5 Exciting Books By Filipino Authors You'll Want In Your Analog Bag

Move over Fire Horse, 2026 is the year of the analog bag. Journals and knitting needles are way cuter than a glowing rectangle of doom, but if we're being so for real: Logging off isn't the easiest thing to do when practically our entire lives are online. And while using our hands is a great way to stay screen-free, sometimes we don't have the space, endurance, or materials to sustain it. That’s where books come in.

When all else fails and you're feeling that irresistible urge to check your notifications, pull out a book. It engages your full attention without requiring much else. If you're on your phone reading through captions and memes anyway, you might as well use your eyes to consume something that an algorithm didn't feed you.

And if you're going to swap your phone for anything, let it be Filipino literature. The past year has given us an incredible slate of new local releases—books that are urgent, intimate, and reflective of our lives and experiences. Here are five to consider slipping into your bag:

For the days when you feel like an NPC in your own city, reach for this. Alfonso Manalastas' poetry collection moves through urban alienation, post-colonial tension, and climate grief with the kind of clarity that makes you feel unalone. His poems sprawl across Manila's concrete and contradictions, translating the lived experiences of young Filipinos navigating an in-between era—the fabled interregnum where the old world hasn't quite left, and the new one hasn't fully formed.

Why it's perfect for Cosmo readers: If you've ever felt unseen on a touristic beach, or enraged at systems you can't quite name, this book validates that energy. It says, "I see what you see. And I see you." Slip it into your tote for solo café dates when you want to feel intellectually and emotionally held.

If your algorithm feeds you showbiz tea and true crime threads, this memoir is your analog upgrade. Chuck Smith delivers the kind of cinematic storytelling that proves real life can be stranger, perhaps even more so, than fiction. This memoir moves through the highs and lows of being tied to the infamous lore of a "bold star," weaving together family history, fame, scandal, sociopolitical insights, and identity with sharp prose and emotional honesty.

Why it's perfect for Cosmo readers: It’s got the drama of prestige TV, the intrigue of a long-form exposé, and the self-reflection of your favorite personal essay newsletter. It's for the girl who loves pop culture but also wants to unpack what it means. If you plan to read it during your commute, do so at your own risk; this page-turner might make you miss your stop.

This book is for baddies only. Andrea V. Tubig's second edition of the now-cult poetry collection bridges youthful irreverence with hard-earned, slightly jaded wisdom. The poems are bold, sensual, and boundary-pushing—playing with femininity, desire, rage, and self-expression in ways that might make you instinctively tilt the cover away from nosy younger siblings or more conservative elder relatives. It's R-rated, yes—but it's literature.

Why it's perfect for Cosmo readers: If you've been on a journey of becoming audacious with your voice or your sexuality, this book is your co-conspirator (or co-defendant?) in literary form. It'll change the way you think about poetry. Pull this out at your college cafeteria or outside the club while waiting for your ride, and watch yourself get some new, very fun friends.

Read this in public! Not for clout—for company. Yvette Tan has long been known for infusing horror into the everyday Filipino experience, and this book is no exception. The stories linger as a chill in your spine long after you close the book. Some references are rooted in real accounts, making what lurks in your imagination (is it just your imagination?) even more uncomfortable. But what truly disturbs, beyond the supernatural, is the normalized horrors of our material reality as Filipinos.

Why it's perfect for Cosmo readers: If you're the type who devours thrillers but also wants something culturally grounded, this is your next read. It's spooky but sharp and informative. Bring it to a sleepover or beach trip for dramatic nighttime reading sessions (that you don't have to endure alone).

Tender and lyrical, this collection by actual surgeon Alyza Taguilaso is unsurprisingly exacting in the way it sews together reflections on illness, mortality, womanhood, and the anxieties of today's Filipino. Most disarming about the poems is their sincerity, which makes the otherwise alienating angst of a middle-class doctor transform into something quite endearing, even relatable. The language is smooth, accessible, and intimate, inviting you to see the familiarity of hospitals, homes, and heartbreaks in a new light.

Why it's perfect for Cosmo readers: This book is perfect for reflective Sunday afternoons when you're thinking about your career, your future, and what it all means. Plus, the colorful cover is very cute and will look aesthetic peeking out of your analog bag.

There's nothing wrong with a good scroll. But underlining a line that feels like it was written just for you, passing a book to a friend and saying, "You have to read this," looking off into the distance and reconsidering your whole outlook once you've finished a page—these are things that can;t really be replicated online. In a world that is fighting for your attention in 15-second bursts, reach for a piece of Filipino literature to keep you grounded, make you feel seen, and help you reimagine a world beyond your explore page.