Shaun Blythel is a fascinating protagonist who owns a bookstore in Scotland. The setting is idyllic and he's surrounded by a quirky set of friends and customers who add drama to his life and keep the plot moving forward. There seem to be a lot of books with a "bookstore" setting lately, but this is a particularly compelling one. An excellent read.

As a librarian I liked this book. We experience so many weird questions and encounters, not totally the same as a bookstore, especially the bargaining about prices. I did enjoy reading this, I found it funny, and outrageous in some instances but a little boring in others.
A definite read for any book lovers. I would love to visit this bookstore if I ever make it over to Scotland.

Shaun Bythell's Confessions of a Bookseller is not long on plot. In fact there is hardly any plot in the book. Instead this sequel to Bythell's previous book, Diary of a Bookseller has plenty of charm, humor, witticisms, and eccentric characters that would be unbelievable in fiction were they not real people.



Bythell owns and operates The Book Shop, Wigtown the largest second hand bookshop in Scotland. This book covers 2015, a year in which he dealt with quirky colleagues, eccentric customers, and the difficulties of running a book store.



Bythell was surrounded by a colorful group of colleagues that could have come out of fiction themselves. There is Granny, an Italian woman, who earned the nickname because she talked about aches and pains and talked about death. Another one is Petra who rented the upstairs apartment to host belly dancing classes. (“Shake, Read, and Roll” would make a good slogan.)



One of the stand outs in this kooky cast is Nicky, Bythell's main employee. She arrived fashionably late, wore black clothes, and brought food on Foodie Fridays (usually stuff that Bythell didn't like.). Often she and Bythell bickered about how the store was run. Nicky gave her two weeks notice once, but the two relied on each other for help and friendship.



Nicky is like most friends and co-workers. You too fight, sometimes you want to see the back of each other. But you also rely on each other for loyalty, laughs, strength, and friendship.



As humorous as Bythell's colleagues are, his exchanges with customers are equally as memorable.

One of the struggles Bythell had were donations that meant more to the customers than to Bythell. Many entries feature Bythell driving several hours out of his way to investigate boxes of books only to return with less than a handful because the books were either damaged beyond repair, written by authors that are widely distributed like Dan Brown or Stephanie Meyer, or of only personal interest to the donor. (Family Bibles are out for that reason.)



Another issue the introverted Bythell often had to deal with were talkative customers, who began discussing reading habits then talk about family struggles and personal habits. “NEVER ask for an anecdote when you work in a bookshop,” warned Bythell.



One hilarious roundabout conversation occurred between Bythell and a customer who had to learn the difference between a bookshop and a library.

“Will to live rapidly diminishing,” Bythell inwardly moaned as he said for what seemed like the hundredth time that no she didn't have to return the books once she bought them.



Bythell also had to contend with weird questions asked by customers about what books he had. One asked for a childhood book that she didn't know the name but featured a koala stealing berries. Anyone who works in a book store or library will understand the vague requests. (“I don't remember the name of the book but it has a red cover.”)



Bythell also had to contend with his share of unusual requests both in person and online. One online request asked for Mein Kampf along with other pro-Nazi materials. Bythell didn't know why and didn't want to know.



There were also customers that asked for specific books about certain subjects every day from Scottish genealogy to trains. One of those types of customers was Bythell's father, an avid fisherman who always asked for books about anglers and fish.



Along with colleagues and customers, Bythell also wrote about the advertising that he did to draw in customers, particularly online where he received interest from as far away as Asia, the Americas, and the other European countries. For Christmas, he and Nicky posted two different videos and had the visitors vote on their favorite.



He also wrote about the various quotes that he and other co-workers displayed on Facebook that deal with books and reading. One of those reads “You passed by a Book Shop. Is something wrong with you?”



As much as the Internet was a boon to Bythell's business, it could also be a curse. Bythell became so irritated with customers realizing that they had books on their Kindle that he and a colleague designed and sold “Death to Kindle” mugs at the Book Shop.

In his previous book, Bythell displayed a broken Kindle on the wall of the Book Shop. The display went viral earning Bythell some extra online celebrity.



By far the most eventful time for the Book Shop is the Wigtown Book Festival which takes place during the final week in September. Bythell wrote about the planning, preparation, and organizing an event from a village of less than 100 citizens welcoming people from all over the world. Besides offering discounts, Bythell participated in various events like the Literary Quiz, the optimistically titled Wigtown's Got Talent, and the Fun Run (which he admits is an oxymoron).



While the plot of Confessions of a Bookseller is slight, there is one plot thread that dangles throughput the book. That is Bythell's relationship with his partner, Anna. Anna created different things associated with the Book Shop, like the Writer's House, which offered courses in reading, writing, and art and the Open Book, in which renters can temporarily operate and organize their own bookshop, like an Airbnb. Granny started working there.

As good as Anna was for business, and as good as she and Bythell were personally, they had differences that could not be met. In his mid-forties, Bythell wanted to start a family, Anna was much younger and did not. They broke up and Anna returned to the United States.



Some of the most moving chapters are when Bythell encountered old friends and explained why he was alone, feeling a lump in his throat. During Christmas, he sent her a cordial happy holidays email and wished he could see her in person.



Despite the quirky colleagues, odd customers, and demands on his personal time, Bythell is clearly a man who loves books and loves sharing them with others. This is shown in the first entry when he writes, “The pleasure of handling books that have introduced something of cultural or scientific significance to the world is undeniably the greatest luxury that this business affords and few -if any-

walks of life provide such a wealth of opportunity to indulge in this. This is why, every morning getting out of bed is not an anticipation of a repetitive drudge but in expectation that I may have the chance to hold in my hands a copy of something that first brought to humanity an idea that changed the course of history….That is what it's all about.”



Any of us who work with books whether selling, lending, publishing, appraising, editing, writing, teaching, or reviewing them understand completely.

A little too long as it gets repetitive and boring, but such a clever fun read for book lovers. I found myself highlighting so many quotes; those of us who work with books get the craziest requests. Great book for any booksellers or librarians in your life.

What a great read! Having not read the first instalment of Shaun Bythell’s diary I wasn’t sure what to expect, but now I want to go back and read it for sure! A really personal and interesting account of what life is really like as a second hand bookseller. Absolutely riveting for someone in the book business and both scary and inspiring in equal measures! I really recommend this to anyone who is interested by the business, or simply wants an entertaining read. We will definitely be stocking this in our store. My only disappointment was that when I googled his bookclub to sign up, they are no longer taking new members :(

Shaun Bythell's hilarious curmudgeonly accounts of the daily goings-on in his bookshop are a balm to my bookseller soul. I am not alone in the world! We have the same employees, the same customers, though he resides in a little Scottish town and I across the world, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. No matter where in the world a person opens the doors of his/her bookshop every morning, their individual experiences will be uncannily similar to every other independent bookseller's.
One of my favorite aspects of reading Confessions of a Bookseller (and likewise the previous installment, Diary of a Bookseller) has been gleaning new reading material for my own TBR list, directly from Mr. Bythell's own reading list. After all, booksellers are, at heart, book lovers.

As Shaun is extremely scathing of the Kindle, I felt a little bit bad reading Confessions of a Bookseller on an e-reader! I learnt lots about the second-hand bookselling trade, but wanted to know more about Anna and Shaun's friends' lives. A comforting antidote to the chaos of modern times.

The second book by Wigtown, Scotland, book store owner, Shaun Bythell, is another amusing look at the life of a book seller. He is in an unique position as Wigtown is the National Book Town of Scotland and his bookstore is the second largest second hand bookstore in Scotland. There are a lot of book activities and tourists who come to town for the books. The book is written in diary style.

