{Watch, Read, & Listen} Lingua Franca, Elatsoe, & Birthday

♥ watch, read & listen is a weekly feature where I share and recommend

my current movie, book, music and podcast obsessions every monday. ♥

Watch: Lingua Franca (2020)

Olivia (Isabel Sandoval), an undocumented Filipino transwoman, works as a caregiver to Olga (Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman, in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. When Olivia runs out of options to attain legal status in the US, she becomes romantically involved with Alex (Eamon Farren), Olga's adult grandson, in the pursuit of a marriage-based green card.

Directed and written by Isabel Sandoval

Starring: Isabel Sandoval, Lynn Cohen, Eamon Farren

Rep: trans Filipino MC

Please take a minute to consider signing petitions, sending an email and/or donating to help Filipinos #JunkTerrorLaw. This newly implemented law strips Filipinos of their rights to dissent and has already killed activists, and it needs to be repealed immediately. More ways to help from wherever you are can be found on junkterrorbill.carrd.co and parasapinas.carrd.co

Read: Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, Rovina Cai

Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.

There are some differences. This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

Publication Date: August 25, 2020

Listen: Birthday -- Anne-Marie

Since my birthday is tomorrow, why not a birthday song recommendation for this week?

Friendly reminder that Black lives still matter and that Black Lives Matter protests are still going on around the world -- Continue signing petitions (updated often), donating (if/when you can), protesting safely (protect yourselves), emailing/calling your reps/AG/DA, register to vote/vote-by-mail, and educating yourself and family members. 

Also, consider donating to the Milwaukee Freedom Fund and/or donating directly to Jacob Blake's family fund to help him recover from the paralyzing wounds Kenosha cops caused him. Sign this petition to charge the officer who tried to kill him.

More ways to help support Black people and the BLM movement can be found on BLM's official Linktree. More resources can be found on the sidebar as well. ➔

{Story Diary} Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

Phantom of the Opera meets Moulin Rouge and The Night Circus

The stage is set

The spectacle awaits...

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

Young Adult Fantasy

August 25, 2020 from Wednesday Books

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.

[Image Source]

Dramatis Personae

The Royal Families

There are four royal families in the fictional city of Glorian, each of whom represents the four suits of cards in a playing deck. ♤♧♢♡

Alastors

Fravardis

Vierras

Ranzas

Tropes / Themes

♠ High stakes magic competition

♠ Badass, ambitious female MC

♠ Slow burn romance

♠ Sunshine girl x broody grump

♠ Only one table

♠ Reluctant yearning

♠ Beautiful prose

Rep

♣️ Filipino-coded main character

♣️ Bisexual side character

♣️ Filipino American author

Content / Trigger Warnings

◆ Substance use (alcohol)

◆ Captivity

◆ Misogyny

◆ Trauma

◆ Blood

◆ Emotional abuse

◆ Mind manipulation

◆ Death of parent

Favorite Quotes

She hadn't run away to be stopped before the games had begun. She would show them.

--Janella Angeles, Where Dreams Descend

Make no mistake, I know I don't have to prove a single thing to them. What matters most is what I prove to myself. Giving up would be an insult to everything I know I'm capable of. And I've already come this far.

--Janella Angeles, Where Dreams Descend

To have had the glory of choice over the promise of power.

--Janella Angeles, Where Dreams Descend

It was wrong to justify what  sort of hurt mattered and what didn't. Anything that left scars came from hurt. Only now was she realizing the scars she bore and had trained herself not to see.

--Janella Angeles, Where Dreams Descend

"The names's Aaros. And yours, miss?"
He'd know soon enough.
This whole city would, by the time she was through with it.


--Janella Angeles, Where Dreams Descend

"The fools thought they could treat her like a flower-take away her sunlight and water so she would shrivel up and die. But she was more the stubborn plant, the kind that thrives anywhere if that's what it took to live."


--Janella Angeles, Where Dreams Descend

**Quotes are from an unedited advanced review copy and is subject to change in final publication**

Meet Janella Angeles

Janella Angeles is a Filipino-American author who got her start in writing through consuming glorious amounts of fanfiction at a young age–which eventually led to penning a few of her own, and later on, creating original stories from her imagination. A lifelong lover of books, she’s lucky enough to be working in the business of publishing them on top of writing them. She currently resides in Massachusetts, where she’s most likely to be found listening to musicals on repeat and daydreaming too much for her own good. 

She is represented by Thao Le of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. WHERE DREAMS DESCEND, Book 1 in her debut fantasy Kingdom of Cards duology, will be out June 2, 2020 from Wednesday Books.

Website | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Spotify | Pinterest | Goodreads

Purchase Where Dreams Descend

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon MX | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon IN | B&N | iBooks | Google Play | Kobo | Target | Half Price Books | Overdrive | Brookline Booksmith | Books A Million | Powell's | Kepler's | Books Inc. | Indiebound | Chapters Indigo | Booktopia | Waterstones | Better World Books | Book Depository

{Watch, Read, & Listen} Paper Children, Where Dreams Descend, & I Can't Breathe

♥ watch, read & listen is a weekly feature where I share and recommend

my current movie, book, music and podcast obsessions every monday. ♥

Watch: Paper Children (Niños de Papel)

PAPER CHILDREN IS THE STORY OF 4 SIBLINGS WHO FLED GANG VIOLENCE IN HONDURAS TO SEEK SAFETY IN THE US. THE STORY BEGINS WHERE MOST IMMIGRATION STORIES HOPE TO END—WITH A FAMILY REUNITED AND SEEMINGLY SAFE (JUST HOW SAFE THEY REALLY ARE, REMAINS TO BE SEEN) IN MIAMI, FLORIDA. THE FILM’S APPROACH IS DEEPLY INTIMATE, CIRCUMVENTING THE POLITICS AND ANGER THAT SURROUND IMMIGRATION WITH EVERYDAY IMAGES OF LOVE, FAMILY, HEALING, AND RESILIENCE.

Directed by Alexandra Codina

From latinofilm.org: If you were moved by Fernando’s story, we encourage you to support Catholic Legal Services of Miami, who offer free legal representation to him and his siblings. Children and adults who appear in immigration courts are not entitled to a lawyer. Roughly 90% of children who do not have legal representation in immigration proceedings are denied.

Please also support and donate (if/when you can) to KIND (Kids In Need of Defense), RAICES, NILC (National Immigration Law Center), NILC Immigrant Justice Fund, and The National Immigration Project to help reunite immigrant kids with their families, citizenship applications, asylum processes, as well as legal assistance for immigration trials and more.

Read: Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Where Dreams Descend is the startling and romantic first book in Janella Angeles’ debut Kingdom of Cards fantasy duology where magic is both celebrated and feared, and no heart is left unscathed.

This spellbinding fantasy is absolutely fantastic and magical, and fans of The Night Circus, Moulin Rouge and Phantom of the Opera will devour until the very last line, leaving you wanting the sequel immediately. I was fortunate enough to read an advanced review copy and I was absolutely mesmerized. Can't recommend this enough. You can buy Where Dreams Descend tomorrow (8/25)!

Listen: I Can't Breathe -- H.E.R.

Friendly reminder that Black lives still matter and that Black Lives Matter protests are still going on around the world -- Continue signing petitions (updated often), donating (if/when you can), protesting safely, emailing/calling your reps/AG/DA, register to vote/vote-by-mail, and educating yourself and family members. 

Kenosha, WI needs help as the community marches for accountability of the officers who shot Jacob Blake over the weekend and you can help by donating to the Milwaukee Freedom Fund. Or consider donating directly to Jacob Blake's family fund to help him recover and sign this petition to charge the cops who tried to kill him.

More ways to help support Black people and the BLM movement can be found on BLM's official Linktree. More resources can be found on the sidebar as well. ➔

{Story Diary} Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn | Blog Tour + Moodboard

Hello, and welcome to the Dating Makes Perfect blog tour stop here at EK today, organized by Hear Our Voices Book Tours! I am so excited to share the reasons why you need to read this #ownvoices rom-com (which releases tomorrow!), as well as my favorite quotes from the book, aesthetics, fanmix and a food collage! Thanks, Hear Our Voices BT for having me on the tour, and to Entangled Teen for the review copy.

