#BuwanNgMgaAkdangPinoy: August TBR

The month of August is Buwan ng Wika, or National Language Month in the Philippines. For the past few years, the local bookish community has been celebrating the occasion by reading and featuring books by Filipino authors. To have a more unified approach in highlighting local books in social media, the hashtag #BuwanNgMgaAkdangPinoy (Filipino Literature Month) was created by National Award-winning author Edgar Calabia Samar and has been an annual tradition ever since.

Today, I am sharing my super ambitious #BuwanNgMgaAkdangPinoy TBR for August: a mix of graphic novels, short stories, horror, romance and poetry. ⁣⁣

Talik by Mesándel Virtusio Arguelles poems

Dark Hours by Conchitina R. Cruz poems

Better At Weddings Than You by Mina V. Esguerra Daphne Cardenas is the best wedding planner around, and everyone knows it. That’s why her friend Greg hired her as an emergency replacement one month before his wedding—because he fears his fiancée Helen is falling for the guy they first hired for the job. Aaron Trinidad is new to the wedding industry but years of conference planning and loads of charm make him good at it. Really good at it. Planning the wedding of his friend Helen should be easy, and it is. To be unceremoniously fired isn’t good for his new career, but the chance to learn from the best might be the silver lining. Aaron and Daphne have chemistry, but there’s history with Helen that at least one other person considers a threat. Who’s the planner who can fix this impending disaster?

Instructions on How to Disappear by Gabriela Lee In Gabriela Lee’s first book, she has meticulously and intelligently reworked numerous genre tropes. Set in future Manila, a gleaming metropolis where one’s paranoia may not be exactly unfounded and whose lashing sings tribute to Philip K. Dick. “Stations” takes on the ethical trappings of high technology adoption. “August Moon” relies on a succession of flashbacks to uncover, as well as obscure, the eventual doom of a woman who deems herself a “good wife,” while “Eyes as Wide as the Sky” depicts a post-war world—scorched yet not wholly devoid of hope. These stories insist on the unreal becoming the real, the rational melding with the irrational, familiarity breeding strangeness.

Ang Sandali ng mga Mata by Alvin B. Yapan stories

IMORTAL by Juan Bautista Ang IMORTAL ay isang antolohiya ng maiikling kuwento ni Juan Bautista na sumasalamin sa mga masasalimuot na sitwasyon na maaaring kinasadlakan na ng ilan sa atin. Pagmamahalang nauwi sa wala, mga nabasag na pangarap, mga taong nilukuban ng ‘di maipaliwanag na hiwaga, at mga buhay na nasira. 

Carnal Banahaw by Bambi Eloriaga-Amago, Roland Amago, BK Pena A sudden spate of gruesome killings plagues a sleepy mountain town. The locals cower and gossip in hushed tones, sure that the murders are the handiwork of malevolent, otherworldly creatures. The deaths, however, coincide with the long-delayed homecoming of twin brothers – one, the lead singer in a band; and the other, a priest. Is it mere coincidence? Or could the twins have brought with them an unspeakable evil?

Sixty Six (Book 2) by Russell Molina, Mikey Marchan “Hindi pa natatapos ang kuwento ni Celestino Cabal. May bagyo siyang nilalapitan at dala ng daluyong nito ang mga mukha ng nakaraan. Ang bawat bagay sa buhay, regalo man o hindi, ay may katumbas na halaga.”

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I think this is achievable, I just need to temporarily stop whatever’s on my current reads pile. This probably means I will finish Milkman by the end of the year 🤣 ⁣⁣
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I will try to feature more Pinoy book recommendations on future posts. For now, if you’re a fellow Pinoy and celebrating Buwan ng Wika, I would like to encourage you to also support independent creators and publishers! Rebo Press Book Publishing is hosting a month-long program on their Instagram page where they will share excerpts from Filipino indie books so I’m really looking forward to that–visit their page and you might discover a new favorite book, too.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDSgFuDB1H5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘢! #ReadIndiePH 🇵🇭

What are some of your most anticipated reads for this month?⁣⁣ Let me know in the comments!