Instagram story viewer> @epigrambooks> Tagged

Epigram Books

@epigrambooks

17.1K

followers

836

following

of Singapore & Southeast Asian stories 🇸🇬
1008 Toa Payoh North #03-08
Weekdays 10am-6pm Closed on PH

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Take Me Back to Yangon by May Thanakhar 🇲🇲 ❤️‍🩹

Oh my heart. 😭😭 What an incredibly beautiful, heartbreaking book.

The story follows Khin Lay, whose marriage falls apart after years of struggling with childlessness and her husband’s infidelity. She leaves Yangon for Paris, hoping to start afresh, and finds herself caught between a love that once broke her and the possibility of loving again.

And goodness, what a journey it was. 😭

The plot is quite the whirlwind, which made the writing stand out even more. So incredibly smooth, soothing and assured.

‘Cause even when everything in Khin Lay’s life is falling apart, the prose never does 🤣

There’s something so gentle about the way May Thanakhar writes, and her descriptions are just gorgeous.

I also loved how culturally rich it was without ever feeling overwhelming. The traditions, expectations and little details of Myanmar life were woven so naturally into the story.

I cried practically the whole way through. And I honestly can’t tell if it was because I saw parts of myself in Khin Lay, or because the story itself was so heartbreakingly moving. Probably bits of both 🥹

What a book. What a writer. ❤️‍🩹
—
@epigrambooks
#takemebacktoyangon #maythanakhar #epigrambooks #singapore

2

0

[Kolaborasi Biblio bersama Epigram Book]

Pihak Biblio telah menjalinkan kerjasama dengan Epigram Books bagi memperkenalkan karya-karya sastera terkenal Singapura kepada pasaran Malaysia, sekali gus membuka ruang yang lebih luas untuk pembaca tempatan mengenali khazanah kesusasteraan dari negara jiran.

Epigram Books merupakan cabang penerbitan perdagangan di bawah Epigram yang ditubuhkan pada Julai 2011 bagi mengangkat kesusasteraan Singapura. Syarikat buku Epigram telah menerbitkan lebih 350 judul fiksyen dan bukan fiksyen dan menampilkan pelbagai karya, termasuk novel, novel grafik, memoir dan buku kanak-kanak. Karya-karya dari syarikat ini juga turut mendapat pengiktirafan di peringkat tempatan dan antarabangsa, termasuk menerusi anugerah sastera berprestij.

Melalui kerjasama dengan Epigram Books, Biblio berusaha membawa karya-karya pilihan Singapura lebih dekat kepada pembaca Malaysia. Kerjasama ini bukan sahaja memperluas akses kepada karya sastera berkualiti, malah menggalakkan pertukaran budaya dan pemikiran antara kedua-dua negara, sekali gus memperkukuh hubungan kesusasteraan serantau.

64

2

📖 Mind The Gap by Ratna Damayanti Taha had me curious from the start!! Following Nora's journey from her school days all the way through adulthood and into marriage is no small feat, and the book commits to covering all that ground. 👀 I loved the diversity in the cast of minority characters here. It was never lazy, never falling into easy stereotypes, and the setting was vivid enough that I could picture a lot of the scenes in the book. Very relatable lah eh...

I appreciated how unflinchingly the book depicts both overt and casual racism - the kind so many of us recognise instantly, and the kind that's harder to name out loud. It's the sort of depiction that deserves far more space in our local fiction, and Ratna doesn't look away from it.

💭 I only wished the writing trusted me a little more as a reader. There were moments I felt told how to feel, rather than left to arrive there myself, and some of the dialogue leaned a little expository. A tighter edit perhaps, or trimming scenes that didn't quite move the plot or tried to do too much, might have let the book's stronger moments really breathe.

It's still a great feat. Congratulations on this prize-winning debut, Ratna @writefully.ratna ! 🎊 Here's to many more stories ✍🏽

Thank you @epigrambooks for this review copy 🫶🏽

#readSG #SingLit #readbooks #fiction #bookreview

36

3

Are you ready for Mama? On 30 Oct, 7pm, join us at Book Bar as we explore why Mama scares us.
Dress for the occassion! Fast fun tarot reads for anyone purchasing our panellists' books on the day!

Free registration via link in bio!
https://www.eventbrite.sg/e/mommy-dearest-a-halloween-special-tickets

13

3

Let's plaaaaay.....SPOT THE DIFFERENCE!

Alhamdulillah, 2nd print run copies of Mind The Gap were delivered this week. While largely the same, eagle-eyed readers may spot minor differences. 🕵‍♀️🕵‍♂️🕵‍♀️

Now available at the Epigram Bookstore.

https://epigrambookshop.sg/collections/ebfp/products/mind-the-gap
(Link in bio)

49

3

The literary ‘canon’ I wish I’d been taught. A list of fiction books that taught me things i didn’t learn in school (or at least not in quite the same way).

