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Shop nowThe Diary of a Bookseller
Narrator
Robin Laing
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Length
9 hours 42 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“When you enter The Book Shop in Wigtown, Scotland, you enter Shaun Bythell’s world. You’ll recognize his colorful staff and quirky customers immediately and fall in love with them instantly. The Diary of a Bookseller was written for book buyers, booksellers, and book lovers everywhere (you must be one of them!). While books and The Book Shop occupy much of Bythell’s hilarious story, it is made whole with priceless pieces on gardening, fishing with his dad, cycling, and, of course, music, food, and drink. Cheers!”
— Bill Reilly • The River's End Bookstore
Shaun Bythell owns the Bookshop, Scotland’s largest second-hand bookshop. It contains 100,000 books, spread over a mile of shelving, with twisting corridors and roaring fires, and all set in a beautiful, rural town by the edge of the sea. A book-lover’s paradise? Well, almost … In these wry and hilarious diaries, Shaun provides an inside look at the trials and tribulations of life in the book trade, from struggles with eccentric customers to wrangles with his own staff, who include the ski-suit-wearing, bin-foraging Nicky. He takes us with him on buying trips to old estates and auction houses, recommends books—both lost classics and new discoveries—introduces us to the thrill of the unexpected find, and evokes the rhythms and charms of small-town life, always with a sharp and sympathetic eye.
Hilarious, wry, and charming, Shaun Bythell’s stories from his second-hand bookshop in remotest Scotland are sure to delight readers of all stripes.
Shaun Bythell is the owner of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, and also one of the organizers of the Wigtown Festival.
Robin Laing is a professional Scottish actor, with experience in stage, radio, television, film, and voice-over. His credits include Band of Brothers, River City, Filth, and Outlaw King.
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Reviews
“Among the most irascible and amusing bookseller memoirs I’ve read.”
“Robin Laing strikes a matter-of-fact tone with his narration—a choice that is both smart and on point…Laing’s narration style makes it seem as if you are meeting up with a companionable, if a bit irascible, old friend.”
“Bythell writes with biting humor…Bythell is a man on a mission, and a year seen through his eyes convinces the reader that it is a mission worthy of undertaking.”
“For anyone who has ever dreamed of owning a bookstore. Bythell’s hilarious account will have those in the industry crying and those otherwise employed dropping their resume off at their local indie.”
“Sure to bring book lovers chuckles, nods of recognition, and a surge of hope for bookshops everywhere.”
“Utterly compelling, and Bythell has a Bennett-like eye for the amusing eccentricities of ordinary people.”
“Wonderfully entertaining.”
“Bythell’s diary is one of the funniest and most honest books you’ll read this year. It’s a real treat for book nerds.”
“Lively and intelligent.”
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