If you are a bookworm active on Facebook, there is very little chance of you not knowing about Bookay! But let’s not take that chance. Bookay is the virtual hub for literary activity in Pakistan. Throughout the years, Bookay has been providing a platform for literary enthusiasts to join their heads in thoughtful discussion, debate and sometimes a war of opinions! Right when you think you know it all, you step into the world of Bookay only to be amused by the immense amount of knowledge around you.
Daastan has had strong ties with the Bookay family for quite a while now. In 2018, Daastan published an anthology compiled by the writers of Bookay called Bookay 2018. You can read the book here.
To celebrate this mutual love for books and literature, Daastan is paying tribute to a few Bookay members. What better way to start off this feature series than with the ‘Bookay Guy’ Hasan Saeed?
Hasan Saeed — The Bookay Guy
Let me repeat, if you’re a part of bookay, there is a very little chance of you not knowing Hasan Saeed. But let’s not take that chance. Hasan Saeed is one of the admins of Bookay. If the odds play well in his favour, he’d love to write a series of letters that he’s working on. Let us find out more about him, in his own words!
Q. Tell us a little about yourself, who is Hasan Saeed?
To be honest, I am more famously known as the Bookay Guy due to being the admin of the online book club, Bookay. Apart from this, I am currently working at Invest2Innovate in Islamabad as a research associate. Recently, I have started two podcasts focusing on history and literature; and always trying to find time to read a book on my ever growing TBR list.
Q.What is the last book you read? How do you decide what to read?
The last book that I read was the Ministry of Utmost Happiness and I loved it. It does drag somewhat in the middle but Roy ties up everything well in the end and finishes strongly. I like to call myself an eclectic reader. While I might have a few favorite authors, I don’t adhere to a specific genre or bestseller lists. I will be randomly browsing a website, a bookstore or even social media. Sometimes I like the book because of its title, story on the back or the cover. This has led to some fantastic books over the years.
Q. What is one book you think all book lovers must read and why?
I will admit that this is a very difficult question to ask because there is never one book – only a never ending list. The book that I read, which left an impact on me, (there have been many but this one is slightly more recent) ‘The Footprints of Partition‘. I feel that this book should be mandatory reading in the Indian Subcontinent and highly relevant in our current environment. As long as we don’t address and acknowledge partition, we will be stuck in this never ending vicious cycle.
Q. If you could be friends with a character in a book, who would it be and why?
This is difficult to answer because there are multiple characters that I have loved and it will be disrespectful to pick one. I think it would be Sirius Black because I empathize with him. His arc in the Harry Potter series was one of my favorites and we might have a lot in common.
Q. Have you ever written or tried writing a book? Do you think of publishing your work some day?
Yes, I have tried to write a book on multiple occasions and each time, I have barely made it past a page or two. I am still at it and if it is good enough, I will be honored if a publishing house takes a chance on me.
Q. What challenges do you think do Pakistani writers face?
This is a loaded question because in my experience as an admin on Bookay and interactions with multiple writers, there are multiple issues that are interwoven together. The first is the lack of publishing houses within the country. There are multiple houses that publish novels but they aren’t accessible to everyone. Secondly, limited readers. While we have more readers than people think but they aren’t as many as they should be and coupled with lack of PR, it makes it difficult for writers to break through. Third reason is slightly tricky and it is tied to the first two, there aren’t many bookstores. It is difficult for people to know that these books exist. Now, we have social media and new publishing houses such as Dastaan and this could be a game changer.
Q. Lastly, If you start to write a book today, what would it be about?
I actually have a few ideas and hopefully, I will be able to write some more on them. I have already written a series of letters in a historical aspect such as Pakistan writing a letter to India, Punjab to Punjab and one to Manto. Hopefully, there are more to come.
This was the ‘Bookay Guy’ for you all! We loved getting to know him better. We wish Hasan the best of luck for his future endeavours and hope that he fulfills his dream of publishing a book someday! You can read the Bookay anthology here.