Books and Boba
Potluck Podcast Collective
Recent Episodes
On this episode we discuss our November 2025 book club pick, Taiwan Travelogue by Shuang-zi Yang, translated by Lin King, a historical fiction novel (with a meta-fiction twist) about a Japanese travel writer invited to write about the imperial colony of Taiwan by the Japanese government in the 1930's, and follows her budding relationship with her Taiwanese translator as they eat through the island while she pushes on the boundaries between colonizer and colonized.
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 perks
- Purchasing books at our bookshop
- Rocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
- Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
- Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
The Books & Boba December 2025 pick is Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
On this episode, we chat with bestselling author Lyla Lee to chat about her new YA romance novel, The Cuffing Game, a modern Korean American take on the timeless enemy-to-lovers tale Pride & Prejudice, remixed with the chaotic reality TV energy of Love Island about an aspiring student producer who reluctantly recruits her crush to participate in the college dating show she is producing. Lyla shares with us her journey to becoming an author of young, middle-grade, and young adult fiction, as well as all her inspirations for The Cuffing Game.
Follow Lyla on Instagram at @authorlylalee and check out her newest novel The Cuffing Game 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 perks
- Purchasing books at our bookshop
- Rocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
- Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
- Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
The Books & Boba November 2025 book club pick is Taiwan Travelogue by Shuang-zi Yang, translated by Lin King
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
On our second to last mid-month book news episode in 2025, we highlight some of the latest Asian American publishing announcements, and catch up on the latest book news for November 2025!
Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:
- Overrated by Gene Luen Yang & Jacob Perez
- Ink & Blood: Poetry and Power in the Lives of Emperor Li Yu and Chairman Mao by Chun Yu; illust. Sungyoon Choi
- The Peacock Throne by Zeba Shahnaz
- Forest Freaks by Nat Iwata
- Mei Mei the Bunny by Laufey; Illusy. Lauren O'Hara
- Aunties by Pooja Makhijani; illust. Ruchi Mhasane
- The Girl, the Village, and the Terrible Thunder by Aimee Yealim Lee; illust. Hyewon Yum
- Jade vs. the Claw Machine by Margaret Chiu Greanias; illust. Heather Brockman Lee
- Sun's Eid by Natasha Khan Kazi
- The Echo of Empires by Shameen Abubakar
- untitled picture book biography of Katherine Sui-Fun Cheung by Cheryl Kim; illust. Nicole Wong.
- Mongoose's Holi Party by Darshana Khiani; illust. Abhilasha Khatri
- The Gods Will Sing Our Song by Autumn Krause
- Echoes Across the Water by Livia Blackburne
- What's for Iftar?! by Razeena Omar Gutta; illust. Esraa Hedery
Book news mentioned on this episode:
- 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards begins (Asian authors nominated for awards listed below)
Readers’ Favorite Fiction
- The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
- A Guardian and Thief by Megha Majumdar
- The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
Favorite Historical Fiction
- Homeseeking by Karissa Chan
Favorite Mystery & Thriller
- Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Favorite Romance
- King of Envy by Ana Huang
Favorite Romantasy
- A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
- Alchemised by SenLinYu
- Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan
Favorite Fantasy
- Red City by Marie Lu
- Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
- Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Favorite Science-Fiction
- Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto
- Saltcrop by Yume Kitase
- These Memories Don’t Belong to Us by Yiming Ma
- Luminous by Silvia Park
- Local Heavens by K.M. Fajardo
Favorite Horror
- What Hunger by Catherine Dang
- Bat Eater and Other Words for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
- Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang
Favorite Debut
- Homeseeking by Karissa Chen
- The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei
- Alchemised by SenLinYu
Favorite Young Adult Fantasy & Sci-Fi
- Hekate:The Witch by Nikita Gill
- Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
- Every Spiral of Fate by Tahereh Mafi
- Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi
- The Floating World by Axie Oh
- Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee
- Never Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan
- A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
Favorite Young Adult Fiction
- You’ve Found Oliver by Dustin Thao
- When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur
- I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang
Favorite Memoir
- Finding My Way by Malala Yousafzai
- 107 Days by Kamala Harris
- Mother May Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
- Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li
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 perks
- Purchasing books at our bookshop
- Rocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
- Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
- Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
The Books & Boba November 2025 book club pick is Taiwan Travelogue by Shuang-zi Yang, translated by Lin King
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
Join us as we discuss our October 2025 book club pick, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker, a Chinese American horror story taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic following Cora Zeng, a crime scene cleaner haunted by the trauma of witnessing her sister's murder in a NYC subway station, as well as what appears to be her sister's actual hungry ghost. We follow Cora and her co-workers on a blood-soaked quest as they try to simultaneously figure out how to exorcise her ghost, as well as solve a series of serial murders in NYC, all involving East Asian women.
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 perks
- Purchasing books at our bookshop
- Rocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
- Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
- Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
The Books & Boba November 2025 book club pick is Taiwan Travelogue by Shuang-zi Yang, translated by Lin King
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective
On this episode, we sit down with author Yume Kitasei to chat about her latest novel, Saltcrop, a science fiction story about three sisters who grew up in a near future Earth after an ecological collapse changed the world. When the eldest sister goes missing while working for a megacorporation (because capitalism persists even after the end of the world), the younger two set off on a dangerous trip across the seas to find her.
Follow Yume on Instagram at @yumewrites and check out her newest novel Saltcrop 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 perks
- Purchasing books at our bookshop
- Rocking our Books & Boba merch
Follow our hosts:
- Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)
- Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)
Follow us:
The Books & Boba October 2025 pick is Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
This podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective