Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
ISBN: 9781782835394
Published by Profile Books on August 29, 2019
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Personal Memoirs, Literary Collections, Letters
Pages: 381
Format: Hardcover
"Do you have a list of your books, or do I just have to stare at them?"
Shaun Bythell is the owner of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland. With more than a mile of shelving, real log fires in the shop and the sea lapping nearby, the shop should be an idyll for bookworms.
Unfortunately, Shaun also has to contend with bizarre requests from people who don't understand what a shop is, home invasions during the Wigtown Book Festival and Granny, his neurotic Italian assistant who likes digging for river mud to make poultices.
The follow up to his Diary of a Bookseller, a book I enjoyed even more than I expected, so when I heard this was out, I immediately went out and bought it.
Every bit as good as the first, though where the first was primarily wacky and funny, this one had a sharper, more contemplative edge and, as far as my memory goes, this one feels a bit more personal. The book he read/talked about made more of an impact with me in this book too, though I can’t say why.
A great read if you like books about books, or memoirs of misanthropic booksellers.
“Confessions” just a tiny bit as in the “Confessions” by Rousseau and St. Augustine, then … (?)
Perhaps, but just a tiny bit. Definitely feels like it was written at a turning point, of sorts, for him.
I have both books on my TBR — should I read them in order then?
I’m going to say yes, only because there are some small references to his personal relationships in the books that will have better context if read in order. It’s not by any means a must – the references are small – but if you have them both, might as well.
I asked because based on your comments book 2 appeals to me a bit more than book 1 (slightly more of a personal angle, it seems). I don‘t have print copies — they‘re on my digital TBR, i.e. my wishlist (both print and audio).
Ah. Well, they’re both good and both have probably the same amount of personal information, but the second one had a moment of rather raw and honest angst. It was just one moment, though a strong enough one that it left an impression. I might be making more of it than someone else who has read it would. Either way, you can read them in any order.
Got it, thank you!