Welcome to the Good People Book Tour 🧡 ~ the BIGGEST one yet by @talkbookishtomeph@thefilipinoshelf #AkdangPinoy and @anvilpublishing ! 🥹 Couldn’t be more grateful to this community of readers, writers, publishers and book sellers and everyone else in love with literature and the power of words. 📚
Thank you to all our tour hosts, ~ and YOU! Overwhelmed and so incredibly moved by all your love, presence, time, and support. 🌷
See you all starting tomorrow, May 12-16 and June 1-5! Remember: “A writer begins a story. A reader finishes it.” ✨
#iReadAnvil
What does it take to be Good People?
In this collection of short stories, Claire Betita de Guzman writes about people who want to do right, yet somehow do it all wrong. Through lives shaped by class divides and complicated kinships, these stories test moral boundaries in the name of love, survival, and everything in between.
A thief. A serial cheater. An ex-prostitute.
Will you understand their motives or question your own?
In this biggest collaboration yet, 30 creators come together to share their thoughts and reflections on these stories — offering only a glimpse of what awaits inside.
Join the Good People Book Tour by @talkbookishtomeph@thefilipinoshelf and @anvilpublishing from May 10 to June 5, 2026.
🏷️ #GoodPeopleBookTour #TBTMPHxTFSxAnvil #iReadAnvil
Can I be a bad person and not post for this book tour? Jk.
I believe people are inherently good, but also deeply complicated. Sometimes, because of circumstances or the influence of other people, they end up doing bad or not-so-kind things to themselves or to those around them—family, friends, and others they care about (and also strangers). 😔
In this short story collection of Claire Betita de Guzman, Good People, she explores human nature through compelling stories that showcase different shades of people when it comes to being good (or bad, for that matter). ✨
The titular short story, Good People, is my favorite among the ten stories. It was very impactful for me in ways I still can’t fully explain (hehe). There are times when I still think about Max and how he takes people for granted. And Dani and how he planted mahogany instead of native trees-- which, for me, ay hindi nakaka-good people. Eme. 🫶
I hadn't searched about “Pseudologia Fantastica” the first time I read the title, which made me even more amazed by what it means and by the overall plot of the short story. You could say that I was lied to as well. 🙃
In The Fabulous Former Former Loves of Mr. and Mrs. Carangalan, there are good and brave people, and there are bad—scratch that—evil ones. This story is timely, relevant, and enraging. The second-person POV makes sense. Para raw damang-dama mo. 😡
Alter Life is a take on today’s content creation/influencer era. It is an engaging story about going the extra mile for validation and likes. I was apprehensive while reading this, but it all checked out in the end. Sigh. 😭
The Greatest Campaign of Ngisngis is the perfect omega for this collection. 🧡
All in all, I love that these five (5) stories, and the other five (5) I haven’t mentioned, are so distinct from one another. I was surprised by how easily I consumed them and how I didn’t have a hard time transitioning from one story to the next. One of the reasons is Tita Claire’s prose/writing style. It’s so good! The other reason is, probably, the orange cover. 😉
📙📙
#review Good People by Claire Betita de Guzman
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#GoodPeopleBookTour
#TBTMPHxTFSxAnvilBookTour
#IReadAnvil
What does being good mean to you? Welcome to my book tour stop for Good People by Claire Betita De Guzman.
Good People is a collection of 10 stories that show the nuance of what good people are and here's what I learned from reading these stories:
Being good is not limited to being skillful or being excellent at something. Neither is it showing the world that you do good nor doing good conditionally.
Being good is harnessing what is within us and making an impact in ourselves and beyond us. In these stories, we meet individuals who are good at something but use their skills for their personal interests only. We have characters who are confused as to how to use their gifts, lost between delight and delusion. Then we have personalities who show the nuances to relationships, with ourselves and with others.
Good People doesn't tell you what's right or wrong because being good isn't black or white, it's gray. Being good is a journey from the gray through the complexities of life, self, and others into a spectrum of colors.
Being good reminds us to take care of ourselves, those around us, and our society because all our actions, big or small, affect everyone else. If only people came together and serving a cause greater than ourselves. Imagine the impact that could change the world.
So, let's start with the little things, with ourselves, with what is around us. Hopefully soon, we can change the world, one good person at a time.
What does being good mean to you? Have you done good today?
