MANILA, Philippines - Joining the roster of celebrities supporting the National Book Development Board’s (NBDB) Get Caught Reading campaign is model-TV host Marc Nelson (photo).
The multiracial hunk, who considers himself a Filipino at heart, confesses that in spite of his being an outdoor and sporty person, reading has always been one of his favorite pastimes since he was young. He and his family have lived in Sydney, Tanzania, Kenya, Tasmania, Hong Kong, Canada, the US and the Philippines. Wherever they are, there would always be a book he would bring with him to read.
Marc cites Terry Pratchett, Wilbur Smith, Jeffrey Archer and Dan Brown as some of his favorite authors. “I was probably the first person here in the Philippines to acquire a copy of The Lost Symbol.” According to Marc, a day before Dan Brown’s latest book was released, he went to Bibliarch Glorietta and pleaded with the staff to allow him to buy an advance copy. “But they told me I really had to wait the next day together with everyone else. I had a flight the next morning, so I returned early the next day and they let me buy my copy before the store opened.”
Marc’s favorite fictional character is Cohen the Barbarian from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, a parody of the legendary hero Conan the Barbarian.