I read the third installment of Shaun Bythell’s diary series about the life of a small town bookseller – Remainders Of The Day – a few years ago, and enjoyed it so thoroughly that I’ve made it a point to pick up all the others. I’ve gone back to the beginning now, with the first book in his memoir series: The Diary Of A Bookseller.
(If you’re going to order from the devil, use an affiliate link like this one so at least you’re supporting a book reviewer like me)
To get the Vibe of The Diary Of A Bookseller, you just need to take a look at Bythell’s Instagram bio: “Award losing author of #DiaryOfABookseller and more, and even worse in real life than on paper”. He leans into the stereotype of the cantankerous bookshop owner, and brooks no quarter in his descriptions of staff and customers alike.
I was surprised to learn in this book that Bythell bought the Wigtown Bookshop when he was just 31 years old, which seems frightfully young for such a challenging undertaking. Bookselling has never been a particularly lucrative venture, but the expansion of Amazon over the past twenty years has made it downright arduous. So, it’s no wonder that he’s a bit cranky. His shop is the second-largest in Scotland, holding over 100,000 titles, and yet most days the takings in the till (that he records dutifully at the end of each entry) are in the double-digit range. I honestly have no idea how he stays afloat. At one point, an accountant actually tells him he’s in a good position (?!), and he hastens to assure the reader in the epilogue that “the shop is still open”, but…
So, yes, The Diary Of A Bookseller is a bit of a polemic about the dangers of online monoliths squeezing out independent retailers, yes – but Bythell knows that’s not why booklovers are picking up his book, so he makes sure he doesn’t disappoint on what we’re all really here for: the crazy anecdotes about day-to-day life in a bookshop.
The good news is that the staff of the Wigtown Bookshop are every bit as eccentric as the customers they serve. My favourite is Nicky, the Jehovah’s Witness who nods enthusiastically when given a task then proceeds to do whatever she feels like. She also periodically shows up to work (chronically late) in a ski-suit, holding a “treat” she’s found while dumpster diving. She spends a large chunk of the book avoiding the unwanted advances of a would-be suitor that Bythell dubs “Smelly Kelly”.
The Diary Of A Bookseller offers many laugh-out-loud moments (the reference that Bythell provides to a former employee particularly tickled me), but these struggle to keep pace with the depressing insights into the plight of bricks and mortar bookstores. It’s hard not to be affected by feelings of futility in this particular David & Goliath battle, even if Bythell is a surprisingly
indomitable fellow soldier.
All in all, I consider The Diary Of A Bookseller a bit of a first pancake – still good, but not quite as delicious as later efforts, once Bythell has got his rage at Bezos off his chest and found a better balance between belly-aching and belly laughs.
Read The Diary Of A Bookseller on audiobook via Libro.fm here. (affiliate link)
My favourite Amazon reviews of The Diary Of A Bookseller:
- “Despite what many people think about ebooks there will come a time when physical books leave us. Just practicality. Remember records? Even CDs are now a thing of the past. I love reading dead tree versions of books as much as anyone, but also realize I can carry around all LOTR books on my phone. No need to hire a porter to follow me around with 26 volumes of Tolkien and Sons.” – Onion Eaters
- “Mind you, for such a grumpy person he seems to have plenty of regular drinking friends so he’s no doubt a lot more interesting in real life, it just doesn’t come over on the page. Didn’t warm to the author at all, pretty much gave up on him when he went off fishing with some other posh bloke.” – MWG
- “It was interesting to see the different amounts in the till, on 3 consecutive days there were 5 customers and £12.99, £110 and £90.50. £12.99 being the worst days takings that year and £ 1,274.03 the highest. With an average of £10 per customer.
It was a mildly entertaining book.” – Debbie - “To be fair, he is alive to the failings of his own establishment and other bookshops.” – Stephen Bishop
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