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cooperca 's review for:
The Diary of a Bookseller
by Shaun Bythell
Loved, loved this book. As someone who has always wanted to open a used bookstore in a quaint town/village, I couldn’t wait to read this bookseller’s diary. The diary layout made this a quick and fun read
Full of wit and caustic observations, Shaun Bythell’s daily muses are brilliant. It may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but for me, his musings about people were spot on. Ones attachment and emotional value towards their books can blind them into thinking they are worth more than they are. On the opposite end, when purchasing a book, one can place little value on the book itself.
The book offers a look at the daily grind of running a business that finds itself competing against an online behemoth. Dealing with customers that can be obtuse, rude, and are rather disrespectful (“I can find that cheaper on Amazon”). But then there can be those customers whose deep love of reading and knowledge makes it all worthwhile.
I’ll repeat, this was fun and quick read and I would highly recommend it. I enjoyed reading about his adventures to evaluate book collections, assisting with the book festival, and the Festival bed! Wigtown is now on my “must” places to visit list.
As a side note, I was mystified as to why Shaun put up with his employee, Nikki. She seemed discontent, lazy, and filled with excuses as to why she sucked as an employee. As she is repeatedly mentioned throughout the book, I found myself thinking that he either needed to fire her or just accept her lazy attitude and stop complaining.
“I am going to get a mask and paint, ‘I DON’T CARE’ on the forehead and put it on when such occasions arise in the future.” (sorry, forgot to look at the page number).
Full of wit and caustic observations, Shaun Bythell’s daily muses are brilliant. It may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but for me, his musings about people were spot on. Ones attachment and emotional value towards their books can blind them into thinking they are worth more than they are. On the opposite end, when purchasing a book, one can place little value on the book itself.
The book offers a look at the daily grind of running a business that finds itself competing against an online behemoth. Dealing with customers that can be obtuse, rude, and are rather disrespectful (“I can find that cheaper on Amazon”). But then there can be those customers whose deep love of reading and knowledge makes it all worthwhile.
I’ll repeat, this was fun and quick read and I would highly recommend it. I enjoyed reading about his adventures to evaluate book collections, assisting with the book festival, and the Festival bed! Wigtown is now on my “must” places to visit list.
As a side note, I was mystified as to why Shaun put up with his employee, Nikki. She seemed discontent, lazy, and filled with excuses as to why she sucked as an employee. As she is repeatedly mentioned throughout the book, I found myself thinking that he either needed to fire her or just accept her lazy attitude and stop complaining.
“I am going to get a mask and paint, ‘I DON’T CARE’ on the forehead and put it on when such occasions arise in the future.” (sorry, forgot to look at the page number).