Bookseller Blues

Confessions of a Bookseller
by Shaun Bythell

Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops
by Shaun Bythell

I had read Shaun’s first book, The Diary of a Bookseller way back in 2019 (seems like a whole different era now) and found it to be a hoot. I read the second volume Confessions of a Bookseller during the (first) Covid lockdown and was just as amused.
Bythell’s latest book, Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops was written during the Covid lockdown.

In it Shaun describes, in a most imperfect taxonomy, the various customers he has had to deal with (when the store was open). This is a short book, not as funny overall, but it does have its own moments of brilliance. You don’t need to read the other ones first, although they do tie in with the themes expressed in this one.

As much as Shaun would hate to hear me say it, the three books, together, would serve as a basis for a smashing BBC TV series.