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
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
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
On this episode, we discuss our October 2023 book club pick, Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, a story about a piano prodigy conservatory dropout who takes a job at the high-end wellness company Holistik and gets drawn into the unsettling world of beauty for rich people, and what they’re willing to pay to attain it. Part satire, part dystopian horror, with a helping of body horror and child of immigrant guilt, a perfect read for spooky month!
On this episode, we sit down with bestselling author Olivie Blake to chat about the revised release of her first self-published novel, Masters of Death, a genre-bending contemporary fantasy about an aswang real estate agent and the godson of death just trying to get by in the modern world as anomalous beings. We chat with Olivie about not only her own journey as an author, but the journey of her first self-published novel as its re-emerges as a bestseller.
One of the cool parts of being in podcasting is taking part in a community of like-minded creators, this is especially true for those of us in the Asian American podcasting space. That’s why we’re always excited to find new shows that explore the Asian American experience through new and interesting lenses.
Ten Thousand Things is a podcast from KUOW Seattle about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life, hosted by award-winning poet and museologist Shin Yu Pai. We’re excited to share their episode “Book” with Chinese American author and scholar Shawn Wong.
Shawn Wong discovered the first Japanese American novel, No-No Boy, at a used bookstore for 50 cents, after being told by his English professors that Asian American literature didn’t exist.
He sought out the author, John Okada, and he fought to have the book republished and distributed far and wide, to unearth the legacy of Asian American writers. But all the mainstream publishers rejected it. So Shawn started to print, distribute, and sell the novel himself with friends,often from the trunk of his car.
The Asian American community turned up, ordering books by mail, telling their friends, and sending checks with handwritten letters- a testament to a generation hungry for their own stories.
Correction, 10:30 a.m., 6/6/2023: The audio version of this story misstates the name of the protagonist in No-No Boy. The character’s name is Ichiro Yamada.
Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.
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