#268 – April 2024 Book News

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:

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

#267 – Author Chat w/ Sheila Sundar

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

#266 – Author Chat w/ A.H. Kim

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.

Follow Ann on Instagram at @ahkim.writer and check out her novel, Relative Strangers, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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

265 – Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum

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 with what society tells them what success is supposed to look like.

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

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The Books & Boba April 2024 pick is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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

#264 – Author Chat w/ Vanessa Le

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 action meets medical murder mystery, as well as how her background as a Vietnamese-American med student helped her develop her book’s world and magic system!

Follow Vanessa on Instagram at @lochnessly and check out her debut novel, The Last Bloodcarver, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

#263 – March 2024 Book News

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
  • Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai
  • Dragon Force: Infinity’s
  • Secret by Katie
  • Tsang and Kevin Tsang
  • Falling Star by Linda Liu
  • I Guess I’ll Go Eat Worms by Linda Liu
  • The Day the Books
  • Disappeared by Joanna
  • Ho and Caroline Kusin Pritchard; illust by Dan Santat
  • Lou with the Band by Alexandra Leigh
  • Young
  • Prodigal Tiger by Samantha Chong
  • The Art of How Dogs Sleep by Alison Kim

News stories covered on this episode: