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dinsdale 's review for:
The Diary of a Bookseller
by Shaun Bythell
The Diary of a Bookseller was a fun listen. I spent most of my time listening on dog walks and found myself laughing out loud often. In this diary, Shawn Bythell, the owner of The Book Shop in Wigtwon, Scotland tells of the trials and tribulations of running a bookstore in a time dominated by Amazon in an industry increasingly becoming electronic. Each day, he recounts how many books were sold online, how many these orders were actually found in the store, the number of pounds in the till, and total number of walk-in customers. Wigtown Scotland is known today as “Scotland’s National Book Town” due to the number of bookstores and their Book Festival. I’ll be visiting this town next August. Guaranteed. Book it!
Shawn is sarcastic and ornery and has a dry sense of humor. He has a disdain for many of his customers and is constantly annoyed by / entertained by his employees. As time marches on, Shawn tells of his encounters with the many different types of customers, some quirky, some insufferable, and some (not many) delightful. All are memorable. When not dealing with the employees and customers he is on road trips, traveling to private residences and estate sales to look at book collections up for sale in hopes of finding a rare gem or at least something with resale value.
The author also writes about personal trips and vacations he takes in his area in southwestern Scotland, “Scotland’s Forgotten Corner” as he calls it.
Each chapter starts with a quote from George Orwell about bookstores. I did not know that Orwell worked in a bookstore and wrote an essay about his experiences.
I felt that the book got a little repetitive towards the end and my interest started to wane. I think maybe ten hours was a bit too long for this one.
I would still highly recommend, especially for bookstore lovers. It’s fun to learn about the what it's like at a bookstores from the other side of the counter, especially from someone as funny as Shawn Bythell.
Shawn is sarcastic and ornery and has a dry sense of humor. He has a disdain for many of his customers and is constantly annoyed by / entertained by his employees. As time marches on, Shawn tells of his encounters with the many different types of customers, some quirky, some insufferable, and some (not many) delightful. All are memorable. When not dealing with the employees and customers he is on road trips, traveling to private residences and estate sales to look at book collections up for sale in hopes of finding a rare gem or at least something with resale value.
The author also writes about personal trips and vacations he takes in his area in southwestern Scotland, “Scotland’s Forgotten Corner” as he calls it.
Each chapter starts with a quote from George Orwell about bookstores. I did not know that Orwell worked in a bookstore and wrote an essay about his experiences.
I felt that the book got a little repetitive towards the end and my interest started to wane. I think maybe ten hours was a bit too long for this one.
I would still highly recommend, especially for bookstore lovers. It’s fun to learn about the what it's like at a bookstores from the other side of the counter, especially from someone as funny as Shawn Bythell.