The Diary of a Bookseller - Shaun Bythell

My husband stopped by the library one day to pick up a couple items we had on hold. He asked if I wanted any books and I said yes, if he saw anything interesting on the new and notable shelf. He came home with this one and I suspect he may have been trying to send me a message. I have talked about having a book store or working in one when we retire. He may have been using this book as a message that it is not a good idea!

This is a diary of a bookseller, which should be obvious from the title right? I looked at the cover when my husband showed it to me and I assumed it was a novel. No, it is a year in the life of a bookseller in Wigtown, Scotland. The author, Shaun, decided to write a bit about life in his bookstore everyday for a year, including number of online orders, number of customers, total till for the day, and all the goings on in the store.

I enjoyed the book, and since I had never really thought of the logistics of opening a book store, this actually put some perspective into it. Unlike my dream of sitting in the bookstore reading books and selling them to nice customers, I did not consider how one would acquire books. Also considering my dislike of people (I am an introvert and people can be so frustrating at times), I am not sure a book shop would be the best idea for me!

The diary was written in 2014 and the impact Amazon is felt and discussed many times. At one point the bookseller even shoots a Kindle and then frames it in his shop. I must admit I have an e-reader around here somewhere and it was pretty good to take on vacation, but I do love to hold a real book in my hands. And I'm kind of cheap so just couldn't pay nearly full price for an electronic copy of a book when I could have the real thing instead.

After reading some of Shaun's opinions of his customers, I fear that my love of books may not be at his standard. I'm sure I would be one of the customers that goes into the shop and browses around for an hour and leaves with only one or two books, and likely cheaper ones because I probably wouldn't know the value of a book and my tastes are too average.

I enjoyed the book, especially when Shaun was interacting with his shop assistant Nicky, or talking about something she had done. She seems like quite the interesting character.

The shop has a Facebook page that I've recently begun following, hoping for some more interesting comments about customers or books. They also have a Random Book Club where they send random books out once a month. Sounds like my kind of book club, though at the moment they are not taking new subscribers. A second book has just been released called Confessions of a Bookseller that I may have to read soon. Is it ironic that both books are being sold on Amazon after all the complaints about Amazon in the book?