If there’s one thing that will never get old, it’s reading. I certainly picked it back up during the pandemic after my grade school stint of being the class’s supplier of the ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ and ‘Magic Treehouse’ series. There’s just something undeniably magical about being able to be transported to another dimension, live another life, and purely revel in the art of words just by reading a book. 

My passion for books has been a long-standing on-and-off love affair. Due to being increasingly busy towards the path of adulthood, reading books has been reduced to a free-time-only hobby. I soon realized that reading is a powerful way of coping with the drudgeries of real, daily life – a sort of escapism by entertaining yourself with anecdotes from transformative people with transcendent lives.

One of the most important things I have learned is actually a cliché: Read what you want. On the surface, this might seem like shallow and obvious advice but it has truly helped me find my comfort in reading to be sustainable and still enjoyable. I have struggled with reading books that I felt like I had to read or enjoy, and I just ended up reading them as if it was a chore or required reading for class; never absorbing any of the knowledge I was supposed to learn or find any enjoyment in it at all.

Now, we know how some books we truly want to read are a little harder to get our hands on locally, especially the niche reads, indie authors, or alternative covers. So here’s a little book-shopping guide to hopefully get you started, beginning with four of my favorite local bookshops.

Omniana Books & Artwork

 

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Born during the pandemic, Omniana has quickly grown into the trusted local indie bookstore of Instagram where you can get your hands on beautifully packaged books (They include such cute cards in each order too!) that makes you want to keep reading again. They curate their collections specifically for the sophisticated reader, showing off a diverse collection of books from global authors, whether it’s eclectic Arabic fiction like Ahmed Saadawi’s ‘Frankenstein’ or the Everyman’s Library editions of classics from ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ to ‘Pride & Prejudice’. Omniana also has a wide array of art from local artists that display Filipino heritage and culture up for grabs on their site.

MY BEST BUYS:

1. ‘Dog Songs’ by Mary Oliver: A poem collection for dog lovers that explores the special bond between humans and their companions.
2. ‘Good Citizens Need Not Fear’ by Maria Reva: 9 interconnected stories of Ukrainian fiction from the lives of distinct residents living in 1 condominium leading to the fall of the Soviet Union.
3. ‘The Idiot’ by Elif Batuman: A classic no-plot-just-vibes (P.S. a new 21st-century genre) of a young Turkish woman reinventing and discovering herself in her university years.

Table Stories

 

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If there’s one thing I’m a sucker for, it’s coffee table books, specifically the ones from Table Stories. They have the best selection of Monocle, Kinfolk, and Wes Anderson books that I just want to have in my collection. They’re an authorized stockist of Rizzoli, Thames & Hudson, and more, so you can expect cherry-picked reads in every collection. They also include the cutest postcards in every purchase that you can use as additional home decor (plus, as a repeat buyer, they’re the nicest people too!). Table Stories lovingly shows off their wide array of coffee table books that are not only pretty to look at but are wildly interesting reads as well.

MY BEST BUYS:

1. ‘Do You Read Me?: Bookstores Around the World’ by Marianne Julia Strauss & Jürgen Boos: A collection of the most beautiful, creatively innovative, and uniquely successful bookstores from all parts of the world.
2. ‘Paris By Design: An Inspired Guide to the City’s Creative Side’ by Eva Jorgensen: A heavily illustrated book for the Francophiles who want to explore Paris’ creative scene.
3. ‘The Monocle Book of Nordics’ by Tyler Brûlé, Joe Pickard, Andrew Tuck: A celebration of the Nordic region that explores its design-heavy culture, people, places, and everything in between.

Staff Picks Bookstore

 

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Created by a band of bookworms, Staff Picks carefully picks their new collections for you. With a seriously wide range of various genres, from historical fiction to romance, you’re sure to find something that interests you in the reads of their new drops. As a small business, their titles are limited, so be sure to watch out and grab your favorites when they release their collections. They also do themed drops, such as Halloween horror/thriller reads and even Women’s Month collections that are specially curated to empower the female voices in the literary world. And don’t worry, they restock the bestsellers too! 

MY BEST BUYS:

1. ‘This is Not A T-Shirt: A Brand, A Culture, A Community–A Life in Streetwear’ by Bobby Hundreds: A memoir from the infamous name behind streetwear’s birth, culture, and the hub of early 2000s skate style: The Hundreds.
2. ‘Too Much and Not In The Mood by Durga Chew-Bose’:  A mesmerizing collection of essays that explores what it means to be a first-generation creative woman today.
3. ‘Animal’ by Lisa Taddeo: A fiercely brutal and honest depiction of the female rage that breathes life into the anti-heroines of our contemporary era.

Page & Turner

 

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As if curating pieces for their private library, the founders of Page & Turner are churning out handpicked titles for us to fill our shopping carts with. They are offering a wide array of titles from multidisciplinary genres; a lot of which are hard to get in the usual bookstores around the metro. As certified bookworms, they also post a ‘Book of the Week’, featuring their favorite picks, and you can even DM them for any book recommendations for a truly personal, curated experience. The small business also runs on limited quantities and drops small batches of books in every collection. But, watch out for the ever-so-coveted titles that they include, from Dolly Alderton reads to New York Review Classics edition books.

MY BEST BUYS:

1. ‘The Virgin Suicides’ by Jeffrey Eugenides: A haunting 20th-century classic scrutinizing the lives of the 5 Lisbon sisters and the mythologies of American suburban life.
2. ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carroll: Including the original black-and-white illustrations, this childhood story is a definitive way to escape normalcy and explore the fantastical world of Wonderland.
3. ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ by Jennette McCurdy: The hilarious and heartbreaking memoir of the iCarly star explores the abuse, exploitation, and struggles with her late mother.
   

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Header image courtesy of Omniana Books & Artwork / Instagram