Confesiunile unui librar

Shaun Bythell writes about his days running a bookshop. It is Scotland’s largest shop for second-hand books. He takes trips to buy books and talks with customers. He uses their questions and remarks in his diary. He also works with an odd group of fellow booksellers. He acts as boss, shop worker, archivist and collector. As an archivist, he keeps records.

This memoir takes diary form, for readers who love books. The shop fills a Georgian house with thousands of books. A plump cat shares the space. Bythell also writes about the land around him in Scotland. Geese cross the marsh, and he fishes in a winding river. He blends sharp wit with quiet thoughts and sad moments. He shows the strains of a trade in decline.

Bythell has owned The Bookshop in Wigtown since 2001. He set up its Facebook page in 2010. There, he shared barbed remarks about his dealings with customers. His first book, Jurnalul unui librar, came out in 2018. It challenged the rosy view of life selling old books. This diary adds to his account of that working life.