★ For fans of Jenny Han, Sandhya Menon and Maurene Goo ★

Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn

Young Adult Contemporary, Romantic Comedy, #ownvoices

August 18, 2020 from Entangled Teen

The Tech sisters don’t date in high school. Not because they’re not asked. Not because they’re not interested. Not even because no one can pronounce their long, Thai last name—hence the shortened, awkward moniker. But simply because they’re not allowed.

Until now.

In a move that other Asian American girls know all too well, six months after the older Tech twins got to college, their parents asked, “Why aren’t you engaged yet?” The sisters retaliated by vowing that they won’t marry for ten (maybe even twenty!) years, not until they’ve had lots of the dating practice that they didn’t get in high school.

In a shocking war on the status quo, her parents now insist that their youngest daughter, Orrawin (aka “Winnie”), must practice fake dating in high school. Under their watchful eyes, of course—and organized based on their favorite rom-coms. ’Cause that won’t end in disaster.

The first candidate? The son of their longtime friends, Mat Songsomboon—arrogant, infuriating, and way too good-looking. Winnie’s known him since they were toddlers throwing sticky rice balls at each other. And her parents love him.

If only he weren’t her sworn enemy.

Setting

Chicago, Illinois

[Image Source]

Reasons to add Dating Makes Perfect to your library

♥ Childhood best friends to enemies to lovers (yes, expect some slow burn t e n s i o n 🔥)

♥ A different take on the fake dating trope

♥ It's a cute romantic comedy filled with humor, banter, wit, pranks, bets, charm and romance that will fill your heart with plenty of laughter and swoons. An ode to all of our favorite tropes from romantic comedies. 💕😂

♥ The sister kinship between Winnie and her twin older sisters, and the interactions between them and their parents, are just so wholesome and hilarious. Their family dynamic is something to appreciate. 👯‍♀️

♥ The friendships are an integral part of the story as well as in Winnie's life, especially her friendship with her bff Kavya

♥ All the mouth-watering Thai food that the characters enjoy and even make together as family, will just make you hungry. (Caution: Don't read this book without food within reach) 🥣

♥ The Songkran Festival takes place in the story, which is an important holiday in Thai culture 🌊

♥ The romance between the once childhood best friends turned enemies blossoms organically over time spent together, reconnecting and after much needed talks, and witnessing it flourish made this an even more heartwarming coming-of-age story

♥ On top of being an ode to romantic comedy tropes, there's also references to rom-com's like To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Always Be My Maybe and Never Have I Ever 🎥

♥ Nuanced commentary on Thai culture and customs, and Asian parents expectations (i.e. dating terms/candidates, career paths, marriage age, academic studies/degree programs, the dutiful daughter, the timeline and order all of which should occur, etc)

♥ It's a lighthearted story about family, growing up, self-discovery, relationships, friendships, first love, and Thai culture that fans of Jenny Han, Sandhya Menon and Maurene Goo will absolutely adore

Rep

☀ #ownvoices Thai American main and side characters + LI

☀ Indian (Konkani) American side character
☀ Bisexual Thai American side character

Thai

Mai dai det caut: roughly translates to "absolutely, positively not"
Phuk tong: pumpkin

Falang: foreigner

Ouan: term of endearment/nickname meaning "fat"

Sabai: happy or comfortable

Wai: a traditional greeting that is of a slight bow with palms together in a prayer-like fashion

Naga: a mythical serpent from Southeast and South Asia 

Wat: a Buddhist temple or monastery 

Chaiyo: cheers

Ramwong: a popular Southeast Asian folk dance performed at festivals and parties

[There's a good chance that I got some translations wrong, so if I did, please feel free to correct me so I can fix it. Thank you!]

Favorite Quotes

We're like three sides of an isosceles triangle. I'll never match their lengths or their angles, but they'd be hard-pressed to exist without me shoring them up. I think.

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

Maybe that's where our closeness comes from. I'm not sure. All I know is that saying goodbye to them feels like yanking out a small but important organ. Not the useless appendix, but maybe a thyroid?

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

Food is not just a sliver of our culture but also a thread that connects the entire tapestry of who we are.

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

“No touching, either.”
“Seriously, Papa? If I’m going to practice date someone, there might be occasions when touching is appropriate. A handshake at the beginning of the evening, for example.”
“You can wear gloves,” he says firmly.

