On this episode, we’re excited to welcome NYT bestselling author Axie Oh, who joins us to chat about her latest novel The Floating World, an epic romantic fantasy following the adventures of an amnesiac mercenary and a small town village girl (with hidden chosen one powers) that blends the JRPG vibes of Final Fantasy with a re-imagining of the Korean Legend of the Celestial Maidens.

Follow Axie on Instagram at @axieoh and check out her latest novel The Floating World 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 our mid-month check in for May 2025, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, celebrate some Asian American authors on the NYT bestsellers list, and check in on some increasingly bummer news happening in the industry (and society)!

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

• Julia Song is Undateable by Susan Lee
• Shoe Box Dreams by Qing Zhuang
• Roar by Varsha Bajaj 
• The Stolen 
• Queen by Kendare Blake
• Ah Ma’s Home by Gillian Sze; illust by Leah Hong
• The Oks Are Not O.K. by Grace K. Shim
• When Shadows Burn by Vanessa Le
• At Fifteen by Remy Lai; illust by Basia Tran
•  Friday Nights in Chinatown by Michelle Lam
• Arlo All Over Again by Sayuri Stabrowski; illust by Dave Szalay
• Love Language by Christine Ko
• Instar by Sabrina Imbler
• Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi
• The Floating World by Axie Oh

Book news mentioned on this episode:

• NYT Bestsellers List
• Romantasy ball turns into a Fyre Festival 
• Amazon’s Audible unveils plans to use AI for narrating and translating
• Firing of the Librarian of Congress

On this episode, we’re excited to welcome Carolyn Huynh, the author of Books & Boba pick The Fortunes of Jaded Women, to discuss her sophomore novel, The Family Recipe, another dramedy about a messy Vietnamese American family, this time following the estranged scions of a banh mi empire who are thrown into competition with each other for their inheritance by their eccentric father.

Follow Carolyn on Instagram at @carolynkhuynh and check out her latest novel The Family Recipe 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 Books & Boba April 2025 pick is The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd, a mystery thriller with magical realism elements about a woman investigating the death of her father who had exiled her from the field of cartography years ago, and uncovering old family secrets through the discovery of the old highway map that had caused their estrangement, which turned out to be the last map of its kind, and also kinda magical.

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

On this episode, we discuss our March 2025 book club pick The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamal, a sweeping historical & contemporary novel about a woman who meets her first love again 60 years ago after he stood her up on the day of their marriage in the midst of political upheaval in 1953 Tehran. Join us as we dive into this not-quite second chance romance as we discuss our own thoughts on the existence of destiny and true loves.

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

On this episode, we chat with author Jane Pek, author of our February 2025 book club pick The Verifiers, and most recently its sequel The Rivals. Jane shares with us her journey into becoming an author as well as the inspirations behind writing a murder mystery series surrounding an online dating detective agency, with the bearing heart of an Asian American family drama.

Follow Jane on Instagram at @janepekwrites and check out her novels The Verifiers and The Rivals available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

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