On this episode we discuss our August 2025 book club pick The Wangs Vs. The World by Jade Chang, about the (formerly) affluent Wang family who embark on a road trip from from LA to NY after losing everything during the 2008 financial crisis. This is a book that is almost as old as our podcast and has been on our TBR for a long time so we're excited to dive in!TW: One of the storylines involve a character who's fascination with suicidal ideation is discussed at 1:05:10, if this is a sensitive topic for you, you can bypass this section by skipping ahead to 1:11:03Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba September 2025 pick is A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu MandannaThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
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#325 - Author Chat w/ Benedict Nguyễn
On this episode, we sit down with author Benedict Nguyễn to chat about her debut novel Hot Girls with Balls, a romantic sports satire about two Asian American trans athletes at the top of their game as stars of the international men’s pro indoor volleyball league (who also happen to be girlfriends)! Follow Benedict on Instagram at @xbennyboo and check out her debut novel Hot Girls with Balls available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba August 2025 The Wangs Vs. The World by Jade ChangThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
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#324 - August 2025 Book News
Reera is off on family business so it's a solo Marvin mid-month check in this week. On this short but sweet episode, Marvin highlights some of the latest publishing announcements for books by Asian and Asian American authors so that you can have even more books to keep an eye on for your TBR lists!Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:SLASHER SUMMER By E.L. ChenAMBROSIA By Katrina KwanMADDER LAKE By Katie WuTIGER'S MOUTH By Lucy TanEVERYTHING TO THE SEA By Alicia UpanoDUST By Theresa HottelAMERICAN HAN By Lisa LeeSHE WAITS WHERE SHADOWS GATHER By Michelle TangTHE FIDGET BOOTH By Abigail Hing Wen; illust by Maple LamBooks & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba August 2025 The Wangs Vs. The World by Jade ChangThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
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#323 - Author Chat w/ Julia & Brad Riew
On this episode, we chat with Julia and Brad Riew, the sibling writing duo behind the new Asian-inspired fantasy novel The Last Tiger! Julia and Brad share their experiences writing a novel as a team as well as how they were inspired to write their fantasy epic, which takes place in a world inspired by Japanese-occupied Korea in the 1940's, by the real life star-crossed love story of their grandparents.Follow Julia and brad on Instagram at @juliariew and @bradriew and check out their debut novel The Last Tiger available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba August 2025 The Wangs Vs. The World by Jade ChangThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
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#322 - Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon
On this episode, we discuss our July 2025 pick is Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon, a coffee house romantic comedy set in Seattle about high school senior River, who is reeling from the consequences of a series of disastrous personal decisions and seeks refuge at a small Korean cafe where he finds a found family and maybe even an enemies-to-lovers romance with the goth Korean girl of his dreams/nightmares, too bad that it's also the coffee house that his chain family business is directly targeting to put out of business. Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba August 2025 The Wangs Vs. The World by Jade ChangThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
Books & Boba is a book club dedicated to books written by Asian and Asian American authors. We cover a wide range of genres including contemporary, historical fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, YA, nonfiction, thrillers, graphic novels, and memoirs.