#369 - Author Chat w/ Julie Abe

On this episode, we welcome author Julie Abe back to the show to talk about her newest middle grade fantasy novel, The Magic Library of Waterfall Way, a story about an unremarkable girl in a magical world of remarkable people, and her one chance at finding a guild to finally belong to in order to avoid exile, but in order to do so, she must fulfill a quest to save a magical library. We're excited to catch up with Julie as she launches her newest MG fantasy series!Follow Julie on Instagram at @julieabebooks and check out her latest novel The Magic Library of Waterfall Way 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 September 2026 pick is Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth LimThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode,we discuss our August 2026 book club pick, Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, following Klara, an android "artificial friend," and her quest to bring happiness to her teen Josie as she grows up in a dystopic future. Join us as we dive into another masterful Ishiguro tale about the fleeting innocence of children, having conviction in the face of despair, and the complex responsibilities of parenthood (and more specifically, how far should someone go to give their children a better life). 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 September 2026 pick is Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth LimThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we chat with author Momo Yamaguchi about her debut novel, Hello, Limerence, an ode to bad decisions made in our mid-twenties following a young Japanese woman, dealing with a soul-sucking corporate job and a stagnant love-life, who lets a growing crush on a Japanese American man become an obsession that throws her life into chaos. Follow Momo on Instagram at @momoyamagucci and check out her debut novel Hello, Limerence is 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 2026 pick is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo IshiguroThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we're excited to welcome author Susan Lee back to the podcast to catch up on BTS news as well as chat about her latest novel, See You at the Sunset, an adult romantic comedy about a young woman, who is staying with her grandmother in a Palm Springs senior living community after losing her job at a law firm in NYC, as she strikes up a relationship with her grandma's new neighbor's grandson, who also happens to be the man who signed her termination papers (as well as her one night stand)!Follow Susan on Instagram at @susanleewrites and check out her latest novel See You at the Sunset is 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 2026 pick is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo IshiguroThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we chat with author Erin Baldwin about her latest novel Good Luck, Babe! A sapphic YA coming of age romantic comedy about two former best friends who reluctantly agree to work together to pursue their dream of competing on an Amazing-race style reality TV competition, the catch is they also have to pretend to date because their season is for couples-only! Erin shares with us her journey as an author, her inspirations for the novel, as well as her own personal reality TV competition aspirations.Follow Erin on Instagram at @erinbaldwin.books and check out her newest novel Good Luck, Babe! 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 2026 pick is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo IshiguroThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we discuss our July 2026 Patron's Choice Book Club pick, Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen, A family comedy about the Trans of Toronto Canada, a messy but close-knit family who come together to try and save their family's nail salon when gentrification comes into their neighborhood in the form of a high-tech all-inclusive rival nail salon, by any means necessary.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 2026 pick is Klara and the Sun by Kazuo IshiguroThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we sit down with author Tania Tay to discuss her new cafe cozy romance novel The Matcha Maker Café (which she wrote under the pen name Lily Chen). We chat with Tania about her journey to becoming a novelist, her experience writing about the British East Asian experience for IP projects, as well as the rise (and decline) of cafe culture.Learn more about Tania at taniatay.com and check out her novel The Matcha Maker Café 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 July 2026 pick is Sunshine Nails by Mai NguyenThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we catch up on the latest Asian American book news and publishing announcements for our July 2026 mid-month check-isUpcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:Swaplife by Abdi Nazemian and Pedro RhuasMy Heart or Yours by K. Sugimoto Destined or Damned by Sara Jafari Chicken's Noodle Soup by Naaz H. Khan; illust. by Valentina TuNovae by Jennifer Xu and Kate RhodesBook news mentioned on this episode:Vincent Yu wins the 2026 Barnes & Noble Discover PrizeTrailer for Director Taika Waititi’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Klara and the Sun releasedHachette Book Group Employees Win Union ElectionPublishers, Authors File Class Action Lawsuit Against GoogleBooks & 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 July 2026 pick is Sunshine Nails by Mai NguyenThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

On this episode, we chat with author Yejin Suh to talk about her debut novel The Last Soldier of Nava, a Korean-inspired fantasy novel following a girl named Shadow, a former peerless soldier who awakens after a thousand years of slumber, who struggles to retain her freedom under a new identity, even as she is dragged back to her immortal father's court by his new protege (whom she also feels an attraction to).Follow Yejin on Instagram at @yejinsuhh and check out her debut novel The Last Soldier of Nava 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 July 2026 pick is Sunshine Nails by Mai NguyenThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

Join us as we discuss our June 2026 pick, The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo. A queer retelling of the classic American novel The Great Gatsby. Set in a magical alternate Jazz Age New York, this version is told through the perspective of Jordan Baker, a side character in the original text, re-imagined as a Vietnamese American adoptee who does her best to survive in a high society as an outsider while trying to stay afloat amongst the tempest that is Jay Gatsby's obsessive quest to acquire the love of her best friend Daisy.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 July 2026 pick is Sunshine Nails by Mai NguyenThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective