#56 – Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

September 2, 2018September 26, 2018Leave a comment

It’s time to talk about the Books and Boba August book club pick, Crazy Rich Asians, the bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan that is now the hit movie of the summer! Reera and Marvin talk about their thoughts on the many many characters in the book, the quality of the love story, how the book stacks up against the movie, and a few of critiques as well. Also, updates on the latest publishing news from August regarding Asian American authors!

For additional thoughts and discussion on the monthly pick, visit the Books & Boba Goodreads forums.

This Month’s Book Club Panelists:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba July 2018 pick is Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li

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

#55 – Chatting with Author Vanessa Hua

August 25, 20181 Comment

Reera chats with author Vanessa Hua, the author of A River of Stars, a novel about young mothers seeking the American Dream, and the untold story of secret Chinese maternity homes. Vanessa talks about the inspirations behind her debut novel and balancing narratives between different Chinese narratives and perspectives.

For additional thoughts and discussion visit the Books & Boba Goodreads forums

This Episode’s Hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo), Host
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh), Host

This Episode’s Guest:

Vanessa Hua, Author of A River of Stars (@vanessa_hua)

The Books & Boba August 2018 pick is Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

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

#54 – Winnie M Li and her Dark Chapter

August 20, 2018Leave a comment

CW: Discussion of Rape

On this episode, we bring you another author interview with Winnie M Li, the author of Dark Chapter , a novel based loosely on the author’s real life rape in Ireland. We talk to Winnie about her what it’s like writing a story so close to her real life traumas and her decision to imagine the events from the perspective of her attacker.

For additional thoughts and discussion visit the Books & Boba Goodreads forums

This Episode’s Hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo), Host
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh), Host

This Episode’s Guest:

Winnie M Li, Author of Dark Chapter (@winniemli)

The Books & Boba August 2018 pick is Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

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

#53 – A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

August 15, 2018Leave a comment

CW: Discussion about Suicide & Bullying

On this episode, we discuss our July 2017 Book Club Pick A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, and we have a lot to go over. This was a very ambitious book with high concept themes related to zen philosophy and quantum mechanics, as well as heavy emotional themes related to (mentioned above) suicide, bullying, and their place in Japanese society. In addition to discussing our thoughts on the book, Reera also shares her thoughts on the way suicide is depicted in fiction.

For additional thoughts and discussion on the monthly pick, visit the Books & Boba Goodreads forums.

This Month’s Book Club Panelists:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

The Books & Boba August 2018 pick is Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

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

#52 – SDCC Authors Chat w/ Sarah Kuhn, CB Lee, & RF Kuang

July 30, 2018January 3, 2019Leave a comment

Hey! It’s a bonus episode of Books & Boba, featuring an interview that Marvin conducted at last week’s San Diego Comic-Con with some of our favorite Asian American authors, CB Lee (Not Your Sidekick), Sarah Kuhn (Heroine Complex), and RF Kuang (The Poppy War). We talk about what it’s like to be an author at SDCC, the joys of writing own-voices Asian characters, and how awesome the Asian American Lit community is.

This interview was originally posted on the KollabCast (Episode 173 – San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Part 1)

For additional thoughts and discussion visit the Books & Boba Goodreads forums

This Episode’s Hosts:

Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh), Host

This Episode’s Guest:

Sarah Kuhn, author of Heroine Complex (@sarahkuhn)
CB Lee, author of Not Your Sidekick (@author_cblee)
RF Kuang, author of The Poppy War (@kuangrf)

The Books & Boba July 2018 pick is A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

#51 – July 2018 Book News & Check-in

July 26, 2018January 3, 2019Leave a comment

We check in to chat about the recent book news including Asian American publishing announcements and recent controversies in the book world. Reera shares her thoughts on the value of Libraries and why piracy is bad, and we also respond to some listener feedback from our goodreads forums (keem’em coming)!

Don’t forget, the Books & Boba May 2018 pick is A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

For additional thoughts and discussion on the monthly pick, visit the Books & Boba Goodreads group.

Follow the hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)

Follow the Book Club:

#50 – Dami Lee Can Be Everything at Once

July 20, 2018Leave a comment

On this episode, we chat with Dami Lee, the author and cartoonist who is about to release her first graphic novel Be Everything at Once: Tales of a Cartoonist Lady Person , a collection of cartoons from her popular series of webtoons, as well as new original cartoons that memorialize Dami’s journey as a 3x immigrant to the states. We chat with Dami about how she started drawing, the rigors of a working artist, and growing up in-between cultures.

For additional thoughts and discussion visit the Books & Boba Goodreads forums

This Episode’s Hosts:

Reera Yoo (@reeraboo), Host
Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh), Host

This Episode’s Guest:

Dami Lee, Author of Be Everything at Once (@dami_lee)

The Books & Boba July 2018 pick is A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki