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.

Shaun of the Dread

Remainders of the Day
A Bookshop Diary
By Shaun Bythell
Godine, Boston, 2022

“A long-continued spell of novel reading makes its own peculiar mark on a man’s character. His eyes have a dreamy, far-away look, he take little interest in passing events, he is comparatively careless as to the opinions of the men and women he meets, he forgets names and faces, he neglects social duties, and his dearest delight is to lie in bed all Sunday reading his novel.”
~ R. M. Williamson, Bits from an Old Bookshop

Took a break from my recent diet of formula thrillers by reading this, the fourth book in a series from Shaun Bythell, a curmudgeonly Scottish bookseller from Wigtown. It was an astringent cleanser of my literary palate.

I’ve read the other three Bookseller titles by Bythell and found this one to be in similar vein. Shaun is a bit cranky, justifiably so in the case of his most dreadful customers, his fights with Amazon and the bookshop’s balky boiler. He tempers his ire with ‘affectionate’ Pickwickian portraits of the denizens of this small town. A sub-theme running through the book is the sorrow of losing his long-time customers (to death and dispersion) and having to sort through their bookish remainders, the pun in the title is most appropriate. This melancholy is counterbalanced by his remarkably supportive friends and his eccentric staff (“Today was Lucy’s final day in the shop. She’s been honest, reliable and surly. One couldn’t ask for more from an employee.”) Things come to a peak with the annual Wigtown Festival, which involves nearly the whole community. For all his sourness, Shaun rises to the occasion and a (mostly) splendid time is had by all. Shaun’s writing style is conversational and engaging.

I guess the best recommendation is that the book made me want to visit Wigtown, maybe not during Festival week, but sometime in the warmer months, when Shaun doesn’t have to rely on that recalcitrant boiler. There are several charming (if a bit primitive) places to stay in the town.

Thanks, DJ Cousin Mary, for steering this my way!

LOL

The Diary of a Bookseller
by Shaun Bythell
Profile Books, 2017

Recently, I’ve been researching various modern authors in conjunction with the Iceland Writer’s Retreat.

It has been a chore at times.

The Weaver suggested this book as a break from my self-imposed exile in the wilds of SERIOUS MODERN LITERATURE.

What a joyous discovery!

In 2001 a thirty-year-old Shaun Bythell wandered into a bookstore in a small town in Scotland and struck up a conversation with its owner. The owner persuaded Shaun (who had no prior experience in book-selling) to buy the shop. This book is a diary of a year of buying and selling books, as well as the trials of dealing with a menagerie of misfit employees and bizarre customers and trying to stay afloat amidst the tidal wave of Amazon’s ruthless merchandising practices.

Shaun is a bit of misanthrope, although at times glimmers of affection do break through his crusty Scottish reserve. His tales of each day’s events is often hilarious, and sure to bring smiles of recognition to anyone who has done retail sales. As the title of this post indicates, I did laugh out loud, and many times. An additional plus is that Shaun has a YouTube channel where you can see him, as well as his nemesis/amanuensis Nicky, in their native habitat.

Highest recommendation.