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Confessions of a Bookseller by [Shaun Bythell]

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Shaun Bythell

Confessions of a Bookseller Kindle Edition

by Shaun Bythell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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One cozy, funny, year with a Scottish used bookseller as he stays afloat while managing staff, customers, and life in the village of Wigtown. This endearing world is the next best thing to visiting your favorite bookstore (shop cat not included).

Inside a Georgian townhouse on the Wigtown highroad, jammed with more than 100,000 books and a portly cat named Captain, Shaun Bythell manages the daily ups and downs of running Scotland’s largest used bookshop with a sharp eye and even sharper wit. His account of one year behind the counter is something no book lover should miss.

Shaun copes with eccentric staff, tallies up the day’s orders, drives to distant houses to buy private libraries, and meditates on the nature of life and independent bookstores (“There really does seem to be a serendipity about bookshops, not just with finding books you never knew existed, or that you’ve been searching for, but with people too.”).

Confessions of a Bookseller is a warm and welcome memoir of a life in books. It’s for any reader looking for the kind of friend you meet in a bookstore.

Length: 282 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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From the Publisher

CONFESSIONS OF BOOKSELLER and SEVEN KINDS OF PEOPLE YOU FIND IN BOOKSHOPS

A very funny life with books.

“Bythell’s wicked pen and keen eye for the absurd recall what comic Ricky Gervais might say if he ran a bookshop.”—Wall Street Journal

“Warm, witty and laugh-out-loud funny...”—Daily Mail

“Bythell is a skillful writer . . . he creates a full, appealing world populated with colorful characters . . . an endearing and thoughtful book.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“…amusing and often cantankerous stories [that] bibliophiles will delight in, and occasionally wince at...”—Publishers Weekly

“Bythell writes with biting humor . . . he is a man on a mission, and year seen through his eyes convinces the reader that is a mission worthy of undertaking.”—Chicago Tribune

“Virtuosic venting…misanthropy is tempered with bursts of sweetness in the secondhand bookseller’s latest dispatches from Wigtown, Scotland.”—The Guardian

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Cold, grey day. Nicky appeared at 9.08 a.m., blaming the weather for her late arrival. The rain came on again at 10 a.m. and the sound of water dripping into buckets in the shop window began its usual symphony.

As I was filling the log basket, I heard a frog croak in the pond―the first one I’ve heard since last autumn.

On the way to the post office, I spotted Eric, the Wigtown Buddhist, in his orange robes―a welcome splash of colour on an otherwise grey day. I’m not sure when he moved here, but Wigtown has absorbed him with the amiable indifference it shows to everyone, no matter how incongruous they may appear in a small rural Scottish town.

Nicky spent the day re-arranging things that didn’t need to be re-arranged.

After lunch I took down the Christmas decorations from the window displays. The left-hand window was still full of little puddles in places.

Today’s blackboard:

Avoid social interaction:
always carry a book.

--This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Review

"A full, appealing world populated with colorful characters. The Scottish landscape...is gorgeous."

-- "Minneapolis Star Tribune"

"A heartwarming love letter to books and bookshops, by an amenable fellow turned antisocial old misanthrope...Brilliant."

-- "The Guardian (London)"

"Among the most irascible and amusing bookseller memoirs I've ever read."

-- "New York Times"

"An enveloping account from the front lines of an industry in flux."

-- "Foreword"

"Bythell nurtures his curmudgeonly image and pens droll summaries of daily annoyances...Short of a flight to Scotland, Confessions of a Bookseller is the quickest escape to a seaside village where books reign."

-- "Shelf Awareness (starred review)"

"Bythell writes with biting humor...He is a man on a mission, and a year seen through his eyes convinces the reader that it is a mission worthy of undertaking."

-- "Chicago Tribune"

"The author entertains readers with eccentric character portraits and stories of his life in the book trade...Irascibly droll and sometimes elegiac, this is an engaging account of bookstore life...bighearted, sobering, and humane."

-- "Kirkus Reviews" --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

File size : 3073 KB
Publication date : April 7, 2020
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 282 pages
Publisher : David R. Godine, Publisher (April 7, 2020)
ASIN : B08528D5B6
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Language: : English
X-Ray : Enabled
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #161,678 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #14 in Antique & Collectible Books (Kindle Store)
- #109 in Antique & Collectible Books (Books)
- #145 in Biographies of Business Professionals

Customer Reviews:
287 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		72%
4 star		11%
3 star		9%
2 star		5%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Jehoshephat

kind of grim

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2019

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I loved the author's earlier DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER, so was quite eager to read this. However, it's not nearly so light or engaging as that book, and most of it is complaints. These are primarily about the 3 women who work for him: Nicky, the young Flo, and Emanuela (working for room/board only!), whose Italian accent he mocks at every mention of her. He disses most of his customers, and while that was funny the first time around, it gets wearisome very quickly here. Bythell also complains about Amazon, which is certainly understandable, but Amazon is the only way I could buy his book since I live in the US. Like the first book, this gives a nice sense of what it's like to live in Wigtown, Scotland, over the course of a calendar year. But while there were a few places that made me laugh or proved genuinely entertaining, most of the book by far was rather depressing or just routine. I'd certainly recommend his DIARY OF A BOOKSELLER, but don't read this expecting (or hoping for) more of the same.

