"Collecting books was clearly an important part of his life, and without bookshops there is little joy to be found in this pursuit. The serendipity of finding something you didn't know even existed, or asking a bookseller what they could recommend on a particular subject isn't really possible online yet..."

As someone whose job is running a bookshop, you'd think the last thing I wanna do is get home and read about someone running a bookshop, but Shaun Bythell's books are so funny that it's hard not to keep reading. In our shop we have; the girl who spilled a cup of coffee all over one of our tables, the people who come in and try to flog their unrelated self-published books to you and then get annoyed when you say you don't want it, or the person who once seriously asked why the Marxist books aren't in the Fiction section but I absolutely love hearing stories about customers and how strange they can be. As most of us know, half the fun of being a bookworm is talking about books, figuring out what other people are reading and why people like the books they do. Confessions of a Bookseller is just as brilliant as The Diary of a Bookseller. Definitely recommend!

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Profile Books in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit, when I first started reading this book I was skeptical. The format means that it is literally told through diary entries which I wasn't aware of, and this took a little getting used to. Even the most interesting person in the world will have dull bits in their diary, and these haven't really been edited out. It is also a sequel which again, I wasn't aware of before reading. There hasn't been a ton of effort put in to make it accessible to people who haven't read the first one so, while a lot of it you can deduce, there were quite a few mentions of people or things which I had no idea who or what they were. This was a bit jarring and it meant I almost DNFed this book immediately.

Having said that, I am very happy I persisted with it. There's a weird sort of comfort in reading this book and it turned out to be a unique and enjoyable experience. Something about the repetitiveness of the entries paired with the topic of running a second-hand bookshop makes for a very easy read. There were parts where I felt the author was being a little mean-spirited but, having worked as a bookseller myself, I could understand a lot of his points. I think this might have benefited from being told in themed chapters with chosen anecdotes but then, that would be a very different book.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the source material and for people who aren't looking for something too informative or brief. If you want an insight into running a small secondhand bookshop or are just interested in reading about someone's daily life, then this is the book for you.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

This book would have been better titled as “The Daily Sales Log of a Bookseller.” It does have some amusing sections and a bit of interesting info on various authors/books. Overall, though, it was much drier than expected. The biggest point that the author made was how little money is in bookshops, plus how critical online sales are. 

Although the book didn’t really work for me, I am looking forward to checking out the TV show based on it. That format will almost certainly take these daily sales figures and customer interactions and turn them into something much more entertaining.

DNF-sorry. I couldn't get away with the tone of the writing, which is a shame because I thought I'd love this. Just not my cup of tea.

Good book. Great read. Throughly enjoyed this book, it is the second book by Shaun Bythell I have read. 
Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book

The owner of a bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, gives us their take on the everyday life of a bookseller. Through the form of a journal, the author presents us with funny, and sometimes peculiar, things that happen in the everyday life of a bookseller.

I wanted to love this book very much. Unfortunately, the narration didn't aid towards that wish. The journal entries were filled with long, uninteresting descriptions, which covered for the best part of the whole book, leaving little room for the actually enjoyable stories.

An incredibly fun read of what it's really like to be a bookseller.  Shaun has this wonderful wit that makes his comments laugh out loud funny, Can't  recommend this book enough. Read it and meet Shaun and the wonderful characters who visit his store in Wigtown

I received a digital galley of this book from the publisher via Netgalley though it doesn't influence my review and all thoughts are my own.

This is Shaun's second book about being the owner of a secondhand bookstore in Scotland including mention of some fascinating books I'd like to check out, interesting bookish tendencies that I could relate to and the variety of people encountered working with the public.

I loved getting to read about various beautiful areas of Scotland, the liberal amounts of humor throughout the book and a bit of insight into just how much work goes into being the owner of a business as well as helping others when possible.

It was so much fun getting a taste of the annual Book Festival held in late September through Shaun's writing as well as the people he calls friends who come to visit during that time.

If you enjoy reading about life as a bookstore owner, the sometimes odd things customers say as well as a glimpse into life in Galloway, Scotland then you'll enjoy this book. I know I have and look forward to reading more by him some day!

The Confessions of a Bookseller is the day by day activities of a bookseller  - Mr Bythell's bookshop is in Wigtown rural Scotland. Despite being annoyed by a number of his customers, Shaun Bythell is popular within his community and has a yearly round of dinners and fishing/hiking expeditions which he touches on lightly. 
The rhythm of the bookshop, with regular acquisitions and sales in person and online, is addictive. Shaun's pleasure in reading comes across well. Quite dry, and if you read his first book you will find this is familiar ground.

This book is an absolute delight, so much so I slowed down my usual super fast reading and read it leisurely.  I had chosen it simply because it was about books, having not read the first book, so had no preconceived ideas.  

This warm, witty, book is the diary of every day goings on in the largest bookshop in Scotland, nestled in the picturesque town of Wigtown.  The shop is blessed with a seemingly never ending supply of eccentric customers, and superbly quirky staff, who made me snigger out loud quite a few times, which was a little embarrassing when I was on the bus.

"Do you have a list of your books, or do I just have to stare at them?" - the shop has over a mile of shelving crammed with books!

"At 2 p.m. an elderly man asked the most superb question: ‘Can you answer questions?’ The only two logical responses to that can be ‘Yes’ or complete silence."

Shaun, the owner (he received a card addressed to "Belligerent Bookseller"), writes with an understated acerbic wit that really amused me, and not only shares anecdotes about the customers and employees, but also gives interesting tidbits about books.  

Shaun is not keen on e-readers:

"After work I made a short video in the garden about how to upgrade your Kindle to a Kindle Fire. It involved half a gallon of petrol and a box of matches."

So while I read this eArc on my kindle, I will be buying a copy of this book and the previous one, Diary of a Bookseller, but paper copies, in deference to Shaun.  By the way check out their YouTube channel if you want to see said bonfire, plus some other hilarious videos including their version of Rappers Delight, "Reader's Delight".

They have a blackboard outside the shop and the staff change the message daily "I asked Granny to do the blackboard messages today, which resulted in this rather bizarre message: PLEASE, DON’T EAT THE BOOKS. (WE LOVE THE COVERS)".  Granny is their Italian intern, and a wonderfully lovable character who provides more than her fair share of hilarity.

If you love books and are looking for a light hearted, entertaining read, in my opinion you could do no better than grab a copy of this book, and give more as gifts!  And get hard copies, not kindle! 

I absolutely loved this book and am considering buying a ticket for Wigtown and hiding somewhere amongst the bookshelves, I want to live in this book shop.  Not sure how my cat, Lincoln, would get on with Captain the cat though….

I will leave you with one final quote:

"As he left the shop I almost thought that I’d seen him smile, but it may have been trapped wind."

I received an eArc from the publisher via Netgalley, but this review is entirely unbiased and the words are my own.

I will share social media and retail reviews as I publish them closer to publication date.  Thank you for allowing me to review this fascinating book

Maybe this makes more sense if you read the author's first book?  It would certainly help if the earlier work gives the reader a feel for the town and all the people passing in and out of the bookshop.  I didn't finish it, be I read a large enough portion to see that nothing is happening and we aren't going anywhere.  There are some slightly funny observations about selling books, but that's about it for highlights.  Family and community members come into the shop, but the author only reports their doings; there's no dialogue, so we don't hear them, and we don't get very good pictures of what they're like as people.  Everyone is pretty interchangeable.  

It is a diary, the every-day goings-on, but without any depth.  It might be useful to people in a few hundred years, trying to recreate what daily life might have looked like in 2015, but it's pretty flat right now.

A diary (not a confession). By a second-hand bookseller. About his shop. In a village. In Scotland.
Cast of hundreds, detailing who came in when and left when: “Tom and Willeke appeared at about 9.15 and tidied up the kitchen. Alicia came down about ten minutes later, and Eliot followed shortly after that. Tom and Willeke left at about 10.30, Eliot at 11.15.” I’m certain I did not need to know that detail.
Whining about customers being weird or tight-fisted, whining about the big bad amazon moloch, whining about software problems, whining about his mother coming in for a chat, whining about employees being consistently late, whining about the weather. Not exactly riveting stuff. Personally, I would not wish to frequent a shop where I will be scrutinised, rudely nick-named, judged on book choice, given attitude and listed as yet another pesky customer. Yes, customers can be dim/rude, but it’s a case of “suck it up, buttercup” - they are potential contributors to your livelihood and thus entitled to a modicum of respect and courtesy. If customers really irritate you so much, why not switch to a format exclusively warehouse/online? I guess if you are a bookseller or aspiring to become one (bad idea), this book would probably entertain you, but neither content nor attitude appealed to me.

For those who daydream about owning a secondhand bookshop, Shaun Bythell has the antidote. Or the anecdote... 

Confessions of a Bookseller chronicles the daily workings of a secondhand bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland. It’s an account full of the daily humdrum, wry observation, and quiet moments with William Boyd and Martin Amis.

Each month is preceded by a quote from The Intimate Thoughts of John Baxter, Bookseller by Augustus Muir - a fictional account of the book trade which springboards Bythell into brief essays on bookish topics such as bookplates, fair pricing, libraries, customer stereotypes, and bookshop strategies to remain afloat against online shopping.

To bookworms it sounds idyllic: being surrounded by books, all that satisfactory shelving, excursions to buy books from bereaved relatives - but the back-breaking work has a toll and sends Bythell to a physiotherapist. And we haven’t even mentioned the customers yet.

The dark side of bookshop life is the relentlessly rude behaviour of the public. In they come - customers and browsers - tramping rain and soil, demanding discounts, belittling discounts offered, asking impossible questions, huffing and puffing, lingering at the counter talking talking talking. Have we as a nation lost our manners?

Throughout the diary, Bythell notes the books he reads - among them: William Boyd’s The New Confessions, Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain, and Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita.

Confessions of a Bookseller is a straightforward, often humorous diary giving insight into secondhand bookshop life. It’s one for booksellers, book lovers, anyone in shop retail, and the residents of Wigtown. For those who loved his first book -The Diary of a Bookseller - this is more of the same and Nicky is back.

I received a free review copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

If you enjoyed the first in this series ("Diary of a Bookseller"), then you will enjoy this one, as it is more of the same. I enjoyed both: I liked Shaun and his weary tolerance of badly behaved customers and disobedient staff. There are also sections about the local area and about the business of bookselling, which are very interesting. I found there was a little repetition (although it helps to be reminded who people we encountered months ago are, occasionally they were reintroduced after a day or so) and the cast became a little overwhelming towards the end, especially during the festival, but these are minor quibbles.

I hope he goes on writing these.

Confessions of a bookseller is every bit as good as the wonderful Diary of a Bookseller. This is a funny and honest account of the life of a bookseller and I find myself nodding in agreement or laughing aloud with the customer interactions described.

If ever a book could persuade you to leave your present hectic life, and escape to a countryside town where you could bury yourself in the local life, have an income in the form of a bookshop and be so very comfortable, this is it.

Shaun has a bookshop catering for a very wide, eclectic audience. The requests are wide ranging and very often accompanied by bizarre statements. Shaun is also easily put upon and is easy going from offering coffee free to the free wifi to the facilities. He seems to have utmost patience with adults and children who rummage, involve him in inane conversation and finally end up buying nothing.

In the form of a daily diary, this book was a delight to read. I carried my kindle with me to appointments in order that I could sneak in a few pages as this was one of those unputdownable books.

Loved it from the word go. I understand it is to be made into a TV series. Wonderful.

A very good book, engrossing and entertaining.
It made me laugh and it helped to understand how is working in a bookstore.
I loved the style of writing, the humour and the stories.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

At the beginning I enjoyed this one - especially once I got used to the format.  It's written as a diary which each entry starting with the date and a listing of orders placed and orders found.  I liked the day to day updates with the details of what went on in the shop - at first.  After awhile, however, it started to lose some charm and drifted over to monotonous.  While I did get a picture of what day is like at The Bookshop and think it will most likely make an excellent TV show after about 100 pages I found myself losing interest.  



This is a nice book to have around to read a few pages at a time but this isn't a book that I want to pick up and read from cover to cover.  If you can get a copy from the library great but I wouldn't go out and buy it.

A wonderful account of a year in the life of a bookseller, running the oldest bookshop in Scotland. Filled with colourful characters, (Sandy, the tattooed pagan; Bum bag Dave and Mole Man amongst them) together with Captain the cat 'already nudging the borderline of morbid obesity and the size of a small child'. Shaun Bythell is sardonic, sarcastic and misanthropic, wonderfully compelling and a hero to all those who have a true love for books. The line that made me laugh out loud was his description of one customer 'a very elderly man, walking using two sticks to help him get about, bought a copy of a book called 'Advanced Sex and Explicit Positions of Explosive Lovemaking'. Confessions of a Bookseller was a joy to read and long may independent bookshops continue.

As a bibliophile and future librarian I was immediately drawn to this book. I’m also aware of the town where this bookshop is and am hoping to work/stay a stint at The Open Book which is owned by Shaun’s parents. I enjoyed learning about Shaun’s bookshop and his daily life as a bookseller. I did think that daily entries felt a little monotonous, and I’m not sure that format worked for me. I preferred the parts of his story that included more personal interactions like the lead-up to the book festival. Shaun would hate that I read his book on my Kindle.