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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.

Print length

282 pages
Language

English
Publisher

David R. Godine, Publisher
Publication date

April 7, 2020
File size

3233 KB
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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

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.

About the Author

Shaun Bythell is the owner of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, and also one of the organizers of the Wigtown Festival.

--This text refers to the audioCD edition.

ASIN : B08528D5B6
Publisher : David R. Godine, Publisher (April 7, 2020)
Publication date : April 7, 2020
Language : English
File size : 3233 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 282 pages
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #392,200 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #43 in Antique & Collectible Books (Kindle Store)
- #245 in Antique & Collectible Books (Books)
- #396 in Biographies of Business Professionals

Customer Reviews:
477 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		69%
4 star		15%
3 star		10%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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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.

33 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.

4 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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jimjays

More of the first book

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2020

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I liked the first book, liked the second. But it was really just more of the same, including the diary format, that at some point it became something of a chore waiting for payoffs that never really came.

One person found this helpful

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Rocco Muscotto

The next best thing to being there

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2020

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If you miss visiting your local bookstore as much as I do, CONFESSIONS OF A BOOKSELLER is a total joy. You become involved in the life of The Bookshop much as you would with any neighborhood store (I especially looked forward to the signs on their chalkboard). And the setting of Wigtown, Scotland is a real treat as well. If you love books and bookstores, this is for you!

2 people found this helpful

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greory dougherty

interesting read

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2020

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I liked reading about the different types of people who visit the bookstore and there reason for purchasing the books. Its a quirky read about people who purchase or visit the bookstore. I also like the bookstore owner and his thoughts about the people who visit the store. Just simply people who like to read.

Helpful

smshank girl

Ground hog day!!!

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2020

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This book starts out ok, but then begins to feel like Groundhog Day. Same day same story over and over again. And since this is written in diary format, it literally is. I had a very very hard staying with it.

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.

7 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 .

6 people found this helpful

Flip M

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.

6 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

Verified Purchase

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.

One person found this helpful

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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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

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