Technically this is a review of two books, The Diary of a Bookseller and the follow up Confessions of a Bookseller, both written by Shaun Bythell.

I was convinced I’d written a review about The Diary when I read it at the end of 2018, how could I not have, I seem to have almost bored everybody I know by recommending it over and over but turns out I hadn’t, so as I finish it’s sequel I’m righting that wrong now.

The Diary was the very last book I read in 2018 and unless I cram in another book in the next couple of days, Confessions, will be the very last book I read in 2019. This wasn’t planned but I can tell you they are both a perfect read for this quiet time between Christmas and New Year where I tend to hide away from the world a little and curl up with my books for a few days.

If you’d like to see the rest of the books I’ve read this year and view the highly sophisticated smiley face scale rating I’ve given them, ranging from the disappointing (☺ = naw) through to the highly desirable (☺☺☺☺☺= braw) you can see them all in my 2019 Reading Challenge post.

The Diary of a Bookseller

Confessions of a Bookseller

Shaun Bythell | Published 2017 and 2019 respectively | ☺☺☺☺☺

I do love a good library haul. Wandering round the shelves and picking up whatever seems to jump out at you not always knowing exactly why but excited to find out if it’s about to become a new favourite. Diary of a Bookseller was one of these brilliantly lucky finds and as it turned out a serendipitious pick for me.

You see just before Christmas 2018 I popped to my local library and stocked up on books for my annual hibernation. Those few days between Christmas and New Year where I love nothing more than sitting in my favourite yellow chair with a hot chocolate (or Baileys) and a pile of good books. What I hadn’t realised this year was that I’d picked up a book about a place and a character I already knew.

Diary of a Bookseller is the diary of Shaun Bythell, owner of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town. Not only had I been to Wigtown a few times, but I’d been in that bookshop, I’d bought books from that bookshop and in fact I’d bought books from this particular bookseller.

A good friend of mine moved to Wigtown a few years ago and I visit when I can. Whether this is timed to coincide with their annual book festival or not I always enjoy a good wander round their many bookshops (more than a dozen in a town with a population of 1000) and of course always pick up a few books while I’m there, which this year included a copy of the second of the two diaries, Confessions of a Bookseller (FYI: after returning my original copy to the libray I did in fact buy the Diary from the bookshop as well)

The Bookshop itself is pretty well known. Not only is it the oldest bookshop in the town, it’s is the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland with what has been described as a “shelved labyrynth” of over 65,000 books but for whatever reason I didn’t make the connection with the book until I started reading it then all of a sudden I realised, I know this shop, I’ve seen that bookshop cat, I’ve giggled in that erotic book corner and I’ve looked at that bed at the top of a set of ladders in the middle of the shop (it’s hard to forget something like that let’s be honest).

Since reading the first book I have recommended it to others and they have loved it. In fact, one friend loved it so much that she accompanied me to the book festival in Wigtown this year and was so excited to see the shop in real life. While we were there she was constantly on the look out for some of the characters in the book including Nicky, the shop assistant, famed for her less than appealing foodie friday treats where the focus is on how much of a bargain it is rather than any real concern over quality or taste, William from the Post Office not exactly known for a warm and friendly greetings, Sandy the Tattoed Pagan and many other regulars of the shop and town you’ll meet in the book.

Both books are written in diary format, taking you through a full year in the life of the shop. Each entry includes the number of online book orders, number of customers, total cash through the till and of course a summary of what’s been happening.

Not only do you get an honest understanding of the realities (and very real challenges) of owning a bookshop, which in itself is worth a read, it’s a book that brings with it a lot of heart, soul and insight. It’s a bit like people-watching from the comfort of your own sofa and without actually having to interact with the general public in any way. There are characters you hear about throughout the year, you get to know their quirks, their stories and look foward to spotting their name on the page, excited or even nervous to see what they’ve been up to next. There are also others who you will only meet once or twice but who can still have a real impact on you.

Shaun himself is known for being a bit of a…let me think of a polite term… grump, and certainly there are more than a few diary entries which will back up this description but this book is actually a real joy to read and Shaun has a really wonderful way of seeing people. He doesn’t hide away from calling things as he sees them, albeit in a very understated and matter of fact way but you can see through his writing that Shaun not only accepts but often appreciates many of these people for just who they are and has no interest or need for them to change…I’m not sure he’d agree with that statement however when it’s applied broadly to many of the customers who seem to have no common sense or manners whatsoever, or to Amazon or the developers of Monsoon software!

There’s so much crammed in to these short daily updates it’s easy to become emersed in the world Shaun shares with you as the reader. You’ll hear all the nonsense customers come out with, you’ll read about the belly dancing classes upstairs, the nude photography shoot in the bookshop, the gun shot kindle on display in the store, the constant battle with the online database, the nightmare that is being a bookseller on Amazon and so much more. You’ll giggle to yourself at some day’s events and feel momentarily saddened by others. You’ll be touched by the kindness people show and frustrated by the pettiness of others. Overall though, you’ll fall in love with this world, with this shop and with this town. You’ll be reminded how impactful books are to us all and you’ll definitly hope that there are more diaries to come.

I absolutely recommend both these books.