On this episode, we welcome author Nayantara Roy to chat about her debut novel The Magnificent Ruins, a story about an up and coming literary editor in New York who returns to Kolkata (where she was born) after finding out that she has inherited her family’s manor from her grandfather and has to deal with her extended family who all still live there. Tara shares with us her personal inspirations for her debut as well as her journey to becoming a published novelist by way of a career in the television industry.

Follow Nayantara on Instagram at @tararoi and check out her debut novel The Magnificent Ruins available November 12 on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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

On this episode, we discuss our October 2024 pick, The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw. A story following a flesh-eating mermaid and a plague doctor who encounter a village of children with an unsettling secret while on a journey through a snowy forest. Join us a we dive into this spooky read that melds the fairy tales of Anderson and Grimm and asks the question, what happens after the prince marries a creature from the depths of the sea?

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

On our mid-month check in for Spooky Month 2024, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, check in on the latest winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, and weigh in on the possible TV adaptation of RF Kuang’s Yellowface!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• Kingdom of Waves by Melissa de la Cruz
• One Word, Six Letters by Adib Khorram
• Never, Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan
• Wild Song by Candy Gourlay
• Ask the Doctor: 75 Wacky and Wise Health Questions from Curious Kids by Betty Choi; illust by Jannie Ho
• Don’t Eat Eustace by Lian Cho
• The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye 
• Casting April by Wendy Lu
• Accidentally on Purpose by Kristen Kish
• The Ex-girlfriend Murder Club by Gloria Chao
• Schooltime Grumps by Katrina Moore; illust by Xindi Ya
• Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus
• Jeong Is Jeong by Jessica Yoon; illust by Michelle Lee
• The Legendary Allies series by Linda Trinh; illust by Quynh Anh Nguyen

News stories covered on this episode:

• Han Kang wins 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Han Kang declines press conference, refuses to celebrate award while people die in wars
• Lionsgate TV Options ‘Yellowface’ by R.F. Kuang, Karyn Kusama Attached to Direct

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

On this episode, we sit down with Chinese-Canadian author and cartoonist Teresa Wong to chat about her new graphic memoir, All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey, an generation spanning recounting 100 years of her own family’s history in China and Canada. Teresa shares how she became a author/illustrator of graphic novels, as well as what it was like sharing her family’s stories with the world.

Follow Teresa on Instagram at @by_teresawong and check out her debut novel All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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

On this episode, we discuss our September 2024 pick, A Burning by Megha Majumdar, a social novel about a poor girl in Kolkata accused of a terrorist attack she wasn’t involved in, and the aspiring actress and teacher who have the chance to clear her name but at the cost of their own social ascension. Join us as we dive into Megha’s modern social novel which asks the question, who are the ones being burned in a society where anyone can become kindling?

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