I am grateful to Tita @clairebetita for such a cathartic book, @anvilpublishing and @thefilipinoshelf for this book tour, and to @talkbookishtomeph and @bookchickasph for being my similarly good people who's changing the world one page, one story at a time ❤️
#GoodPeopleBookTour
#TBTMPHxTFSxAnvilBookTour
#iReadAnvil
I struggled to even begin thinking about what I felt after reading Good People Stories by Claire Betita de Guzman. So much has been said and implied through the simplest and most naturally human of stories that I had to take a good week off before coming back to it and writing this review. (Don’t you just love the hangover that comes with impactful literature!?)
The book indulges us with ten stories about people who try to be good in a world that makes it difficult to even do that; try, they do, bringing with them their self-diagnosed goodness of intention.
Each story deals with man-made complexities and moral disconnection, such as infidelity, greed, pretentiousness, jealousy, and even blissful unawareness.
Each story also hits a bit close to home – not meaning in a personal sense but in a cultural manner. It was unnerving because of that familiarity, yet for that same reason, it was also strangely soothing. The humanness of the characters is a welcome comfort. Their flaws and nuances reflect the complexity of human behavior and thinking that fills up the gray areas of morality. Come to think of it, what is life without the gray? Will we even have art and literature?
Bad and good are black and white on paper. Yet, the mind rarely discerns them as such. It’s fascinating how, as we go through the crashing waves of living, that line blurs more and more; to justify a self-serving reason, to forgive ourselves for the wrong we do in the name of goodness. Because we know that in the end, life will not always treat you well, some people will treat you even worse, and the only one who really needs to enable you is you.
It’s a universal experience to be selfish sometimes with good intentions.
We are only human – flawed, complex, coping.
We are people.
Good can be what you want it to be,
what you need it to be.
THAT’S IT FOR MY BOOK TOUR STOP!
I don’t know if I did this book justice nor if I ever can.
Thought-provoking stories wrapped in beautiful prose, written by the amazing @clairebetita , made my vocabulary jump out the window.😳
Thank you so much to the amazing people behind this book tour! ♥️
#GoodPeopleBookTour #TBTMPHxTFSxAnvilBookTour #iReadAnvil
Good people choose courage. This line has stayed with me ever since I got hold of my copy of 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗗𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘇𝗺𝗮𝗻.
The 10 short stories explore the many shades of being good—not just black and white. That being good has never been simple. It is not fixed, and it is not perfect. It paints a picture in vibrant colors—It paints a picture of being human.
That I am good with something but it doesn't mean that something is necessarily good.
That I am good at keeping my pain but it doesn't mean it makes me feel good.
That my intentions were good but it hurt people.
That I just want to feel good but it doesn't always lead me to what is right.
That if I were to paint a picture, people will have their own interpretations. The art will speak to them differently. It will stir different feelings. It will never be just one thing. Good People Stories is that and more. Each story gives you an insight on what it means to be good. It invites you to pause and think and realize and feel. It welcomes you to see good in many forms and colors from people who go through different sutuations.
Being good shifts in meaning as it is shaped through intentions, experiences, and circumstances. It continuously unfolds through the choices we make.
In the heart of it all, good people choose courage.
Good people choose courage even when life has taught them everything but being good.
Thank you tita @clairebetita@anvilpublishing@thefilipinoshelf@talkbookishtomeph for making me part of this book tour! 🧡
#GoodPeopleBookTour #TBTMPHxTFSxAnvilBookTour #iReadAnvil
Happy to finally finish Good People by Claire Betita De Guzman despite being under the weather.
Took me longer than expected to finish, but I genuinely loved all the stories and I’m glad I took my time with it. 💖📚🐈
Book review coming soon. 📚💖
#iReadAnvil #books #goodpeople #bookstagram #filipinoauthors
It is finally my tour stop for the Good People Stories Book Tour! It took me several drafts because I want to write something that gives this book the justice it deserves. I am not sure I am doing that, but I tried 🥹
I went in already a fan of Claire Betita De Guzman, Tita Claire, whom I have been a fan of since Sudden Superstar. Now I am an even BIGGER fan. 💯
Good People Stories lingers long after each story, long after the last page. It is slim yet satisfying and definitely a book I would come back to. The book delivers on many of the reasons why we read, and that was what I am conveying here. (Please indulge me with the long-ish notes🥰)
In here you will meet people whom we might have written off, and maybe ask what they deserve. Yet for one reason or another, I find myself rooting for some of them… For the world to give them a second chance. And for the others, (hint: Europe), well, do live with the consequences of your actions.
