Books and Boba Potluck Podcast Collective

On this episode we chat with author E. L. Shen about her YA coming-of-age novel The Queens of New York, which just had its paperback release. We chat with E. L. about the inspirations for her story about three best friends finding themselves over a summer apart, and dive deep into one of her plot points revolving around a surprisingly modern musical with racist themes.
Follow E. L. Shen on Instagram at @elshenwrites and check out her novel The Queens of New York, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!
Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors
Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:
Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
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The Books & Boba May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On our mid-month check in for May 2024, we recap the latest Asian American publishing announcements, as well as catch up on some book awards news and hot topics on Booktok. We also share some of the live audio that we captured from attendees at the 2024 Long Beach Festival of AAPI Books!
Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:
Immortal the Blood by Molly X. Chang Maggie and the Story Shadows by Annabelle OhBig Jobs for Little Babies Series by Katrina Moore; illust. by Benson Shum Ex Marks the Spot by Gloria Chao Hairy Man Suit by Haleh MasseyGwei, the Hungry Ghost by Emeline Lee; illust. by Basia TranIn the Country I Love by Alaa Al-BarkawiAi & Aiko and the Little Curve by Peter Draw Binna's Dalgona by Sojung Kim-McCarthy As Long as You Loathe Me by Swati HegdeThe Vastness of Us written by Terisa Siagatonu; illust. by Lucyola LangiSparkles for Sunny: A Lunar New Year Story by Sylvia Chen; illust. by Thai My PhuongRamadan on Rahma Road: Celebrating Food, Family, and Friendship by Razeena Omar Gutta & Faaiza Osman; illust. by Atieh Sohrabi
News stories covered on this episode:
Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Awards
Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors
Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:
Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebook
The Books & Boba May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode we sit down with author Samira Ahmed about her newest novel This Book Won't Burn, a YA coming-of-age story about a girl who moves to a small town in the middle of her senior year and finds herself embroiled in her town's politics as she finds out that hundreds of books in her school's libraries have been marked for book bans. We chat with Samira about her own experiences taking on book bans across the country as well as her thoughts on the importance of reading diversely.
Follow Samira on Instagram at @sam_aye_ahm and check out her novel This Book Won't Burn, available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!
Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors
Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:
Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebook
The Books & Boba May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode we discuss our April 2024 book club pick, Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, which follows the story of struggling writer June Hayward who finally finds the publishing success she's always dreamed of... after taking the unfinished transcript of her recently deceased writing bestie, the way more successful Athena Liu, and passing it off as her own. We dive into this provocative novel that explores how far some people are willing to go to be anointed in a system that's rigged from the start.
Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors
Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:
Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebook
The Books & Boba May 2024 pick is Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

In honor of next weekend's Festival of AAPI Books (which we will be exhibiting at again), we're sharing some of the conversations we recorded at last year's festival which until now were only available on our Patreon exclusive bonus podcast, Boba Chats! We're excited to share our candid chats with author friends Jessica Kim, Phil Yu, Julie Tieu, and Julie Abe. If you like what you head, consider becoming a Patreon supporter!
And if you're in the Long Beach area next weekend, don't forget to come say hi!
Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors
Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:
Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebook
The Books & Boba April 2024 pick is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

It's a Marvin only episode for this month's book news check-in, let's see how it goes as he reviews some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, as well as some new and potentially exciting adaptation news.
Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:
Adam & Evie’s Matchmaking Tour by Nora NguyenSisters at Sea by Yume KitaseiThis Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki; illust by Nicole GouxAlice Chen’s Reality Check by Kara Loo & Jennifer YoungDreamt I Found You by Jimin HanThe Emperor of Gladness by Ocean VuongSublimation by Isabel J. KimThe Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne LauA Dark and Narrow House by Usman T. MalikTen Incarnations of Rebellion by Vaishnavi PatelThe Ex-Boyfriends Favorite Recipe Funeral Committee by Saki KawashiroThe Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi ShigematsuLeverage by Amran GowaniThe Art of Love by Kristi HongWhen Sleeping Women Wake by Emma Pei YinThe Satisfaction Café by Kathy Wang
News stories covered on this episode:
Festival of AAPI Books – May 5, 2024The Sympathizer on HBOCrazy Rich Asians to become a musical
Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors
Support the Books & Boba Podcast by:
Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebook

The Books & Boba April 2024 pick is Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective