Hi everyone,

I’m originally from Pakistan but I live in Toronto, Canada. I left Pakistan as a teenager and have spent most of my life in the UK, USA, and Canada. I’ve lived in 4 countries, 12 cities and 42 homes. Sometimes I get up in the morning wondering which country I’m in. Most of my career has been spent working in the technology sector and in real estate development. Now I’m an empty nester and have more spare time.

One thing that has been consistent in my life has been the love of reading, both fiction and non-fiction. I went to an old British colonial era school and my favorite books in my younger days used to be by English author Enid Blyton. My parents were avid readers and we always had tons of books at home. My father read novels by Raymond Chandler, the James Bond series, Perry Mason, etc. My mother had books by Agatha Christie, Barbara Cartland, Jane Austen etc. I read a lot of those.

During my working life I started reading non-fiction books on science and technology, business, history, philosophy etc. In the past few years, I’ve come back to reading fiction. Recently I’ve been trying to read all the books in the BBC list of top 100 books of all times. My favorite books are Jane Austen’s novels, the Lord of the Rings series, the Harry Potter series, and Game of Thrones. I guess I like classics and fantasy.

At some point it occurred to me that I should, and maybe I can, write a book or two myself. Not only have I taken some courses at Harvard Extension School, but I have also been reading lots of books on writing techniques. Both have helped me; however, I think that writing for class and getting feedback is the best way to learn.

I went to Karachi Grammar School and have a degree in Business & Management from the University of London.

Regards

Saeed Kauser