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bethanybeyondthejordan 's review for:
The Diary of a Bookseller
by Shaun Bythell
3.5 rounded up
Sometimes the quotidian can be delightful in its own sort of way. This book is exactly what the title suggests—a daily diary of a bookseller based in Wigtown, Scotland.
So many people have overly romanticized ideas of what it’s like to run a bookshop, and Bythell puts those to rest by chronicling the mundane nature of it all (especially in a small out of the way coastal town) and the slightly ridiculous aspects. I loved the recurring characters like Mrs Phillips (I’m ninety-three and nearly blind), Deacon, Smelly Kelly and his Brut 33, and Nicky, whose categorizing skills could use some polishing. The author has a sarcastic wit, which comes across as mildly rude but made me giggle at so many of his stories. I also enjoyed the fact that some turns of phrase were strikingly uncommon to me as an American.
I enjoyed his perspective on reading on Kindle (though I don’t share it—I read this book on Kindle) and also gained an appreciation and understanding for why the 100+ books I recently purged from my own personal library didn’t sell well.
Sometimes the quotidian can be delightful in its own sort of way. This book is exactly what the title suggests—a daily diary of a bookseller based in Wigtown, Scotland.
So many people have overly romanticized ideas of what it’s like to run a bookshop, and Bythell puts those to rest by chronicling the mundane nature of it all (especially in a small out of the way coastal town) and the slightly ridiculous aspects. I loved the recurring characters like Mrs Phillips (I’m ninety-three and nearly blind), Deacon, Smelly Kelly and his Brut 33, and Nicky, whose categorizing skills could use some polishing. The author has a sarcastic wit, which comes across as mildly rude but made me giggle at so many of his stories. I also enjoyed the fact that some turns of phrase were strikingly uncommon to me as an American.
I enjoyed his perspective on reading on Kindle (though I don’t share it—I read this book on Kindle) and also gained an appreciation and understanding for why the 100+ books I recently purged from my own personal library didn’t sell well.