Happy New Year! On our first mid-month book news check-in episode for the year of the horse, we go over a hefty list of latest Asian American publishing news as the publishing industry revs back into gear after the holidays.

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

1. Blur the Lines by Kanitha P.
2. Paper Ghosts by Samantha Chong
3. Cold Blood by Aashna Avachat
4. Untitled Contemporary YA By Jesmeen Kaur Deo
5. The Strange Sketches of Luna Li by Gloria L. Huang
6. She Comes Out at Night by Michelle Jing Chan
7. If We Could Be Everywhere by Sarah Suk
8. The Sisterhood of Southern Peaches by Katrina Moore
9. Footprints in Snow by Keiko Hayner
10. Something Inside Me Knows by Malinda Lo
11. The Luckies by Sarah Mlynowski and Christina Soontornvat; illust. by Madi Wong
12. The Monster Inside by Cherry Mo
13. Jitty and the Machine by Mitali Banerjee Ruths; illust.by Iacopo Bruno
14. Wipe Out by Saadia Faruqi; illust. by Karen De la Vega
15. The Erhu Sings by Sally Deng
16. Blooming Behind Barbed Wire by Traci Huahn; illust. by Mayumi Sasage
17. House of Forgotten Souls by Kat Cho
18. Hello, DELA, by Kiku Hughes
19. Tae Lim Decks It Out by Angela Ahn
20. Izzy and Wolfi by Dane Liu; illust. by Maya Tatsukawa
21. The Light Garden by Joanna Ho; illust. by Minako Tomigahara

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Happy New Year! We ring in the Year of the Horse with an exciting author chat with Lillian Li (author of past book club pick #1 Chinese Restaurant), who joins us to chat about her newest novel Bad Asians, a coming of age story following four childhood friends who all move home after graduating college in 2008 after their well laid plans were derailed by the great recession. They inadvertently become part of a viral Youtube documentary that will continue to haunt them throughout their adult lives as they drift apart and come back together again and again.

Follow Lillian on Instagram at @zillianzi and check out her new novel Bad Asians available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

On this episode, we sit down with Yosha Gunasekera to chat about her debut novel, The Midnight Taxi. A murder mystery following a true crime loving Sri Lankan American cab driver who ends up accused of murder when a passenger ends up mysteriously murdered in her cab. Yosha shares with us her personal journey to writing her novel as well as how she drew from her experience as an attorney for The Innocence Project to construct her mystery.

Follow Yosha on Instagram at @yosha.gunasekera and check out her debut novel The Midnight Taxi available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

On this episode, we discuss our January 2026 (and patron’s choice) pick, Reef by Romesh Gunesekera, a historical fiction novel about a boy who grows up as the personal cook and housekeeper for a wealthy marine biology enthusiast in Sri Lanka, blissfully and willingly unaware that the world outside the walls of his residence is slowly descending into chaos in the years leading up to Sri Lanka’s civil war.

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

On our first mid-month book news check-in episode for 2026, we go over the latest Asian American publishing news from the holiday season, as well as check out some of January’s new releases from Asian and Asian American authors.

Upcoming books mentioned in our publishing news:

1. Death Wish by Lilly Lu
2. What Hungers in the Dark by Monika Kim
3. How to Crash a Kite by Ellie Peterson
4. Tokki’s Tricks by Aram Kim
5. Girl Gods by K-Ming Chang
6. Cerulean by Sajni Patel
7. Hanging Out with Nani by Vikram Madan

January New Releases mentioned in our book news:

1. The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi (Jan 6)
2. Fly, Wild Swans: My Mother, Myself and China by Jung Chang (Jan 13)
3. A Year Without Home by V.T. Bidania (Jan 13)
4. This Is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin (Jan 13)
5. City of Others by Jared Poon (Jan 13)
6. The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller (Jan 13)
7. A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa (Jan 13)
8. How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley (Jan 20)
9. The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao (Jan 20)
10. The Poet Empress by Shen Tao (Jan 20)
11. Two Women Living Together by Kim Hana, Hwang Sunwoo; Gene Png (Translator) (Jan 20)
12. Early Mornings at the Laksa Cafe by Janet Tay (Jan 27)
13. A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang (Jan 27)

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors

Hey everyone! We’re back from our holiday break for our first podcast of 2026 and we’re finally discussing our December 2025 Book Club Pick Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala. A X’mas themed cozy mystery (but actually a story about family and Filipino noms). At this point, we’re kind of murder mystery connoisseurs so this was the perfect end of year treat for us. Fun fact, we did an author chat with the author back in 2021 for her first book so we’re excited to come back to this world for the holidays!

Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authors