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kaithrin's review against another edition
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
3.5
Slightly too repetitive in parts but I guess that's half the point, overall quite entertaining
roseanne80's review against another edition
5.0
About a 100 years ago, author Christopher Morley wrote “The Haunted Bookshop” which featured bookseller Roger Mifflin in his Brooklyn-based used bookstore. Roger is secretly writing an autobiography tentatively titled “What a Young Bookseller Ought to Know”. So of course, I had to read this book by a Scottish bookseller. Turns out Bythell is more misanthropic than Mifflin, but his was very entertaining read. I would categorize this as cozy - it was a pleasure at the end of the day to catch up with the shop and Wigtown’s local variables. I’m looking forward to reading the other books in this series.
holly_keimig's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
I had a feeling I'd like this book and I was right! I was excited to get to read it for book club this month. Having had the honor of being a bookseller myself, I found myself nodding along with the customer stories and other associated challenges of working in a book store. The book is written in the style of diary entries with stats given for each day of an entire year. There are mundane spots, as there are in real life, but when I had time to sit and read lots of pages at once, it flowed really well and I was sucked in. Highly recommend for the all the book (store) lovers out there!
Favorite parts:
-p.22-"She has been calling for several years now, and while initially I would read titles to her and try to see if we had anything in stock that she might want, after years of consistently being on the receiving end of her disappointment, I have given up and just invent titles now."
-p.35-"Really bookish people are a rarity, although there are vast numbers of those who consider themselves to be such. The latter are particularly easy to identify-often they will introduce themselves when they enter the shop as 'book people' and insist of telling you that 'we love books'. They'll wear T-shirts or carry bags when slogans explaining exactly how much they think they adore books, but the surest means of identifying them is that they never, ever buy books."
-p.46-"I am putting a mental jigsaw together of what a hobbit looks like, based on a composite of every customer I have ever sold a copy to."
-p.93-"As he was leaving, I noticed that he was missing his left shoe."
-p.187-"You really would have to be on the most dismal holiday to find the following phrases useful..."
-p.250-Staple gun story.
-p.256-"I returned in the middle of the afternoon to discover that she had taken it upon herself to wallpaper the section of the wall near the children's section with illustrations of wild animals she had cut out from an encyclopedia. I despair. She is a law unto herself. ... "I've got a great idea, why don't we turn the shop into a disco?"-Nicky"
-p.263-Customer telephone interaction (ordering a book).
-p.273-"At 10:00 a.m. the first customer came through the door: 'I'm not really interested in books' followed by, 'Let me tell you what I think about nuclear power.' By 10:30 a.m. the will to live was but a distant memory."
Favorite parts:
-p.22-"She has been calling for several years now, and while initially I would read titles to her and try to see if we had anything in stock that she might want, after years of consistently being on the receiving end of her disappointment, I have given up and just invent titles now."
-p.35-"Really bookish people are a rarity, although there are vast numbers of those who consider themselves to be such. The latter are particularly easy to identify-often they will introduce themselves when they enter the shop as 'book people' and insist of telling you that 'we love books'. They'll wear T-shirts or carry bags when slogans explaining exactly how much they think they adore books, but the surest means of identifying them is that they never, ever buy books."
-p.46-"I am putting a mental jigsaw together of what a hobbit looks like, based on a composite of every customer I have ever sold a copy to."
-p.93-"As he was leaving, I noticed that he was missing his left shoe."
-p.187-"You really would have to be on the most dismal holiday to find the following phrases useful..."
-p.250-Staple gun story.
-p.256-"I returned in the middle of the afternoon to discover that she had taken it upon herself to wallpaper the section of the wall near the children's section with illustrations of wild animals she had cut out from an encyclopedia. I despair. She is a law unto herself. ... "I've got a great idea, why don't we turn the shop into a disco?"-Nicky"
-p.263-Customer telephone interaction (ordering a book).
-p.273-"At 10:00 a.m. the first customer came through the door: 'I'm not really interested in books' followed by, 'Let me tell you what I think about nuclear power.' By 10:30 a.m. the will to live was but a distant memory."
buchweiser's review
4.0
Shaun Bythell erwarb im Jahr 2001 das Antiquariat „The Bookshop“ im schottischen „Buchort“ Wigtwon. Dort leben etwa um die 1000 Einwohner, die den Luxus haben, von 12 Buchläden umgeben zu sein. Ein Traum.
Dass es aber nicht ganz so traumhaft ist, wird schnell klar, wenn man das Tagebuch von Bythell liest. Da ist zum einen der Onlineriese Amazon, der auch Antiquariaten das Leben schwer macht, da ist die Software, die nicht immer funktioniert, das eigene Ordnungsystem im Laden – und da ist die Kundschaft, die nicht immer so freundlich ist, wie man sich das als Ladeninhaber wünscht.
Manche Leser werfen dem Autor vor, ein wenig unhöflich über seine Kunden zu schreiben. Dem stimme ich prinzipiell zu, aber irgendwann kommt er selbst zu dieser Einsicht, dass er zu schnell urteilt und ab dann wird auch der Ton etwas weniger bissig.
Abgesehen davon ist es jedoch ein sehr unterhaltsamer und interessanter Einblick hinter die Kulissen, den Bythell uns in diesem Buch gewährt. Ich fand die Hintergründe zum Handel mit antiquarischen Büchern sehr aufschlussreich und finde es erstaunlich genug, dass Antiquariate überhaupt noch existieren können. Sicherlich ist es da sehr hilfreich, wenn man seinen Laden in einer Bücherstadt hat.