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

"I have no interest in hugging overly tall boys with overly large egos."

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

Yes you do Girl, no one would blame you regarding the latter.

"I don't hate you. I never have."

My heart leaps against my chest. He doesn't? But that can't be right. He's implied as much on countless occasions, even if he's never come right out and said it.

He smiles. "I only loathe you."

Of course. I knew that's what he meant.

I bare my teeth. "Well, I loathe you, too. With the heat of a thousand suns, over the span of a thousand lives."

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

That's just a little taste of Winnie and Mat's hate "loathe" toward each other. 😉

"I'm just saying, maybe it's time to pursue your own path. Be your own person."

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

The key is to surround ourselves with people who will help us become the person we want to be. That includes people who encourage us to take steps in the right direction.

--Pintip Dunn, Dating Makes Perfect

**Quotes are from an unedited advanced review copy and are subject to change in final publication**

Food

Just a few of the delicious food that's featured or mentioned in the book. 🤤

Dating Makes Perfect Fanmix

[Fanmix compiled by me]

Meet Pintip Dunn

I’m a New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. I graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B., and received my J.D. at Yale Law School.

My novel FORGET TOMORROW won the 2016 RWA RITA® for Best First Book, and SEIZE TODAY won the 2018 RITA for Best Young Adult Romance.

In addition, my books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for the following awards: the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire; the Japanese Sakura Medal; the MASL Truman Award; the Tome Society It list; the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award; and a Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book of the Year. My other novels include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, THE DARKEST LIE, GIRL ON THE VERGE, STAR-CROSSED, and MALICE. 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

Purchase Dating Makes Perfect

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon AU |  Amazon IN | Amazon MX | B&N | iBooks | Google Play | Kobo | Half Price Books | Target | One More Page! | Kepler's | Book's Inc. | Books A Million | Powell's | Chapters Indigo | Booktopia | Indiebound | Book Depository

Follow the Tour!

August 11

Hear Our Voices – Intro Interview

Lyrical Reads – Mood Board (IG)

Words of Mystery – Review

Shut Up N Read – IG Review

August 12

The Filipina Bookish – Favorite Quotes (IG)

Magical Reads – Playlist

Solace in Reading – Mood Board

Book Lover Book Reviews – Review

August 13

Corralling Books – Rom Com Recs

JenJen Reviews – Review

Young at Heart Reader – Mood Board

Her Book Thoughts – Playlist

August 14

A Court of Crowns and Quills – Review

Pei Reads – Playlist + Mood Board

The Reading Corner for All – IGTV Review

The Wordy Habitat – Review

August 15

Mind of Luxe – Playlist + Mood Board

Remarkably Lisa – Review

Bookstorm Reads – Interview + Video Review + Cuisine Recipe Rec

August 16

Donna Tsundoku – Video Review

Sirena Reader – Playlist + Favorite Quotes

READING (AS)(I)AN (AM)ERICA – Review

Books. Libraries. Also, cats. – Review

Small Stained Pages – Mood Board

August 17

Nessa.Assara – IG Interview

Empty Kingdom – Story Diary

MP Just Reading – Journal Review

Cosmic Book Love – Mood Board

August 18

Release Day!

Sometimes Leelynn Reads – Playlist + Journal Spread

Lost In A Stack – Review

The Everlasting Library – Blog Interview

Reading Mountains – Favorite Quotes

Clairefy – Review

Nerd Gurll – Favorites Quotes + Mood Board

Trapped Inside Stories – Books as Outfits

Anna Fan – Dream Casts + Favorite Quotes + Playlist

{Watch, Read, & Listen} We Are the Radical Monarchs, Dating Makes Perfect, & Hood Feminism podcast

♥ watch, read & listen is a weekly feature where I share and recommend

my current movie, book, music and podcast obsessions every monday. ♥

Watch: We Are the Radical Monarchs on PBS

A group of tween girls chant into megaphones, marching in the San Francisco TransMarch. Holding clenched fists high, they wear brown berets and vests showcasing colorful badges like “Black Lives Matter” and “Radical Beauty.” Meet the Radical Monarchs, a group of young girls of color at the front lines of social justice.

