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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
Despite an apparently cranky reputation, Shaun Bythell has written a diary / memoir that is warm and full of humanity. An entertaining mix of small-town life with quirkly locals, strange or irritating customers, Scottish scenery, as well as interesting insights into the book trade. (Though I couldn't help but feel slightly attacked by his apparent antipathy towards librarians). I envisage this as a bookish variant of Hamish MacBeth, and can imagine that it will become very popular as a tv drama (apparently in the works).
For bookish people, the idea of running a bookshop is something of a dream; kind of like running a cafe for people who enjoy baking. The reality, of course, doesn't quite live up to the imagination. Shaun Bythell runs The Bookshop, for second-hand books, in Wigtown, Scotland. It's often freezing, the part-time staff are eccentric, the customers frustrating, and the changing industry, worrying. Bythell is an amusing curmudgeon, and the day to day details of second-hand book selling are fascinating. He isn't a fan of librarians, for very narrow, retail-related reasons, and, understandably, is far more concerned with the business of books, than their power in people's lives, but on the whole this is a funny, heart-warming, and eye-opening year in the life of a small town Scottish bookseller.
Just thinking about this book brings a smile to my face. This is so much more than what a bookseller does in his day to day life. It is a wonderful account of the books themselves, the building the shop is in, the town and community of Wigtown - bookshop capital of Scotland. The vaguely eccentric staff Shaun has working for him, his interesting flat above the shop, Captain the cat, the ordinary and everyday people he visits to purchase books from, the even more interesting, annoying, charming and ordinary people who are his customers, their strange requests and behaviours. It is funny, wry, engaging, sentimental, so very human and a delight to read.
At the centre of the whole diary and core to the very existence of the shop is its ongoing perilous state with the likes of Amazon gobbling up bricks and mortar book stores around the world. Shaun is a bit like David up against Goliath. His wrath isn't just aimed at Amazon, but also the likes of Waterstones and other big book chains. Is it any wonder he gets a bit grumpy and ratty with the world around him. But I loved this about him, allowing his deeply human side to emerge. Is his favourite bit of the day getting out in his van, paying visits to those looking to get rid of book collections? The anticipation of what each collection will hold - adult children clearing out their recently deceased parent's house, the retired minister selling a theology collection, the downsizing couple where some gems on Antarctic/Arctic expeditions turn up, the endless fascination people have for books on trains and railroads, the elusive search for first editions in good condition.
A wonderfully satisfying escape into the world of books, the people who love them and read them. He has an entertaining facebook page too - TheBookshop. The place of Wigtown as world book capital must now surely be well and truly cemented. Long may it reign.
At the centre of the whole diary and core to the very existence of the shop is its ongoing perilous state with the likes of Amazon gobbling up bricks and mortar book stores around the world. Shaun is a bit like David up against Goliath. His wrath isn't just aimed at Amazon, but also the likes of Waterstones and other big book chains. Is it any wonder he gets a bit grumpy and ratty with the world around him. But I loved this about him, allowing his deeply human side to emerge. Is his favourite bit of the day getting out in his van, paying visits to those looking to get rid of book collections? The anticipation of what each collection will hold - adult children clearing out their recently deceased parent's house, the retired minister selling a theology collection, the downsizing couple where some gems on Antarctic/Arctic expeditions turn up, the endless fascination people have for books on trains and railroads, the elusive search for first editions in good condition.
A wonderfully satisfying escape into the world of books, the people who love them and read them. He has an entertaining facebook page too - TheBookshop. The place of Wigtown as world book capital must now surely be well and truly cemented. Long may it reign.
Книга о реальных людях, написанная с удивительным шотландским юмором. Книга о книгах.
lighthearted
reflective
A fun sojourn into a secondhand bookshop in Scotland, owned and run by a dour Scotsman. Warm and witty. I'll be back for more!
Nice insights into the world of the bookseller, and publishing, and Amazon's market disruption.
The author has a dry humour and writes well. Not a page turner, for me, but a worthwhile sojourn.
The author has a dry humour and writes well. Not a page turner, for me, but a worthwhile sojourn.
Peculiar book. Day by day diary of an actual bookseller in Scotland. (Brian looked at the title and immediately thought is was "written by algorithm" as many chic lit books are now) Some anecdotes were amusing; some infuriating; some poignant. Might track down subsequent books that he wrote.
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced