The Diary of a Bookseller

"Some people just want you to know what their reading habits are, and have no intention of buying anything."

I work at a library, and while we don't sell books, I do see a lot of the same behaviors in library patrons as Shaun Bythell does in his bookshop in Wigtown. The patrons who want you to know what they're interested in without actually checking anything out, the kids who shove perfectly faced books to the back of the shelves, the colorful regulars, the list goes on and on. To that end, I found a lot to identify with and find humor in in this book.

As I said, Shaun Bythell owns The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, the world's largest second-hand bookshop. He started keeping a diary in February of 2014 of all the notable interactions, observations, and events that happen in his bookshop, as well as some of the daily tasks that keep a second-hand bookshop running. It is a diary format, so it's not so much a story as it is a day-by-day account of the shop, which I appreciated. You get to know the staff, the regulars, the sort of clientele he sees on a seasonal basis, and a sense of how the shop operates and the struggles he goes through keeping the doors open and the lights on. It's not easy being in the book trade in the age of Amazon.

He's a sarcastic man, and it's clear that doesn't rub everyone the right way. I appreciate his sense of humor and wry observations of people around him, but some people might find it mean spirited. It's clear he enjoys what he does or he wouldn't be doing it, and one can poke fun at the people around oneself while also being pleasant. It's not all sunshine and roses in the retail industry, no matter the country.

There's evidently more in the series, presumably more diaries from proceeding years. I look forward to reading them all.