I found Diary Of A Bookseller very entertaining, surprisingly involving and also quite informative about the business of bookselling. It is the diary over a year of Shaun Bythell who owns a very large bookshop in Wigtown, a “book town” in south-west Scotland. He recounts the pleasures and frustrations of dealing in books and of being a central part of a large book festival, which he does with insight and acerbic wit, making it a very enjoyable read. It is peopled with very well drawn characters, like his eccentric (to say the least) assistant Nicky, the loyal and rather enigmatic regular customer Mr Deacon and, of course, the array of customers who come to the shop or order on-line. The behaviour of some customers is embarrassing and/or annoying – and very recognisable to anyone who has spent a lot of time observing people like that while browsing and buying in second-hand bookshops – and it is extremely well captured by Bythell.
He makes clear the devastating effect of Amazon on independent booksellers and has made me feel slightly guilty about the amount I now read on my Kindle. (In my defence, there will be a very nasty case of husband-murder if I bring more physical books into the place.) He has also already inspired me to take down and read again an elderly copy of Orwell’s essays, to try William Boyd once more when I had decided that enough was enough, and so on. Any book which can do that deserves praise in itself, and this also gave me great pleasure just in the reading. Very warmly recommended – and I shall be reading his two other books soon.
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