Filipino Friday: Introductions

Though this blog is primarily a portfolio of my stuff and news/updates, I wanted to join in Filipino ReaderCon's Filipino Friday meme. 1) Because I'm a Pinoy author 2) Because Filipino books deserve a wider readership and 3) the topics are just so much fun! The first Filipino Friday is all about:

• July 20 - Introductions. As with every start of a weekly meme, we need to know a bit about you! Talk about your top 3-5 (or more!) favorite books of all time, the genres you read and would never read, the books that surprised you this year. You can also talk about how you became a reader and why you love it so much! And finally, if you were in the ReaderCon last year, talk about your experience too! If you weren’t there, but you’re planning to go this year, then what do you expect for the upcoming ReaderCon?

So, let's see:

I'm Katrina Ramos Atienza, 30, mom of two, husband to one, writer, editor, reader, corporate communications practitioner, fashion-obsessed blogger, and also fairly obsessed about: books, movies, football, the German National Football Team, futsal, yoga, 90s pop culture, good food, travel and not so secretly with Tom Hiddleston. (Did I just type that out? ANYWAY!) I write all sorts of stuff, from technical manuals to press releases, but I'm most proud of my creative short fiction and chick lit novels.

My top 3 books of all time? I'll define this as favorite books to curl up with and re-read, so I won't include those great books that really got under my skin and made me rethink the world, but I wouldn't necessarily want to re-read for comfort (in that case: Fahrenheit 451; 1984; The Bell Jar.):

1. Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen - I always, always re-read this and it never fails to make me feel better when I'm down.

2. The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton - Even though this book is so sad I feel like it's a great companion to Pride & Prejudice. Lily Bart could easily be Lizzie Bennet, if Lizzie was born in a different time and had a self-destructive streak.

3. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides - Another favorite re-read - funny, sad, epic, tragic, beautiful, touching and everything a great book should be.

I will read any genre and I don't think there's a genre I *won't* read just because it's grouped in that same topic. That said, my favorite genres are fantasy, science fiction and chick lit, because they're the stuff that takes me to another world and helps me detach from day to day stress!

I started the reading habit early. My mom said when I was a year old she instructed the yaya to read to me at 6 every night, and I haven't stopped since then. I have vague memories of being frustrated because I was unable to read by myself, so when I finally could I read everything I could get my hands on. My earliest reading memories include the Childcraft encyclopedias and Ladybird fairy tales. Later on it was the Sweet Valley Twins, then VC Andrews' Flowers in the Attic series (!), then old Hollywood autobiographies (Shelley Winters was a favorite). In college I was introduced to classics and "masterpieces of English literature" (actual course description), which I alternated with Stephen King horror classics.

I read to escape, to learn, to broaden my knowledge, to see and feel from the "other" - people, places, things that are not like me or my friends and family or my world - and I love it so.

I wasn't at last year's ReaderCon, but it sure looks like fun!