Set in Oakland, a city with a deep history of social justice movements, WE ARE THE RADICAL MONARCHS documents the Radical Monarchs - an alternative to the Scout movement for girls of color, aged 8-13. Its members earn badges for completing units on social justice including being an LGBTQ ally, the environment, and disability justice. The group was started by two, fierce, queer women of color, Anayvette Martinez and Marilyn Hollinquest as a way to address and center her daughter's experience as a young brown girl. Their work is anchored in the belief that adolescent girls of color need dedicated spaces and that the foundation for this innovative work must also be rooted in fierce inter-dependent sisterhood, self-love, and hope.

Directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton, Katie Flint, Grace Lee

Read: Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn

The Tech sisters don’t date in high school. Not because they’re not asked. Not because they’re not interested. Not even because no one can pronounce their long, Thai last name—hence the shortened, awkward moniker. But simply because they’re not allowed.

Until now.

In a move that other Asian American girls know all too well, six months after the older Tech twins got to college, their parents asked, “Why aren’t you engaged yet?” The sisters retaliated by vowing that they won’t marry for ten (maybe even twenty!) years, not until they’ve had lots of the dating practice that they didn’t get in high school.

In a shocking war on the status quo, her parents now insist that their youngest daughter, Orrawin (aka “Winnie”), must practice fake dating in high school. Under their watchful eyes, of course—and organized based on their favorite rom-coms. ’Cause that won’t end in disaster.

The first candidate? The son of their longtime friends, Mat Songsomboon—arrogant, infuriating, and way too good-looking. Winnie’s known him since they were toddlers throwing sticky rice balls at each other. And her parents love him.

If only he weren’t her sworn enemy.

Publication date: August 18, 2020

Check out my story diary feature for Dating Makes Perfect coming up on the blog later today! If you enjoy childhood friends-to-enemies-to-lovers fake dating tropes, tight sister kinships and rom-com's, then you will absolutely adore this book!

Listen: Hood Feminism podcast

There's now a book companion that you can read, out now!

Friendly reminder that Black lives still matter and that Black Lives Matter protests are still going on around the world -- Continue signing petitions (updated often), donating (if/when you can), protesting safely, emailing/calling your reps/AG/DA, register to vote/vote-by-mail, and educating yourself and family members. More ways to help support Black people and the movement can be found on BLM's official Linktree. More resources can be found on the sidebar as well. ➔

{Watch, Read, & Listen} I Am Not Your Negro, The Black Kids, & Three Black Chicks podcast

♥ watch, read & listen is a weekly feature where I share and recommend

my current movie, book, music and podcast obsessions every monday. ♥

Watch: I Am Not Your Negro on Netflix (2016)

I Am Not Your Negro envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, a radical narration about race in America, using the writer’s original words, as read by actor Samuel L. Jackson. Alongside a flood of rich archival material, the film draws upon Baldwin’s notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. to explore and bring a fresh and radical perspective to the current racial narrative in America.

Raoul Peck's Oscar-nominated documentary is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.

Created by Raoul Peck

Written by James Baldwin, Raoul Peck
Starring Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, Samuel L. Jackson

Read: The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

Perfect for fans of The Hate U Give, this unforgettable coming-of-age debut novel explores issues of race, class, and violence through the eyes of a wealthy black teenager whose family gets caught in the vortex of the 1992 Rodney King Riots.

Los Angeles, 1992

Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of senior year and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. They can already feel the sunny days and endless possibilities of summer.

Everything changes one afternoon in April, when four LAPD officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King half to death. Suddenly, Ashley’s not just one of the girls. She’s one of the black kids.

As violent protests engulf LA and the city burns, Ashley tries to continue on as if life were normal. Even as her self-destructive sister gets dangerously involved in the riots. Even as the model black family façade her wealthy and prominent parents have built starts to crumble. Even as her best friends help spread a rumor that could completely derail the future of her classmate and fellow black kid, LaShawn Johnson.

With her world splintering around her, Ashley, along with the rest of LA, is left to question who is the us? And who is the them?

