My Favorite Books: What's on Lyn Ching-Pascual's Bookshelves

Lyn Ching-Pascual, host of GMA-7's morning show Unang Hirit
Wife to Jappy, businessman; and mom to Gaby, 9 and Matty, 6

What got her interested in books:

When I was a kid I was a really bad student, I didn't like books.  When I turned 13, my cousins started reading the Sweet Dreams series and I got interested. So I borrowed it and I fell in love with it. Wala naman akong pera noon so I just kept on borrowing, and then I'd save my allowance and buy paisa-isa. When I landed a job, I started a collection. At first, I would rummage through book sales, and then eventually I got my books from ebay.com.

 

How do you raise kids who are readers?
The way to encourage your kids to do anything is to be what you want them to be. I wanted them to be readers so I read a lot and they see me. Minsan nga - I'm guilty of this - they want to do something with me, I'd say, 'I'm finishing a book'. So now when my daughter is in the comfort room, nagbabasa. Bago matulog, nasa ilalim ng kumot, nagbabasa. She loves reading as much as I do, but the difference is she speed-reads, which is more than I can do, then she goes back to it and reads again para maintindihan nya lalo.

My son loves reading also but very specific - he loves Angry Birds. Some of them I had to buy from Amazon.com or have someone bring them over (from other countries) kasi hindi naman lahat available dito. Pareho silang may book addiction like me.

I read to my kids while they were very young. I started my daughter with Sandra Boynton books. At the age of six, she was reading Geronimo Stilton, then Monster High. She finished the entire Percy Jackson series and Harry Potter series when she was eight. I keep buying her books because she just consumes them like crazy! Minsan nga she reads even my books.

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Favorite Books

1. Sunfire series
I've always been a history buff, and people sometimes don't understand why I love the civil war, but I really do. Sunfire series is a historical romance; lahat ng bida nya, teenagers na 15 or 16 years old. Back then, they were considered adults. It's fascinating to me how they handle problems with maturity. Compared to most young adult books now which are kinda sexual, sa Sunfire Series, iba. Yung thrill nya is more of 'Oh, he touched my finger', 'He looked at me from across the room'. It's a different kind of kilig which I want my daughter and son to experience when they're old enough. I want my daughter to read those books when she's of age para makita nya that it's not all about sex. Also, in this series, lahat ng characters na lalaki may trabaho, they work hard. I love it because it teaches the value of hard work, and also that you should not be carried away by emotions.

2. Sweet Dreams series
It's what started my love affair with books. Those who are now between the ages of 35 to 40 will remember these. When I was old enough and I could afford it, I'd buy them in boxes from ebay.com. These four titles - P.S. I Love You, Secret Identity, Winter Dreams and Wrong-Way Romance - are the ones that I keep re-reading, even if they became popular some 25 years ago pa.

3. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Some authors write about a world and you, the reader, feel like you're watching it. When Julie Kagawa creates a world, however, she makes you feel like you want to live in it -- that's how good she is!

This is what got me into blogging. Publishers course their new titles through a website called netgalley.com to get to the bloggers and sell books. If you're a blogger, you can check out the list of books that are not yet out in the market on that website -- and they're usually there about a month before they are released in public – for review. I was so obsessed with the first book of Julie Kagawa and I wanted to get a copy of the second book immediately after finishing the first one. While browsing the net one time, I found a blog entry that said she already got the second book through netgalley.com, so nainggit ako. I said to myself that if that is the only way to get my hands on the second book, then I'm going to start blogging. So I created www.readingtsinoy.blogspot.com.

Currently, I'm reviewing Til Death by a Pinoy author, Kate Evangelista. Her book was recently launched here in the Philippines but she's already published internationally by Entangled Teen in the States. She already has four book published and Til Death is her fifth. I'm proud that she's a fellow Pinay!

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4. Uncle John's Bathroom Reader
I love trivias and these are books about trivias. I just like to have stock knowledge on anything. Ang dami na nilang nilabas, pero yung sa history ang pinaka-favorite ko.

5. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Pag binasa mo yan at di ka maiyak, ang tibay mo. It's a tragic story, but it's hopeful in the end. Gayle Forman is an amazing writer! She always uses the hashtag #AlltheFeels because you really go through a rollercoaster of emotions reading her book. Sabi nya, that's the point -- when you read my books I want you to feel extreme joy and extreme sadness.

When do you find the time to read books?
All the time. I make time. If it's your passion, you'll make time for it. It's just something I do for myself, for my sanity, for pleasure. I just love reading. I read during downtime at my son's soccer practice. I read in the car, kahit masakit sa ulo, lalo na pag di ko na matiis ang suspense. I really find time for it.


How does reading help you as a parent?
For me, pag marami kang librong binabasa, no matter what it's about, you'll learn something. Every day, you learn something new from every single book that you read -- you learn new words, for one. My passion for reading has rubbed off on my kids as well. Sometimes my daughter talks to me and she uses big words na nagugulat ako na alam nya pala yon. Or sometimes magkukwento sya, may flow - it's as if you're reading a book. When she does that, I get so impressed and at the same time, proud.

Books also calm me down, so when my kids do something that upsets me, I go to my books, read, and then when I’m calm I go back and talk to them. It's really a huge part of my life, you can't separate me from books.

Click View slideshow to see Lyn's favorite books!

 

Photos by Dairy Darilag. Hair and makeup by Anne Castano