For most of us book lovers, owning a bookstore is a dream job. The reality? Not so much. It's a tough field now with Amazon's control of the market and the author makes his displeasure of their practices known. In some ways, I love the ease of finding books with Amazon but in others I miss the joy of exploring second hand bookstores and discovering a book I have been searching for awhile. I remember finding an old Rex Stout Nero Wolfe and almost skipping home. Now I just click a button on the computer. It's not the same thrill.

It's a frustrating job and I was surprised at the number of people that tried to bargain with him on prices. Of course he did mention Americans rarely do that so it may be a cultural thing. I also cannot imagine entering a bookstore and not buying anything. I visited No Alibis bookstore in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and staggered out with 9 books which I mailed home. That's right. On vacation I visit bookstores. I have an illness.

Anyway, it's a cute book although it does get dull in spots. I mean no one's life is that interesting 365 days a year but his life is pretty darn close. I mean visiting places and looking through their book collections to buy, working in an actual store and reading actual books seems ideal to me.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Another year in the annals of The Bookshop, Wigtown, its staff and customers

An utterly enthralling read, as was its predecessor

Shaun is back with a second installment of stories from what must be Scotland's most famous bookshop. Many of our most beloved characters return, including Nicki, but we are also introduced to a new character in the form of a temp from Italy. She has a name, but will forever be referred to as "Granny" - and she quickly became my favourite person in the book (Next to Shaun of course).

Shaun's disdain for annoying customers still shines through - and some of the ridiculous requests had me laughing out loud. I work in telesales and marketing and I can certainly relate to some of the interactions that take place with customers. The hatred of Amazon still shines through, although I do often wonder that if he hates them so much why he continues to use them to see his books (especially given their outrageous commisions).

I thought that, as with the first book, some of the best sequences came about when Shaun was planning the Wigtown Festival, and during the festival itself. There are some sections that felt like a bit of a chore, but as this is literally a diary of things that happened for 365 days of a year, we can't expect something good EVERY day can we.

Generally this is a very funny book (with some very sad moments built in), but Shaun does spend some time talking about his own faults, and criticising himself for these. He is very open and honest about himself throughout, and for this I applaud him.

While I do think that the first book was slightly more entertaining, this is till a very good read, and gives us some more insight into the life of Shaun. It has also left me even more desperate to visit Wigtown. I wonder can I convince my wife to visit Scotland...

Recommended to fans, others may want to read the first book before jumping in to this one.

Review to go live on blog just before publication

My thanks to Netgalley and Profile books for a copy of “Confessions of a Bookseller” for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Shaun Bythell’s first book “Diary of a bookseller” and have recommended it to several people. Also as a librarian it’s a book I often put out of display as the cover is as good as the inside
I was thrilled to see that the tale has continued in this book.I can totally identify with some of the situations and customers he deals with( sometimes you just couldn’t make it up !).
I had visited Wigtown before I read either of these books so I can really imagine the scene as I’m reading them.
I understand that the first book has been made into a tv series , due to air Autumn 2019 so I’m hoping the books will get the recognition they deserve.

This book was a bit of an odd one, there wasn’t really any overly exciting parts but somehow it was still a great read.

There's no way for me to review this without sounding harsh. Obviously, I love books and reading books. Therefore, I love books about books.

I am sure, were I ever so fortunate to re-visit Scotland again and find my way to this bookstore, I would like it and its owner quite a lot. This book is just not the best introduction.

Mr. Bythell writes about himself in a very deprecating manner. I'm sure he can't be as crotchety as he would have the reader believe.

There do seem to be a few bees stuck up his bonnet and I would like to address a couple here:

1. Anyone who loves and reads books can certainly understand, appreciate and empathize with the plight of the independent bookseller, new or used. It has to be undertaken out of sheer love because financing such an endeavor in this electronic and economic era would be cause for sheer terror. I have no doubt his situation is tricky at best.

So, why would he assume the economic situation of most book lovers is really any different? He makes much of the fact that many of his customers haggle his already low prices. I myself have never haggled the price of a book. New or used, a book is a luxury item I either can or can't afford at any variable moment in time. I've never attempted to wager a sale in my favor, either buying or selling books for credit. I agree, it's bad behavior.

