On this episode, we discuss our Books & Boba September 2022 pick, You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa, a twisty thriller about Amaya, a woman who returns to her hometown for the first time in years to stop the wedding between her ex-best friend and her ex-boyfriend. To do so, she need to re-enter the cutthroat Sri-Lankan high society that she thought she had left behind forever. But is everything really how it seems? Or is there something dark festering underneath this perfect wedding that Amaya is willing to go as far as it takes to stop it?
On this episode, we welcome bestselling author Judy I. Lin to chat about her debut duology A Magic Steeped in Poison and A Venom Dark and Sweet, an Asian-inspired fantasy series about magical tea, imperial court intrigue, and a young woman’s quest for redemption. We chat with Judy about her inspirations behind the story, as well as her series’ whirlwind publishing schedule.
On this episode, we highlight the latest book and publishing news in Asian American literature for our September 2022 mid-month check-in, this month we also check out some recent book awards updates and have a chat about the sad recent trends of book bans.
New books and authors mentioned in our publishing news:
Song of the Six Realms by Judy Lin Good Fortune by C.K. Chau Covenant series by LySandra Vuong Oxherd Boy by Regina Linke My Father, the Panda Killer by Jamie Jo Hoang Toto by Hyewon Yum A Suffragist’s Guide to the Antarctic by Yi Shun Lai The Spirit Mirror by Roshani Chokshi A Drop of Venom by Sajni Patel The No-Shoes Home by Helena Ku Rhee; illust by Myo Yim I Drew a Heart by Gillian Sze Perfect by Waka T. Brown; illust by Yuko Jones Ganesha Goes Green by Lakshmi Thamizhmani; illust by Debasmita Dasgupta A Sky That Sings by Anita Sanchez & George Steele; illust by Emily Mendoza Goodnight Zodiac Animals by Jiemei Lin Postcards from Malcolm X: How Yuri Kochiyama Became a Civil Rights Activist by Mia Wenjen; illust by Keith Henry Brown Together on Eid by Sana Rafi; illust by Mariam Quraishi When We Were Sisters by Fatimah Asghar The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Jamil Jan Kochai All This Could be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews As She Appears by Shelley Wong The Rupture Tense by Jenny Xie A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee Maizy Chen’s Last Chance by Lisa Yee All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir Seasons of Purgatory Shahriar Mandanipour Scattered All Over the Earth by Yoko Tawada Ibn Arabi’s Small Death by Mohammed Hasan Alwan
On this episode, author Tracey Lien joins the podcast to talk about her debut novel All That’s Left Unsaid, a thrilling mystery about a journalist who returns to her hometown of Cabramatta after her baby brother’s violent death in search for answers and to confront her past. Tracey shares about her inspirations for the novel, as well as about her journey to becoming a novelist.
On this episode, we discuss our August 2022 book club pick, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar, a story about 2 Bengali Irish teens who enter into, you guessed it, a fake relationship. Hani is doing i to prove to her very toxic friends that she is bi-sexual, and Ishu is doing it so Hani can help her become head girl. But what happens when the fake relationship starts becoming too real?
On this episode, we welcome author Sangu Mandanna to chat about her new novel The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, a cozy story about a lonely witch named Mika who finds herself in charge of educating three young witches in the English countryside. We chat with Sangu about her inspirations for this story of found family, generational trauma, and romance.
Books & Boba 