Publication date: August 4, 2020

Listen: Three Black Chicks podcast

Friendly reminder that Black lives still matter and that Black Lives Matter protests are still going on around the world -- Continue signing petitions (updated often), donating (if/when you can), protesting safely, emailing/calling your reps/AG/DA, register to vote/vote-by-mail, and educating yourself and family members. More ways to help support Black people and the movement can be found on BLM's official Linktree. More resources can be found on the sidebar as well. ➔

My Ambitious #Wikathon TBR

Hello! I apologize for my weird, impromptu blogging hiatus last month after a blogging streak in June, but I am back for the Wikathon readathon which takes place all month long! As a Filipino American, I'm so excited to celebrate Buwan n Wika and read more books by Filipino authors and support their work. Read on to find out more about the readathon, the prompts, and what I plan to read. I hope y'all will join along or perhaps check out readers Filipino book recommendations!

What is Wikathon?

Hosted by Kate (Your Tita Kate), Gerald (Gerald the Bookworm), Kat (Her Bookish Side), Alex (Alex on the Block) and Julienne (Love, Julienne), Wikathon is an annual month-long readathon during the month of August to commemorate Buwan ng Wika (roughly translates to "month of languages") in the Philippines, and is dedicated to Filipino authors and their stories. It's a big, fun event in the Philippines that celebrates the 170+ Filipino languages, as well as culture and food. 😊

The Prompts

My T B R

Filipino SFF

  

Enlightenment by Reno Ursal [reread]

Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco [reread] | This book means so much to me so you know I'm using this readathon to reread it again. No shame.

Filipino LGBTQ+

  

My Heart Underwater by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo (f/f) 🌈 [reread] | I've read an eARC in May and I want to reread this again for this prompt. Hopefully I'll get a better enjoyment the second time around.

My Fake Canadian Wife by M. Hollis (f/f) 🌈 [reread] | I just love M. Hollis' f/f romances, they deserve to be reread over and over again.

New To Me

  

Murder on Balete Drive (Trese #1) by Budjette Tan, Kajo Baldisimo | I've heard about this comic since it was announced that Netflix has picked up an adaption for the streaming service, and put in my request for it on Netgalley. I am super excited to dive into this comic series! (Also, when are we getting this adaption, Netflix?)

The Secrets That We Keep (A #HeistClub New Blood Anthology), edited by Georgette S. Gonzales | I've heard that this thriller/suspense anthology was good and the vague summary intrigued me, so I'm all in for this.

The Modern Pinoy

   

What Things Mean by Sophia N. Lee

Stealing Luna by Carla de Guzman [reread] | I love this Filipino royalty series. Stealing Luna involves an art heist and bodyguard second chance romance.

The Hour of Daydreams by Renee M. Rutledge [reread]

Filipino Diaspora

  

I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir by Malaka Gharib | This is a graphic memoir of the authors biracial (Filipino and Egyptian) Muslim immigrant experience.

Vampires of Portlandia by Jason Tanamor [reread] | This can probably also apply to the Filipino SFF prompt as well.

S2pid Love

   

What You Wanted by Mina V. Esguerra | I need to get back into the romance genre and Mina V. Esguerra always provides.

North to You by Tif Marcelo [reread] | It's time for a reread of this fun Filipino American food truck romance.

Saraling Wika

Read a book in any Filipino language!

I only know Tagalog and Bisaya so bear with me as I pick the two books I've read, and will reread for this prompt, both written in Tagalog.

  

One Lovely Summer Day by Amae Dechavez [reread]

Fall for Grace by Anne Plaza [reread]

Hosts' Choice

Bagay Tayo by Jerry B. Gracio 🌈 | This can also apply to the Filipino LGBTQ+ and saraling wika prompts as well.

While celebrating Filipino languages and authors this month, it's also imperative to take the time to inform yourself with what's happening in the Philippines with the newly passed Anti-Terrorism Law that puts dissenting Filipinos in danger, and ways to help from wherever you are. Also, support Filipino stories and authors all year round, not just during Buwan ng Wika!

Sign petitions (it's free), donate to funds (if/when/however much you can), email Philippine lawmakers (email scripts/addresses/tools included), amplify Filipino voices and more with the following cardds: junkterrorbill.carrd.co and parasapinas.carrd.co ♥

♥ Are you joining in wikathon?

If so, what do you plan on reading? ♥