Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller
Ratings9
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings9
Average rating3.7
Instant National Bestseller Shortlisted for the 2023 Inc. Non-Obvious Book Award "Witty, literary and very funny." —Minneapolis Star Tribune Welcome to Sotheran’s, one of the oldest bookshops in the world, with its weird and wonderful clientele, suspicious cupboards, unlabeled keys, poisoned books, and some things that aren’t even books, presided over by one deeply eccentric apprentice. Some years ago, Oliver Darkshire stepped into the hushed interior of Henry Sotheran Ltd (est. 1761) to apply for a job. Allured by the smell of old books and the temptation of a management-approved afternoon nap, Darkshire was soon unteetering stacks of first editions and placating the store’s resident ghost (the late Mr. Sotheran, hit by a tram). A novice in this ancient, potentially haunted establishment, Darkshire describes Sotheran’s brushes with history (Dickens, the Titanic), its joyous disorganization, and the unspoken rules of its gleefully old-fashioned staff, whose mere glance may cause the computer to burst into flames. As Darkshire gains confidence and experience, he shares trivia about ancient editions and explores the strange space that books occupy in our lives—where old books often have strong sentimental value, but rarely a commercial one. By turns unhinged and earnest, Once Upon a Tome is the colorful story of life in one of the world’s oldest bookshops and a love letter to the benign, unruly world of antiquarian bookselling, where to be uncommon or strange is the best possible compliment.
Reviews with the most likes.
En fornøyelig liten hyldest til antikvariske bokhandler og menneskene som jobber der. Boken har den type omslag som hadde fått meg til å legge vekk boken hvis jeg skulle valgt den selv, men heldigvis har man brødre som ikke bryr seg om sånne ting når de gir julegaver.
Jeg har fått større interesse for antikvariske bøker etter dette, og hvis du vil styrke din bibliofili, er det bare å lese i vei. Koselig og lettbeint om en sær interesse.
A funny – occasionally laugh-out-loud – and sarcastic book about working in a London rare book shop. Not the best of books in this niche genre (Shaun Bythell's works had me in stitches much more than this one), but still an enjoyable read.
4.5/5 stars
This is the type of nonfiction that I love to read. Not only was it informative, but it also provided insight on what it's like to be a rare bookseller. I feel that in order to like this book, you need to love books, want to know about booksellers, have a specific sense of humor, & be okay when it reads like a collection of anecdotes.
It was a fun read, at least to me. I would recommend this to a couple of people but it would not be the type of book that comes to mind when recommending books.