26 people found this helpful

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Ronald H. Clark

More Authentic Tales from the Book Shop in Wigtown, Scotland

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2020

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This is the sequel volume to the author's prior wonderful book on running a bookstore in rural Scotland, Wigtown to be specific. This book shares the warmth, humor, insights, and lessons of the previous volume, and while it may cover some of the same topics, its discussion is almost entirely new. The book's design is simple: it is a daily diary format covering an entire year at the bookshop. The author's style is warm and friendly, but there are also important lessons to be learned by those of us who have dreamed about running our own second-hand bookstore.

One interesting topic is the impact of the internet on store sales. Most of the sales, especially for larger prices, are a result of listings on Amazon or ABE (also owned by Amazon). Amazon also will store part of the books in its own warehouse, and send them out as Fulfillment by Amazon when orders are received. But for a small business, the prices for these services are high, but I doubt the bookstore could survive without them. Less desirable volumes are dumped on Ebay. Another fascinating topic I found is going out and looking at collections of books offered for sale by the locals to reinforce the store's inventory. You never know if the whole day is shot for nothing, or a gold nugget book will pop up. Visitors to the store usually don't buy anything; misfile books they look at; leave piles of books all over the store; or are insistent that they are entitled to a discount from the marked prices--with no explanation offered. As over here, some customers have the irritating habit of looking at a book and then buying it online.

But running the store is only part of the story here. The author exposes us to the warm lifestyles of his fellow town residents. There always seems to be some festival, or talent show , fishing expedition, dance or other social events which lead to frequent interaction amongst the happy residents. Imagine, a whole town of HAPPY well adjusted people. There are no pictures, unlike the previous volume, but I found that the author (a former documentary film maker) has a great video on YOU TUBE which provides a beautiful intro to the Wigtown area. One aspect I find particularly fascinating is the Open Book, a store which a visitor can reserve to run for a week or more. This really appeals to me so that I might just take the flight to Scotland from Washington, D.C. and try it. Because running a small book store in rural Scotland can't be that complicated, right?

5 people found this helpful

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Mary Hollifield

Excellent!

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2019

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I read the first book by Shaun and have waited and waited for this one to come out. I was not disappointed, it was as interesting as the first one. He has made Wigtown a place I want to visit. Interesting characters, etc. As a bookseller myself, I love his buying trips. Sad that I finished it and can't wait for the next one to come out. Way to go, Shaun!

7 people found this helpful

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James A. Gollata

Quotidian Biblioness.

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2020

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Snapped up this book as soon I learned of its existence, since I had perused Shaun's The Diary of a Bookseller, which had given me hours of bookish fun. Same here. Each tome spans a year in "The Bookshop," Wigtown, (Scotland), in which the delighted serious bookish reader is introduced to Shaun's customers, pretend customers, staff members, friends (literary and otherwise) and townsfolk. Through all of this we are treated to Shaun's wry comments on the business of bookselling and buying, the people involved, and the joy of spending time with characters all and sundry. Raise a glass in hopes that a third volume is on the way. Cheers, Shaun and company!

3 people found this helpful

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Casey

A difficult slog

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2020

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If you slog your way to the end of this book, and are reasonably good at reading between the lines, it may provide an excellent guide to how not to live your life:
1. Be sure to gloss over, by devoting only a small amount of time, focusing on any people or situations you may actually enjoy, like evenings with friends or fishing in beautiful surroundings. Instead spend the majority of your time whining about everything you find irritating such as people who want to negotiate lower prices, the evils of large online booksellers, low margins, or employees that do the opposite of what you ask of them.
2. If your industry has changed and is now primarily conducted online and using shipping services, make sure that you learn as little as possible about the technology you employ. This will ensure that several days will go by on a regular basis with the site not working and what little money you might have made gone like the wind.
3. Never notice anyone dressed appropriately or conducting themselves well. Instead be sure to make note of every socks with sandals type you run across. If done correctly this will give the impression that your small world is dominated by people with poor taste. If done with very little humor, this can make you even more dull than this review already suggests.
4. Ensure that no matter how tedious or dull you may find your day to day existence, you are too cranky or curmudgeonly to put any effort or energy into reinventing yourself and working at something you might actually enjoy.
Although it was an excellent book for learning how not to live, I don’t recommend it to anyone currently in quarantine as its pessimistic tone is not likely to improve your outlook under a period of duress. PS I hope the guy who wrote the book is a perfectly nice guy who isn’t as pessimistic as he made himself for this book.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Lola

Cosy up with a good book... about books.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 25, 2020

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“Confessions of a Bookseller” by Shaun Bythell. Second installment in the saga that is life of a second-hand bookseller in rural Scotland.

