On this episode we discuss our January 2020 book club pick The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu & translated by Ken Liu. Join us as we try to wrap our heads around this hard science fiction epic about first contact with an alien civilization from a different context than we’re used to in western sci-fi.
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It’s our first mid-month book news check-in for the new decade! We go over the latest book and publishing news in Asian American literature for January 2020.
On this episode we chat with author Abigail Hing Wen about her recently released debut novel LOVEBOAT, TAIPEI. A coming-of-age story about a college bound girl named Ever Wong, torn between pursuing her parent’s expectations and her own personal dreams, who finds herself spending the summer of a lifetime in Taiwan attending the Overseas Compatriot Youth Formosa Study Tour, also infamously known as “Loveboat.”
It’s time to discuss our Books and Boba December 2019 book club pick, Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, a modern day retelling of the Greek tragedy Antigone. We discuss the book’s themes of what loyalty to family, love, and country means when your people are considered enemies of the state, and the physical and psychological costs of the sacrifices people make to survive as diaspora immigrants.
It feels surreal that we’re now living in 2020. Just imagine, the last two decades brought us e-commerce, social media, Airbnbs, and yoga pants. While I doubt that Judgement Day will ever happen, it’s hard to predict what will await us in the next decade. Maybe VR will replace office commutes. Maybe we’ll find a cure for Alzheimer’s, or global warming might wipe out half our planet. Who knows? It’s the limitless possibilities that make the idea of time travel so alluring to writers and readers alike. Time travel books allow us to explore fantastical futures and pasts.
Publishing has come a long way since the days of H.G. Wells’ 1895 Time Machine. There are now thousands of books about the rewards and dangers of time travel, many of them written by authors of color. Here are 10 time travel books written by authors of Asian descent.
On our last episode of the decade, we review the latest book and publishing news in Asian American literature for our Books & Boba Mid-Month check-in for December 2019.
It’s time to discuss our Books and Boba November 2019 book club pick, Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger, a fantasy adventure taking place in an Asian inspired that has just come out of a massive international war. We dive into the book’s world building, its geopolitics, and its complex magic system that includes bonding human souls with animals to create enhanced magical companions. We discuss the moral implications of such a practice, as well as the books discussion of what justice looks like after defeating your oppressors.