The short of it is this: I HIGHLY recommend it. Swipe through to see why. And check out the other tour stops to know more about Good People Stories. Thank you for coming to my TED talk 🥰
#TheFilipinoShelf #TBTMPH #TFSGoodPeople #TBTMPHBookTour #iReadAnvil
“Life would continue, uneven and unfinished.”
Naiinis ka rin ba kapag nakakagat ka ng ahas, sa t’wing naglalaro ka ng snakes & ladders? Ako, oo, lalo na kapag natatapat ako sa mga kakampi na pakiramdam ko, ang suwerte-suwerte, tipong hindi sila natatapat sa may tile na may ahas, madalas natatapat pa sila sa hagdan. So anong kinalaman ng snakes & ladders sa aklat na “Good People” ni Claire Betita de Guzman, na inilimbag ng Anvil Publishing.
Sa totoo lang, nang matapos ko ang koleksyon, doon ko naisip ang board game. Naikonekta ko ito sa iba’t ibang karakter na nakilala ko sa sampung kuwento sa aklat. Lahat sila, tila natuklaw ng ahas, bumalik sa simula at nais magsimula. Ito ang pangalawang aklat na nabasa ko, mula kay Tita Claire (kung tawagin namin siya) at nang mabalitaan ko ang koleksyong ito ng maikling kuwento, nagkaroon ng tanong sa utak ko:
Mula sa pagsusulat ng nobela, paano kaya isusulat ni tita Claire ang porma ng maikling kuwento?
Kaya laking pasalamat ko na lang sa The Filipino Shelf, Talk Bookish To Me Philippines, at Anvil Publishing sa pagkakataon na mabasa ito. Dahil napunan no’n ang kuryosidad ko, sa panulat ni Tita Claire, na una na akong pinahanga sa kaniyang nobela na Hue City. Masasabi kong mas compact magkuwento ang author sa koleksyon na ito, ngunit hindi no’n nawala ang distinct writing na una kong nabasa sa nobela.
Sa kabuoang danas ko sa koleksyon, may mga pagkakataong nagtatanong ako, kung ano ang gustong sabihin ng kuwento? Bukod sa mismong drama. May mga tanong na “bakit?” pero hindi iisang beses, may pumapasok na kasagutan, lalo na siguro sa kuwentong masasabi ko na paborito ko ang “Blocked”. Sadyang kailangan magpatuloy, ayaw nating manatili sa iisang bersyon na hindi na tayo masaya.
Kung gusto ninyong ma-challenge sa pagkilala ng iba’t ibang karakter, at makakasama, halimbawa sa pagmumuni, nirerekomenda ko ang aklat na “Good People” available na ito sa iba’t ibang shopping channels ng Anvil at piling branch ng National Book Store.
#TheFilipinoShelf #TBTMPH #TFSGoodPeople #TBTMPHBookTour #GoodPeople iReadAnvil
✨ Book Tour: Good People by Claire Betita de Guzman ✨
As always, @clairebetita ‘s writing is brilliant without ever feeling intimidating. Good People showed me again why I enjoy her books, they’re easy to read, grounded, and written in a way that feels real. She has this steady, clear way of telling a story that makes you trust her as an author and I just really admire how she writes.
Favorite stories:
🐈 The Fabulous Former Lives of Mr. And Mrs. Carangalan
🐈 A Lifetime of Luxury
🐈 Good People
🐈 Blocked
🐈 The Greatest Campaign of Ngisngis
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#TheFilipinoShelf #TFSGoodPeople #TBTMPHBookTour #GoodPeople #iReadAnvil
Good People (Stories) Book Review 🐈
QOTD: Do you have a song recommendation? Recommend me a song in the comment and you’ll automatically be a Good People in my eyes.
Hi besties! Today is my stop for #GoodPeopleBookTour ft. @clairebetita bestselling short story collection from @anvilpublishing
This collection is an anticipated release and I am so happy that it lived up to the expectations and more! Read it last month and I’m rereading it again.
Check my review per short story and see which OPM song fits the theme of each piece!
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#akdangpinoy
#bookstagram