Interesting fact: this book is almost identical to "The Diary of a Bookseller". Seriously, it is uncanny. The rhythm of days, rainy weather, book festival, out-of-date eclairs from a nearby supermarket. But, thanks to the presence of one Italian madam (or should I say signorina), I can assure you this is NOT a carbon copy of the Bythell's debut.
In any case, the book is a true page-turner, sweet, curious and, occasionally, funny. Explain this to me! I guess for the lover of books (and observer of people), you cannot really write a better book. Can you?

I loved "The Diary of a Bookseller" so much that at the end of 2018 I bought myself a membership in the Random Book Club. Sadly, I did not read any of the books sent to me because all of them were quite peculiar in nature. I cancelled my subscription. Sorry, Shaun.

But these books, both the "Diary..." and the "Confessions" are amazing! Thoroughly recommend for a long week on quarantine.

And to sum up with a great quote from one of the characters: “A tidy house is a sign of a dull woman.” True that.

4 people found this helpful

graham

Disappointed this latest offering should , could of been much better

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2019

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I really enjoyed the first book and was a pleasure to read , but this the second offering was no where as good , i'm not sure sure why he wrote it to be honest , all Shaun done from beginning to the finish was moan , he done this well , there are 3 main moans from start to finish , he doesnt like people haggling about the price of books , wrong business to be in , doesnt Shaun haggle when he buys the books himself ?, the second main gripe with Shaun was the constant moaning about Amazon , you would think he doesnt sell books on Amazon , he does , and id imagine its a good revenue source for him and a good reference for the value of books and thirdly he really keeps putting down the staff and more worrying the customers who keeps his business going .

4 people found this helpful

Philip Marsh

As good as the first book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2019

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If you've read the first book you might worry that the second would be a let down. It isn't - still the same mix of acid observation, sarcasm and humour, mixed with genuine pathos. Looking forward to reading it a second time (and its not many books I say that about).

And if you like the book - take the time to visit Wigtown, this bookshop and all the others! It's a great place and a great part of the world to visit for a while.

5 people found this helpful

Filmfan

Too much of the book is just not terribly interesting.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2020

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I was looking forward to reading this book - I’m also a bookseller and ex-librarian. It’s in diary form - there are some comments for each day of the year in a one year period. The result is that too many of the comments/diary entries are just repetitious and just aren’t terribly interestng. Writing numerous times about going to the pub at the end of the day, or about calling the plumber, etc aren’t things that would qualify as “confessions.” The weakness of the book is that there are just too many uninteresting things mentioned in the diary - for example, this, from his diary entry dated July 18th: “Nicky opened the shop. She had made some sort of concoction that involved chocolate fudge cake, cherry pie, strawberries and yoghurt. Apparently it was ‘healthy’ because of the fruit and yoghurt. I politely declined her kind invitation to try some.”

One entry on August 13th: "Finished 'Lucky Jim.' Flo in today, so I hid, and then went to have my hair cut."
That's on page 202. A bad idea to just print his diary.

Some of the comments about customers, and about people who want to sell him books are definitely interesting. There should have been more of that, instead of just printing his diary for one year, with all of the uninteresting day to day routines in the shop, that are definitely not “confessions,”

I might read his first book - some say that that book was more interesting than this one.

One person found this helpful

thoughtful

I guess it's something to

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2020

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This is a Marmite of a book. Inconsequential, not to be read for its style, it nonetheless has a staccato tempo about it which makes you wonder why he wrote it. And so you stay with it. Over the year he describes you do get a picture of someone who would like a different life,. Cimbing Scottish mountains, fishing in Scottish rivers and lakes, drinking with friends. Yet he finds himself with a very unpleasant member of staff who dislikes him, makes fun of him, lives off discarded food in the Morrison's skip and disregards his instructions whenever she can - particularly by underpricing the books. Yet he doesn't fire her. He gets an intern from Italy who spends months living above the shop in a room because he couldn't organise the bothy in time for her arrival. Generally speaking he's weak, put upon and ineffectual. Not even strong enough to commit to his American girlfriend after years of their being together. Why he wrote the book I cannot imagine. But then I read it from start to finish, so it can't be all bad.