household name Chris Tiu has been most successful at, it’s multitasking. Already, at age twenty-three, he has performed and done well in the many roles he’s had to play in his life, among them: athlete, star student, television host, entrepreneur, local politician, brand endorser, ambassador for social causes—even every teenage girl’s dream guy. Now, as if he doesn’t endure enough stress juggling around these things (his daily practice and games, tapings and photo shoots) Chris Tiu has taken in one more advocacy to add to his shining roster of achievements: the National Book Development Board’s (NBDB) Get Caught Reading (GCR) Campaign.

Like fellow celebrity readers and endorsers Nikki Gil, Karylle and Christian Batuista, Chris is set to participate soon in the storytelling and book distribution activities of the NBDB. Unlike them, however, Chris did not give much attention to the prospect of reading books at an early age. He was as most boys were—physical beings, always spotted running around playing sports and the Play Station with his brothers and cousins.

It was only in high school that Chris got into the bandwagon of bookworm friends and started reading on a regular basis. He would take books off the Sidney Sheldon and John Grisham shelves, in bookstores, or from the collections of friends, imagining himself as the lead character in this or that thriller. Later on when he got to college at the Ateneo, studying Management Engineering, his reading interests grew further, but he also always brought around with him finance and banking books—to learn more than what is being taught as school, he says.

These days, Chris makes it a point to visit bookstores whenever he’s at the mall, and to read regularly, be it newspapers, magazines or books (his choices now range from biographies to world affairs), as long as they keep him informed. He actually looks forward to taking trips out of town or abroad, because these are the only times he gets to read in peace and finish a book—which he hasn’t achieved for a long time. At the end of a busy day, when he’s at home and not in a hotel room after a game with the Philippine team, Chris, after checking his emails and keeping fans up to date through his blog, makes sure to check in on current events websites, so he’s sure to know what’s going on in the outside world, even when his own is quite full already.

Chris is very enthusiastic in joining causes like these that promote literacy among the young for two reasons. First, because he himself wishes that he could have started his affair with reading at an early age. And second, because he believes that a good education is the key to producing good citizens, who will in turn, work on improving the country’s situation.

Watch out for more of Chris’ activities as he gets caught reading!