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A review by booksanddoggo
The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
4.0
Quite entertaining, endearing, and interesting. As often happens these days, I started in physical book and finished in audiobook — I recommend both, but the audio is especially fun. Calming and funny at the same time, and the narrator does wonderfully fun accents. I love memoirs, and especially ones written as diaries — you’d probably have to have an appreciation for that style too to enjoy this.
I like that Shaun is maybe 85% curmudgeon, but that he also has very sweet moments (writing of a teenager with a lot of attitude who worked for the shop and was very rude to customers and especially him “she was a valued member of staff and I recommend her highly,” or admitting when he underestimated a customer who turned out to have an interesting past, or writing really lovingly and admiringly about his colleagues, friends and girlfriend). He is also sort of bewildered and amused by the woman who works for him, in a way that came across as fond and infuriated but ultimately appreciative. I also like when he mentions books he’s reading (although I couldn’t help but notice it’s mostly, or maybe entirely, books by men). There were moments when I rolled my eyes or was like “ok” (when he ranted about how bookshop owners hate librarians, for example), but I mostly was very onboard with his making fun of/being annoyed at customers, because nearly always it was because they’d been very rude to him or one of his staff. There was a really nice moment when he ranted about how his least favorite festival visitors are the ones who are much nicer to him when they finds out he owns the place but treat the people (mostly young women) working for him terribly. I got sort of a Ron Swanson vibe, but a Ron who actually cares about/does his job.
I’d love to visit the book town one day.
I like that Shaun is maybe 85% curmudgeon, but that he also has very sweet moments (writing of a teenager with a lot of attitude who worked for the shop and was very rude to customers and especially him “she was a valued member of staff and I recommend her highly,” or admitting when he underestimated a customer who turned out to have an interesting past, or writing really lovingly and admiringly about his colleagues, friends and girlfriend). He is also sort of bewildered and amused by the woman who works for him, in a way that came across as fond and infuriated but ultimately appreciative. I also like when he mentions books he’s reading (although I couldn’t help but notice it’s mostly, or maybe entirely, books by men). There were moments when I rolled my eyes or was like “ok” (when he ranted about how bookshop owners hate librarians, for example), but I mostly was very onboard with his making fun of/being annoyed at customers, because nearly always it was because they’d been very rude to him or one of his staff. There was a really nice moment when he ranted about how his least favorite festival visitors are the ones who are much nicer to him when they finds out he owns the place but treat the people (mostly young women) working for him terribly. I got sort of a Ron Swanson vibe, but a Ron who actually cares about/does his job.
I’d love to visit the book town one day.