Books and Boba

On this episode we are discussing our May 2023 book club pick, The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh. A story about a Vietnamese family dealing with the effects of a very petty curse that has resulted in generations of only daughters to be born to their family, and the modern decedents in America dealing with all the generational trauma that comes from being daughters to refugee mothers. To help us dive into all the Vietnamese American familial drama we've invited a special guest Hanh Nguyen, one of Marvin's co-hosts on the Good Pop Culture Club podcast and Senior Culture Editor at Salon.com!*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*Follow our Guest:Hanh Nguyen (@hanhonymous)Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThe Books & Boba June 2023 pick is We Have Always Been Here by Lena NguyenThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

To finish up APAHM, we're highlighting another one of our fellow Asian American podcasts from the Potluck Podcast Collective. This time we're dropping an episode of our fellow #PotluckPod QUARANTINED COMICS, a podcast where hosts Raman and Ryan discuss, debate, and nerd out on some of the comic's greatest, latest, and strangest works, about Gene Luen Yang's seminal graphic novel, AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, now a television series on Disney+. ---So with Asian American Heritage Month, we decided that G should be for Gene Luen Yang ...mostly as an excuse to read AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, Yang's Eisner Award-winning, seminal graphic novel soon to be released as a Disney+ streaming show with a bevvy of Oscar winners. American Born Chinese is Gene Luen Yang's was first released in 2006 - written and illustrated by Yang, and also colored by cartoonist Lark Pien. American Born Chinese consists of three seemingly disparate tales...First, the legendary Chinese Monkey King from the classic 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West. However, blink and you might miss it, but Yang replaces the Buddha with a Christian influenced deity.The second storyline is the all-too-familiar Asian American coming of age story of a young American Born Chinese man Jin Wang, who befriends a new arrival from Taiwan, Wei Chen. As with any story of teen drama, romance is afoot with Jin's American crush Amelia Harris. And the third story depicts an American TV sitcom with All American boy Danny and his cousin visting from Chin-kee, who if you couldn't tell from the name alone, is meant to be an amalgam of racist stereotype, from the outlandish costume, heavy accent, buck teeth, and yes, predilection for putting pee pee in your coke. Eventually these three tales become come together into a poignant lesson of culture and self acceptance. ---*Support the podcast by purchasing books at our bookshop or by buying Books & Boba merch at our Bonfire store*Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we check out the latest book and publishing news in Asian American literature for our APAHM 2023 edition of our mid-month check-in and Reera teaches Marvin what a Bigolas Dickalas is.Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:The First State of Being by Erin Entrada KellySamina Goes to a Wedding by Farida ZamanThe Pink Pajamas, by Charlene ChuaPerfect Is Not Perfect by Laan ChamA City Full of Santas by Joanna Ho ; illust by Thai PhuongStay Angry, Little Girl, illust by Michelle Jing ChanThe Library Is Open by Kim Chi and Stephan LeeOf Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen Thea and the Mischief Makers by Tracy Badua Airbnboo by Tracy BaduaThe Cliff House by GuojingThe ABCs of Queer History by Seema YasminWolf Girl by Anh DoI Could Give You the Moon by Ann Liang K-Jane by Lydia KangSome of Us: A Story of Citizenship and America by Newbery Rajani LaRocca; Illust by Huy Voun LeePing's Perfect Pot by Helen H. Wu; illust by Zihua Yang*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThe Books & Boba May 2023 pick is The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn HuynhThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we chat with Melissa de la Cruz, probably one of the most prolific Asian American authors in the industry, about her new YA thriller The Headmaster's List, about Spencer, a Filipina-American private high school student, who sets out to figure out the truth behind a fatal car crash that left one of her classmates dead, her ex-boyfriend under arrest, and herself without her memories of the night. Of course, we also chat with Melissa about her long storied career as an author.Follow Melissa on IG at @authormelissadelacruz and check out her novel, The Headmaster's List, availaible now on the Books & Boba bookshop!*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThe Books & Boba May 2023 pick is The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn HuynhThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

This APAHM, we wanted to highlight some of our fellow Asian American podcasts from the Potluck Podcast Collective, so we're dropping in an episode from our sister show, Asian Americana, a podcast about slices of distinctly Asian American culture and history hosted by veteran audio producer and journalist, Quincy Surasmith. Please enjoy, and we'll be back with our mid-month check-in for May later this week!---Timothy Singratsomboune had a complicated relationship to country music. How did his own experiences bring him away from and eventually back to the genre? And how does country music connect Tim to both Lao culture and the Lao communities he grew up around? In this episode, we explore the connections between Asian Americans, country music, and rural life.You can find more about Timothy on his website, singhasonh.com.Music from this episode included:Idle Hours ft. BJ Cole - The RoadGood Luck Ola - I’m On Your SideNathan Ramos-Park - Gay Asian Country Love SongTai Orathai - วันที่บ่มีอ้าย (Wan Thii Bo Mii Ai)Ko Viseth - Tai Dam Lam PhanBettySoo - Who Knows; Next Big Thing---*Support the podcast by purchasing books at our bookshop or by buying Books & Boba merch at our Bonfire store*Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThe Books & Boba February 2023 pick is The Charmed List by Julie AbeThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we chat with debut author Deepa Varadarajan about her novel, Late Bloomers, about an Indian American family of two recent divorcees and their adult children who are each going through their own romantic adventures and turmoil. We chat with Deepa about the inspirations behind her book as well as why "Late Bloomers" is such a relatable trope for Asian American children of immigrants.Follow Deepa on IG at @deepavaradara and check out her debut novel, Late Bloomers, availaible now on the Books & Boba bookshop!*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThe Books & Boba May 2023 pick is The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn HuynhThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we discuss our April 2023 book club pick, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto. A murder mystery where super-auntie Vera Wong attempts to solve the murder of a mystery man she finds one morning lying dead in her tea shop, and inadvertently forms a found family with her suspects. *Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThe Books & Boba May 2023 pick is The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn HuynhThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we chat with author and illustrator Victoria Ying about her new YA graphic novel, Hungry Ghost, a coming of age story about a Chinese American girl dealing with adolescence, parental expectation, and eating disorders. We talk with Victoria about her background in animation as well as her semi-autobiographical inspirations behind the story of Hungry Ghost.Follow Victoria on IG at @victoriaying and check out her new graphic novel, Hungry Ghost, availaible now on the Books & Boba bookshop!*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThe Books & Boba April 2023 pick is Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q SutantoThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, debut author Vibhuti Jain joins us to chat about her new novel, Our Best Intentions, a thriller taking place in an affluent New York neighborhood that has been thrown into chaos after a high school was stabbed. In the center is Angie Singh, a gifted teenage swimmer, who's life with her single father Babur gets uravelled as she delves deeper into the case.Follow Vibhuti on IG at @vibhutiwrites and check out her debut novel Our Best Intentions, availaible now at the Books & Boba bookshop!*Support the podcast by supporting our new Patreon*Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThe Books & Boba April 2023 pick is Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q SutantoThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

Introducing Boba Chats! Books & Boba's new monthly bonus podcast where Reera and Marvin (and future guests) chat about non-book related things and answer listener questions. This bonus podcast is a perk for "Honey Boba" subscribers of our new Patreon, but we're making this first episode available for everyone as a treat.On this inaugural episode of Boba Chat, Reera chats about the new Dungeons & Dragons film while Marvin reflects on his love of the cooking competition show Top Chef. Our hosts also discuss their boba origins.Learn more about our Patreon by going to patreon.com/booksandboba*You can also support the podcast by purchasing books at our bookshop or by buying Books & Boba merch at our Bonfire store*Follow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:FacebookTwitterGoodreads GroupThe Books & Boba April 2023 pick is Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q SutantoThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective