Book Club Run of Death in the Cards with Mia P. Manansala

Kick off Read & Run Chicago's Fall 2025 season with our September Book Club Run of by Chicago-based writer Mia P. Manansala!

This cozy young adult mystery features badass Lane Tech student Danika Dizon, a tarot card-reading, martial-arts wielding amauter detective with a strong sense of herself and her Filipino culture.

At this event, we're hosting a a four-mile guided run with several stops with Read & Run Chicago guide Leslie Hiquiana through the streets of Lakeview and Roscoe Village that highlights both Filipino culture in Chicago and Danika's unwavering determination to solve a disappearance and even a M**der.

After the run, we'll chat with author Mia P. Manansala and sample , unique and mouthwatering ice cream flavors inspired by Asian cuisine, using locally sourced ingredients and sustainable packaging. Copies of and other related titles will be available for purchase through our bookstore partner .

Since we bring books to life, you can also add on a tarot card reading with Kayla Scanlan, either before/after the guided run.

We strongly encourage pre-reading for our monthly Book Club Runs. Grab your copy of from your local library branch, purchase online through our Bookshop.org affiliate page, or purchase in-person from AAPI Albany Park bookstore Restoried Bookshop.

This event is teen friendly, so parents: please feel free to bring your YA lovers of all ages.

DOORS OPEN: Doors open at the Rizal Center (1332 W. Irving Park) at 8:30 AM. Check in, make a name tag, purchase merch, and mingle with other readers & runners.

ROUTE: Easy-paced (11:00-12:00 min/mile) four-mile route through Lakeview and Roscoe Village with three stops.

TAROT CARD READINGS: Add on a tarot card reading with Kayla Scanlon before/after the Q&A.

AUTHOR Q&A: The author Q&A with Mia P. Manansala will be held directly after the guided running portion of this event from 10:45-11:30am. If you're joining for the Q&A only, please arrive by 10:45am at the latest.

INCLEMENT WEATHER PLAN: If it becomes unsafe to run outside, we will hold a modified version of the event at the venue starting at 10am. You will be notified via email no later than 8pm on Sunday, September 14 if there are any changes to the event.

All ticket holders will receive reminder emails and details 2 days and 4 hours prior to the event.

Leslie Hiquiana (Guide): Leslie Hiquiana is a special education teacher and marathon runner. She is currently training for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon (number 4). When not training, Leslie can be found listening to audiobooks, walking her dog (Estevan!), or scoping out new Filipino restaurants in Chicago.

Rizal Center (Venue): The Rizal Center is more than a building. It’s a revitalized way of thinking about who we are and how we engage with our community, our neighborhood, and our city. The owner of the building is the non profit and tax-exempt Filipino American Council of Greater Chicago, Inc., which was incorporated in the State of Illinois on March 11, 1953. As a community center in a sanctuary City and State, it is a welcoming, dynamic place for people of all backgrounds to come together, to foster bridging, appreciation, and understanding of the Filipino and Filipino American experiences in Chicago and our place in American society, as well as intersections with diverse cultures.

Read & Run Chicago is a chapter of Read & Run Tours, LLC, the country’s first and only organization that hosts running events inspired by books. Founded in 2021 by queer educator, freelance writer, and runner Allison Yates, the mission of Read & Run Tours, LLC and the city chapters is to use movement and stories to explore locations. Our community-focused run programming includes running tours, book club runs, author talks, and other literary-themed fun runs all inspired by books set in the cities where chapters are located, written by local authors. While connecting runners to the city’s stories, we also actively support literacy programs, public libraries, independent bookstores, and local authors.

In Chicago, we have hosted more than 100 events (in English and Spanish) for over 300 Chicagoans, featuring over 30 authors or local experts, and we have been featured in various media outlets including CNN, Runner’s World, Midwest Living, NBC’s Chicago Today, Fox32 Good Day Chicago, WGN Radio, Block Chicago, and more.

More information at readandrunchicago.com, Instagram, and Facebook.

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Rizal Center, 1332 West Irving Park Road, Chicago, United States