Reviews

Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

ladyfernzey's review against another edition

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funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

riley_mae's review against another edition

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inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

laila4343's review

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5.0

Goodness, this was fun! I laughed out loud quite a lot - my absolute favorite parts were about Emanuela, aka Granny, a young (but old at heart) woman from Italy who worked in the shop for a few months. What a character! This book is a delight. I’ve got to read Bythell’s later books.

madelineghite's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.0

jodiesheerin's review against another edition

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funny slow-paced

2.0

lisamshardlow's review against another edition

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5.0

This is the second book in The Diary of a Bookseller series. Shaun Bythell owns The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland’s biggest second-hand bookshop, with 100,000 books for sale. In this diary, Shaun records his everyday working life in and around The Bookshop. He shows us a very humorous and entertaining glimpse into the world of bookselling.

I think I love this just as much as I love the first one! Shaun is still probably one of the most hilarious people I’ve ever witnessed. Again, he tells us all about his customers and employees, and the funny things that they say and do, from some old favourites such as Sandy the Tattooed Pagan, Captain the shop cat, and of course the legend that is Nicky, to some new faces such as Bumbag Dave and Emmanuella (or Granny as she so affectionately becomes known). I don’t think there was any particular story that stood out for me, but everything that Emmanuella did or said was either downright entertaining or absolutely hilarious! I especially enjoyed every time she called Shaun a “shitty fucking bastard!” Shaun tells all of the stories with wit and sarcasm, which makes for another very hilarious read (or listen in my case). The narrator Peter Kenny wasn’t as dry as Robin Laing (narrator of The Diary of a Bookseller) but I still think he did a great job.

There is literally nothing that I don’t love about this book. I was entertained throughout.

This audiobook gets 5 out of 5 stars from me! I absolutely thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish and I can’t wait to see what comes next in the series. Surely this can’t be the end?

I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves nonfiction memoirs, entertaining stories, epistolary novels, books about books, sarcastic humour, and insights into the book trade.

kingarooski's review

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4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed the second instalment of Shaun Bythell’s life as a second-hand bookshop owner. The entries are entertaining and interesting, pulling the reader into a life marred by Amazon’s appalling trade practices and the difficulties faced by bookseller. The short entries make it easy to read well into the night, with a “just one more day” promise to myself. I hope that Shaun writes more of these as I’ve come to love the various regulars.

tinynavajo's review

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4.0

While not quite as funny as the first one, we meet new people and continue to see what daily life as a secondhand bookseller entails :]

Full review at: https://tinynavajoreads.wordpress.com/

khourianya's review against another edition

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funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.75

A very enjoyable account of a year in the life of a Scottish bookseller.  I want to move to Wigtown now. 

paulsnelling's review

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3.0

Perfect for the bath. Occasionally amusing, always undemanding, and almost exactly the same as the previous volume. He comes over as being generous as well as curmudgeonly, but what of the people who recognise themselves, assuming that they exist. Surely Eliot must have taken the many many hints by now? I think we should be told.