Shaun Blythell’s first memoir was a joyous read and I’m happy to report that this second volume continues to delight. I appreciate that there’s a certain irony in getting an advance copy electronically - Blythell’s hatred of eBooks and particular online booksellers is a common theme through both books - but I’ll certainly keep my eye out for a second hand copy in due course...

Some have complained that this is an uneventful read but there’s a gentle, winning charm as you follow the fortunes of The Book Shop over the course of another year. Old characters are there to greet you once again, and the addition of a young Italian “granny” brings fresh stories and humour. Reading Blythell is a bit like sitting in an old armchair in winter in front of a roaring log fire with a glass of single malt Talisker to hand. OK, you could complain that volume two is little different to volume one... but who says no to another glass of Talisker, given the chance?

My thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for this review copy.

This book is a series of journal (diary) entries from a used bookstore owner in Scotland. Most of the entries in the first 80% of the book were boring. My life is more interesting than this guy's. The only thing that kept me actively reading was the entries that were interesting were wonderful. By the time the entries became solidly enjoyable in the last 20% I was so tired of reading them I almost didn't care anymore. His grandmother was more interesting, and she should have been included more.

Another problem was a lot of entries included back stories of books about hunting and fishing and old British men's clubs; which really cuts down on the readership interest for this book. Another minus was when scenes could have been descriptive, like when he was refurbishing his bothy, there was no visual. I wanted to know what was being done to repair and freshen it up. I don't even think he said what color paint was used. I hope it wasn't as drab as most of this book was

O.M.G. 
This book is so, so, so, boring. 
I quit at 20%. I kept falling asleep. 

What sounded like a great read [the life of a bookseller in a small town in Scotland - HOW FUN!!], ended up being not. It basically is written in journal form and is full of the weather, the leaking ceiling, the employee who chooses not to  listen to her boss, how many online order come in each day [and how many he can fill], and how much is in the till at the end of the day.  Are you asleep yet? No worries, so was I.  What a huge disappointment. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Profile Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Confessions of a Bookseller is basically the early in the life of a bookstore owner in a small town in Scotland.  This is a firsthand account from the owner of an actual store.  I had not realized that this was a follow-up to another book.  Now having read the first book had no impact on reading this book.

I loved the premise which is why I requested an advanced copy.  It was not quite what I expected.  Yes, it truly was the "day in the life" as each day is like an entry in a diary with the number of customers, online orders, and comments/activities that happened that day.  It became very repetitious though there were moments of funny encounters with the various customers and people in the owner's life.

An irony was that the owner wanted the demise of the Kindle as I was reading this on a Kindle.  Plus, he was doing what looked like a good business via the Internet and the Amazon market.

This was a quick read but does not compelling to me to look for the first book nor recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Diary of a Used Book Store Dealer.
It took me a while to get into the cadence of this book, then it went quickly.  There is an abundance of discussing books and authors, politics and how digital books have changed the industry.  There is some comedy about the questions customers ask and interactions with the sellers of books. As with most re-sale outlets, customers want to buy as cheaply as possible and sell at Antique Roadshow prices. There are many instances where I needed to google a phrase to understand the humor that a native of the UK would understand. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Written in diary form, this story catalogs the year-in-the-life of Shaun, a book shop proprietor.  As a business owner myself (sadly, not in books) I found it very true to my own life of interactions with customers and employees alike.

A charming account of life as a small town used book seller in a world of the internet and Amazon.  It reads like a love letter to books.

Be warned: your "to be read" list will grow with the referencing and describing of so many books!

I was given a copy of this book by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the first book and couldn't wait to read the sequel.

More fun and outrageous encounters in this bookstore, also some insightful and thought provoking remarks.
Would love to visit this bookstore if I ever made the trip to Scotland.
Highly recommended for all book lovers.

Thanks Netgalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Confessions of a Bookseller is bascially like Diary of a Bookseller: Same author, same format, same humour, and it's what it says on the tin: The diary of a bookseller. 

Shaun is based in Wigtown, Scotland's booktown, and runs a second hand bookstore which also has an online presence. Each entry starts with the amount of books that were ordered online and the amount of books from the orders he was able to find, and conclude with number of customers and amount of money made.

In between is an assortment of strange customers, shenanigans his employees came up with, information on the weather, thoughts on his current reads, his to do list and updates for the bookish things in his town he's involved in, like the festival at the end of the summer.

I'd say it's probably a hit or miss: Either you like it a lot or you're bored. If you liked part one, you'll like part two because it's more of the same. 
Books like this confirm my suspicion that I would not do well if I had to deal with customers, but make me curious nevertheless about running a bookstore and I hope that some day I'll be able to book myself in the Airbnb in Wigtown, the Open Book, which lets you exactly do that for up to two weeks.

In Shaun's recollections, we meet people we already know, like Nicky who wears a black ski-suit in the wintertime, Sandy the tattooed walkingstick maker, Anna, Shaun's parents. Captain, the bookstore cat.

If you liked part one, if you played with the thought of selling books, like episodes with weird people, this one is for you.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Shaun Bythell takes us through a year of his life in 2015 as a second hand bookseller, a financially precarious business, in the small Scottish town of Wigtown. This is a biographical read guaranteed to delight all of us book obsessives and those curious about the nature of the book trade in all its glories and vagaries, narrated by a man who describes himself as both cantankerous and a curmudgeon. It is in the format of a diary, where every entry gives us information on the amount of online orders and orders found, the day's weather, the total taken at the till and the number of customers who come into the shop. Nicky, a woman in her late forties, is the sole remaining employee left with her foodie Fridays and there are belly dancing classes that take place in the store. The bookshop has over a mile of shelving, real log fires, a dream destination for all book lovers.

Bythell gives us a real sense of Wigtown's community, that includes many from from various parts of Europe and the American Anna, Shaun's partner for five years, who has slotted into the area with ease, although their relationship breaks up, thanks to what he refers as his fear of commitment, as he continues to miss her. We follow him as he makes trips to buy book collections and meets their owners, books sent to FBA (fulfilled by Amazon), because there is insufficient space in the shop, despite his hatred of Amazon and Kindles. He finds scraps of paper in old books that turn out to be worth a lot more valuable than he could ever have expected. His love of books is unmistakable, the pleasure he gets from handling books, and from reading. His descriptions and accounts of customers are a joy to read about, some real oddballs abound, such as those who cannot differentiate between a bookshop and a library, in search of a book they have practically no information about, and many other embarrassing scenarios.

This is a fun and entertaining read, often hilarious, that provides a real sense of place and community, of the memorable Shaun, his life and his bookshop. It is full of eccentric and quirky characters, not to mention the unforgettable Granny, home invasions and book festivals. I can imagine it appealing to many readers, many of whom probably dream of running a bookstore, with its eye opening account of just how difficult it is to survive in this business sector. Highly recommended! Many thanks to Profile Books for an ARC.

I did not realize this book was a sequel so now I’m looking forward to reading the previous book! I loved getting a glimpse into someone else’s brain and especially a fellow book lover. I enjoyed Shaun’s random daily thoughts and feelings. His attitude towards customers is sometimes pessimistic but certainly realistic and funny. I wanted to curl up by the fire in the bookstore with a cup of tea or glass of wine!
Thank you to Shaun Bythell, NetGalley, and Profile Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book which I received from the publisher in return for an honest and unedited review. It's similar to his Diary of a Bookseller but it's nice to have more. 

My full review on my blog 

https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2019/08/18/book-review-shaun-bythell-confessions-of-a-bookseller-serpentstail-netgalley/

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

I had actually never heard of Bythell before reading this, but I am now waiting for his first book from the library. This book is honest and funny and still makes you think, which is more than most book could even hope to do. As someone who worked in a bookstore for years, I recognised many of these customers and have heard many of these comments. Particularly funny to hear the owner (rather than an employee who can't say anything) respond to what people will say! And what I found really touching is that his bookstore is a hub for the community. All that is left now is to visit Wigtown for myself!

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.