Doesn't matter where you live, but if you love books, love booksellers, are fascinated by the book business, worry about the oligarchy of Amazon, and love to laugh--this book is for you. It's not just laughs, though. Parts of the book are very serious. And I'm sorry to say it seems that due to the state of our dinner tonight, that I will need to leave quotes from the book until tomorrow. There is only one copy of this book in our huge library system, and the book was published in 2018. It's so compelling and has shaken me from my reading doldrums. This is by far the very best book I've ever read by a person working in bookselling.
I tend to really like books that are about bookish things. As you allude to, in our time, independent bookstores are becoming somewhat rare and books about them sadly just as rare.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true, Brian. But I have read in Publishers Weekly and elsewhere that some independent bookstores are doing much better than they were a decade ago. This may partly be due to the resurgence and expansion of independent publishing houses in recent years. Independent bookstores carry many more of these titles than Barnes and Noble, for instance. And Amazon offers a negligible discount on indie-published titles and sometimes none at all, so that purchasing these books at an independent bookstore is about the same in cost as buying them online. Maybe there's hope yet!
DeleteI loved this too, Judith. Particularly liked stories that involved the assistant in the shop, her name escapes me at the moment.
ReplyDeleteHi Cath,
DeleteYes, Nikki is a very colorful character. I have loved the stories that describe his trips to homes to buy books--the owners and the conditions he finds in some of the houses, not to mention the books he finds, such as an inscription written by Sir Walter Scott. Lots of fun and adventure reading for book-crazed readers and collectors.
I haven't read this book yet but I have been in his shop a few times, but have never seen Shaun there. I've found Wigtown quite disappointing as a book destination, and it's such a remote part of Scotland, but there are great old ruins there to visit.
ReplyDeleteHi Katrina,
DeleteSo you've been in this bookshop! I imagine Shaun was out fishing, hiking, scouting out books in estates for sale, etc. He seems to do a lot of all of these. I love the fact that Wigtown is in a remote part of Scotland, how nice, and the fact that there are old ruins ups the ante for me. Have you visited some of them there?
This sounds like a lovely read, and I am finding too many books at your blog to my list of books to find. It sounds like it would give a good picture of Scotland.
ReplyDeleteHi Tracy,
DeleteThis book gives a view of this part of Scotland, but even more, it resembles the exotic tales of rare and used booksellers in both Great Britain and the U.S. Yet he does it in such style, and in a way that reveals his personality and book-infatuated affliction. I've loved reading it, but I think I'll be reading it a bit at a time for the next 6 weeks or so.
Love this book, and the sequel too. I haven't seen that lovely cover before, though!
ReplyDeleteHi Simon,
DeleteI'm so glad to hear that there's a sequel--thank you! The cover is the one that I found online, which was the same as the book from the library. I do love the cover.
There is a sequel out called Confessions of a Bookseller, which I just finished and which is just as wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for letting me know about the sequel. I'm noting it in my "WannaReads" file. I enjoy it as "before falling to sleep" reading. So glad to know.
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