These are books i read outside the uni that have stayed with me and almost all of them have a permanent place on my all-time favorites shelf (my personal literary Hall of Fame!).

My MA and PhD did introduce me to plenty of texts beyond the eurocentric masculinist canon, so this isn’t a critique of everything I was taught. More a reminder that education can happen too outside the academia.

I’ve organised these books around 4 themes: reading against national memory, when women write back, censorship and intellectual freedom, and exile, belonging and finding home. I’ve also included mini-reviews of some of these titles.

If you could add 1 book to the university curriculum, which would it be?

#LiteraryCanon #WorldLiterature #DecolonizeTheCanon #BookRecommendations #HumanitiesSelfStudy

[literary canon, world literature, book recommendations, personal reading list, university literature curriculum, women writers, postcolonial literature, literary fiction, humanities self-study, bookstagram, book recs, contemporary fiction, reading list, diverse literature]

949

22

(repost with correct dates) It’s all kicking off next week so here are some details of the first half of the trip. More events are popping up as we go along. ‘Santai’ is an Indonesian word which means relax, it’ll all be fine, don’t worry. This will be my word of the trip. The other phrase will be ‘sedikit lagi’ which means ‘please can I have some more?’ The book will have to compete for my attention with food. ‘Twas always thus. @ubudwritersfest @epigrambooks #myneighbourthedictator #memoir

27

0

(dates correction in comments) It’s all kicking off next week so here are some details of the first half of the trip. More events are popping up as we go along. ‘Santai’ is an Indonesian word which means relax, it’ll all be fine, don’t worry. This will be my word of the trip. The other phrase will be ‘sedikit lagi’ which means ‘please can I have some more?’ The book will have to compete for my attention with food. ‘Twas always thus. @ubudwritersfest @epigrambooks #myneighbourthedictator #memoir

66

6

Udah lama banget nggak ada yang teriak “PAKEEEETTT!!” 🔊 depan rumah, soalnya belakangan lagi suka beli online, tapi pick up langsung di toko Gramedia soalnya lebih satset! 😆📚

Nah, ini dia 5 buku incaran yang akhirnya kubawa pulang soalnya lumayan banget dapet diskon, yayy!

Ada yang mau diskonnya juga nggak? Cek videonya sampai akhir yaa, ada promo Teman Membaca yang infonya bisa kamu cek di aplikasi Gramedia atau kunjungi https://promo.gramedia.com/teman-membaca-oktober-2026.

Kasih saran dong wajib baca yang mana dulu nih? 👀

#TemanMembaca #BookHaul #Gramedia #TumbuhBermakna #SiapNaikLevel

171

3

MIBF Haul Part 2

Almost forgot to post this but never too late! Second time I went to MIBF and I got these titles:

* Silk, Silver, Spices, Slaves by Lio Mangubat
* Noli Me Tangere by Edgar Calabia Samar
* Fish Hair by Merlinda Bobis
* Ang Mahiwagang Silid ni Lola by Eugene Y. Evasco and Domz Agsaway
* Hospital Cats Love Turon by Wilfredo Liangco
* A Strange Case of Erasure by Jaclyn Lim
* Champion Rose by Cat Aquino and Dominique Duran
* Watchdog of Manila by Lucas Lacorte

Also got some beautiful postcards from the stories of Good People by Claire Betita de Guzman

Now I need to start reading my new books! Anybody wants to buddy read, let me know!

3

13

The Good Gang by Lin Shiyun, Carolyn Oei and Marc Nair

The Good Gang is a new book from 3Pumpkins that offers a rare, ground-level view of childhood in Singapore’s heartlands. It tells the stories of 10 children who grew up with Tak Takut Kids Club (TTKC), a safe and happy neighbourhood community space for children.

Reading about the TTKC and the children they serve really opened my eyes to the reality of those who fall through the cracks as they grow up in Singapore and I’m so impressed by the amazing community that Shiyun and her team has set up for these children who need a safe space during their formative years.

I applaud the team for their efforts in meeting the children where they are and not trying to fix them. This work is also long drawn out and they don’t usually see the fruits of their labour so really, it’s thankless work. It’s honestly easier to climb the corporate ladder, enjoy the money you’ve earned and remain blind to these children.

“The cause of trauma is often not the incident itself, but the lack of care that happens after. Children who have experienced prolonged neglect or harm need constant reminders and encouragement to take on alternative perspectives and solutions.” (page 67)

I have been changed by this book and I hope you read it too. Pick up a copy at @casualpoetlibrary , @littlesaturdayroom or on @epigrambooks website 🫶🏻

Thank you @babycanoe for sharing your copy with me!

#thegoodgang #taktakutkidsclub

21

3

Finding this store was a little like looking for Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

Loved the displays and the neighborhood. ❤️

@epigrambookshop @epigrambooks @sgibd26 @visit_singapore

#bookstore #bookreels #bookstagram #exploresg #booklover

18

3