Mir hat das „Tagebuch eines Buchhändlers“ ausgesprochen gut gefallen und ich habe mit Freude festgestellt, dass am 29.08.2019 sein zweites Buch „Confessions of a Bookseller“ erscheint.
Empfehlenswert!
Dass es aber nicht ganz so traumhaft ist, wird schnell klar, wenn man das Tagebuch von Bythell liest. Da ist zum einen der Onlineriese Amazon, der auch Antiquariaten das Leben schwer macht, da ist die Software, die nicht immer funktioniert, das eigene Ordnungsystem im Laden – und da ist die Kundschaft, die nicht immer so freundlich ist, wie man sich das als Ladeninhaber wünscht.
Manche Leser werfen dem Autor vor, ein wenig unhöflich über seine Kunden zu schreiben. Dem stimme ich prinzipiell zu, aber irgendwann kommt er selbst zu dieser Einsicht, dass er zu schnell urteilt und ab dann wird auch der Ton etwas weniger bissig.
Abgesehen davon ist es jedoch ein sehr unterhaltsamer und interessanter Einblick hinter die Kulissen, den Bythell uns in diesem Buch gewährt. Ich fand die Hintergründe zum Handel mit antiquarischen Büchern sehr aufschlussreich und finde es erstaunlich genug, dass Antiquariate überhaupt noch existieren können. Sicherlich ist es da sehr hilfreich, wenn man seinen Laden in einer Bücherstadt hat.
Mir hat das „Tagebuch eines Buchhändlers“ ausgesprochen gut gefallen und ich habe mit Freude festgestellt, dass am 29.08.2019 sein zweites Buch „Confessions of a Bookseller“ erscheint.
Empfehlenswert!
ljm57's review against another edition
4.0
Shaun Blythell bought a second-hand book store in a rural Scottish village in 2001. This literally details the minutiae of bookshop ownership over the course of a year and includes both the mundane and the truly bizarre. If anyone thought running such a business would be heaven, have a go at reading this. I found it a fascinating insight into the obstacles bricks and mortar bookshops face from online rivals such as the Amazon behemoth, as well as the art of choosing stock from deceased estates, auction houses and downsizers. Then there was Shaun’s sardonic wit as he describes his regular interactions with customers, many of whom are stingy, ignorant, ill-mannered or downright crazy. Many laugh out loud moments. It was also delightful to slip into small-town life, getting to know the colourful array of locals and being immersed in the annual calendar of events. This won’t be a book for everyone as the repetitive style of diary entries may not be interesting to some, nor will they appreciate Shaun’s eye-rolling commentary. But for those in the book trade or those working in businesses that attract a certain type of clientele, it’s a gem.
johanna_koo's review against another edition
3.0
Aluksi hämmensi. Onko koko kirja raporttimaista päiväkirjamerkintää? Sitten kirjan tyyliin ja huumoriin jäi koukkuun. Loppua kohden alkoi vähän kyllästyttää ja odotella, että kirja loppuisi. Kirja kertoi vuoden verran kirjakauppiaan elämästä. Tämä oli satunnainen löytö kirjaston pöydältä, jolle oli nostettu kirjoja esiin.
alannafowler's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.5
I read a month of this at a time as it is very repetitive. I am pleased to say that VisitScotland has the picture he sent in as the photo for Wigtown now. It was a nice read and a good glimpse into what goes on in a second hand book shop.
chrissie57's review against another edition
3.0
I had forgotten that I first started to read this title back in 2018. On that occasion I abandoned it quite quickly, this time I persevered.
A few reviewers have commented that the book is boring and repetitive and this is true in a way but I quite enjoy a diary type format and was looking each day to see how many orders were supplied and how the shop did. Unfortunately the bits in between were banal at best and incredibly annoying at worst. This is not the diary of a book lover; it is the diary of a Bernard Black wannabe.
I suppose, to be fair, the author lost me completely about ¾ of the way through the book when he attacks libraries, purely (apparently) on the basis that they 'spoil' books for the second hand book trade; I hate to break it to him but it is not the main function of our library service to provide a cheap source of books for business men such as himself. I suppose I shouldn't expect middle class chappies such as him to understand how important libraries can be to people who haven't had his advantages in life. I also disliked his patronising attitude towards another bookshop which had to close; he was probably correct in his cricitisms but a little bit of fellow feeling would have been nice.
A few reviewers have commented that the book is boring and repetitive and this is true in a way but I quite enjoy a diary type format and was looking each day to see how many orders were supplied and how the shop did. Unfortunately the bits in between were banal at best and incredibly annoying at worst. This is not the diary of a book lover; it is the diary of a Bernard Black wannabe.
I suppose, to be fair, the author lost me completely about ¾ of the way through the book when he attacks libraries, purely (apparently) on the basis that they 'spoil' books for the second hand book trade; I hate to break it to him but it is not the main function of our library service to provide a cheap source of books for business men such as himself. I suppose I shouldn't expect middle class chappies such as him to understand how important libraries can be to people who haven't had his advantages in life. I also disliked his patronising attitude towards another bookshop which had to close; he was probably correct in his cricitisms but a little bit of fellow feeling would have been nice.