Reviewed by Jeanne
When the local distillery closed, the small Scottish town of Wigtown
found itself without a major industry to employ its residents and so Wigtown
reinvented itself as a book town. It was
a move that proved successful enough to have Wigtown designated as “The
National Book Town of Scotland,” complete with a book festival. There are over a dozen bookstores, not to
mention other book-themed or book related stores.
One of these is The Bookshop, the largest second-hand bookstore
in Scotland. Owned by Shaun Blythell, the
shop boasts over 100,000 books. While
that might sound like a dream come true to most readers, the reality can be
very different: leaks in the roof, wonky internet connections, obnoxious
customers, and unreliable shop assistants. I know this because Mr. Blythell has
written three books with his diary entries about the shop.
This is the sort of book that some people would pick up, scan
a page, and put down. My view is that
they would be missing an absolute treat.
Blythell doesn’t suffer fools gladly but he doesn’t exempt himself. He
also has quite the way with words and a deep love of books and literature. He almost had me coveting a book of maps and
I don’t know beans about maps. He’s also
very funny, in a cantankerous sort of way.
For example, a former employee asked for a reference. Blythell noted that she “was idle, obstreperous
and treated the shop as her own empire.
She was in many ways the perfect employee.”
Or when unexpected (okay, they WERE expected, he just forgot)
guests stop by for lunch, all he has is stale bread (he did scrape the mould
off first while they weren’t looking) and some pate. He noted they probably
expected better but that the best they could realistically expect “from their culinary
experience above The Bookshop is that they’ve dodged a case of listeria.”
He also buys books, often going to people’s homes to evaluate
the volumes. Sometimes there are wonderful gems, but just as often most of the
offerings are popular fiction with little value. I enjoyed reading about the things he looks
for in a book, how the book trade has waxed and waned, and how the advent of
the internet has changed book buying for both buyers, and sellers. I also have
a very different view of Amazon and certain other online used book outlets.
I’ve taking my time with this book, reading a few entries each
night to make it last. I’ve already read
the two previous books (Diary of a Bookseller and Confessions of a
Bookseller) and so far there isn’t a fourth. I’m making do by following The Bookshop
online but may just have to start re-reading at night.
Remainders of the Day is the
third in the series but you needn’t have read the others to enjoy it.
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