ series of detective novels about Isaiah Quintabe, a freelance private investigator solving mysteries and doing odd jobs for his Long Beach neighborhood. We ask Joe about how his experience growing up in South Central LA helped him with writing his novels, as well as his previous career as a screenwriter for hire. We also chat about HI-FIVE, the latest chapter of the IQ series that came out earlier this year, and the upcoming HBO adaptation of the series.

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Today’s episode is brought to you by Novel Gazing, the newest literary fiction podcast from Book Riot, North America’s largest independent book site. Novel Gazing is your destination for all things literary fiction, bringing you news from the world of fiction, and recommendations for under-the-radar reads, works in translation, buzzy books, and more. Stay in the know, expand your TBR and your view of literary fiction, and, of course, have some laughs with hosts Mary Kay McBrayer and Louise Johnson. – Subscribe to Novel Gazing wherever you get your podcasts!