Then he seems annoyed when people come in to look at his books but don't buy. I myself do this all the time. Most book lovers do. I find being in bookstores around presumably like-minded people very therapeutic. Yes, I go to large chain bookstores to look at new releases. Yes, I add titles to an endless wishlist.

Which brings me to:

2. Amazon and Kindle. I won't pretend to know anything personally of their business practices. Still, small business must find SOME positive aspect out of aligning themselves with Amazon or they wouldn't do it. According to Mr. Bythell, they're basically thieving people such as he out of business. Could be true. He even tells of commissioning mugs with "Death to the Kindle" to sell in his shop. As a READER, however, I can't begin to elaborate all the ways they've enriched my enjoyment of books and authors in the last 10 years.

I would just like to point out that I read this book as an electronic file on my Kindle device as an Advance Reader Copy made available to me through Netgalley and am posting a review here on GoodReads, which I believe is also an Amazon entity. I'm assuming I received this book with Mr. Bythell's knowledge and permission. That's rather ironic, yes?

The book itself is dry. The books mentioned are very selective and, pleading ignorance, I've not heard of many of them. Most are native to his territory, much removed from my own. The "characters" are not given much in the way of description. This is pretty much a listing of his day's profits or lack thereof and incidental happenings.

I think this would be great if you personally know the author, the area in Scotland and the store itself. It's kind of a nifty little fundraiser in that regard. For the average reader in a different world, maybe not so much.

Diary like entries reveal the operation of The Book Shop in the bookish Wigtown Scotland. Quirky characters abound. My favorite was Granny, the young Italian intern with her accent and huge appetite. Charming and interesting for any bibliophile.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

I found this very uneven - some bits were quite interesting and humorous, while some of it seemed quite dull. I was expecting something a bit funnier and struggled with it. I'm sorry to say that this one was just not for me.

The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland - an idyllic sounding bibliophile's oasis owned and run by Shaun Bythell. What stresses and strains could he possibly have? What could mar the sheer pleasure of his daily bookish vocation?...'The Customer'...- from the eccentric to the bizarre and downright unbelievable. A joy of a book and a follow up to our introduction to The Bookshop and to Shaun in ' The Diary of a Bookseller' (highly recommended by the way). Amusing, nicely written and hugely entertaining. For booklovers everywhere and anyone who thought that running a bookshop would be a breeze.

An insight into the say to day running of a second hand bookshop, told with warmth and humour. As a bookseller myself, many of these experiences are entirely relatable. Is the sequel to Diary of A Bookseller, but can be read stand alone.

Really loved every minute of it! It's a cozy, delightful read and I savored it from start to finish. 5/5 stars for a job well done.

Wigtown is definitely somewhere I’d love to visit. I really enjoyed the first book by Shaun Bythell, Diary of a Bookseller, and when I saw this one pop up I jumped at the chance to read it. It’s much along the same vein with diary entries listing takings, online orders & the day to day goings on in both the shop & Shaun's life. As it’s not something that I’ve ever dealt with, the insights into the second hand book trade were really interesting, & I liked the little extracts at the beginning of each month. While I can understand Bythell's frustrations with customers & I can only imagine saying some of the things he does, I do think he’s a little too rude to be likeable sometimes. The parts with Granny & Nicky were the most enjoyable to me, although I think I’d lose it if someone I worked with consistently ignored me, caused that much mess & underpriced so many books.

I’ll definitely be picking up a print copy of this when it comes out, and be recommending it to my customers.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Profile Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
This book is as funny and addictive as Shaun Bythell’s first book. The tales of customers in his bookshop are hilarious. Also, being given a glimpse of the activities of Wigtown, and information about the surrounding area is an added bonus.
Written in a chatty style, this book takes the reader through a year of life for Shaun Bythell in a most entertaining way. Appropriate for anyone from teenage to old age, this is a great family book, which will be passed from one member of a family to another, with everyone finding enjoyment from reading it.