At first we think that she thinks she’s the ‘big I AM’. A new book shop is opening down the street but she has no fears as her shop is far superior, has been there 25 years and she’s an excellent, confident and successful business owner. Or so we are told. amusing and often cantankerous stories [that] bibliophiles will delight in, and occasionally wince at…”

Confessions of a Bookseller’ showed me all was well with the ‘Confessions of a Bookseller’ showed me all was well with the

Third, the plot was kind of boring, nothing different from all other books with a similar concept. Didn't have any stand out moments. The book is an epistolary novel and the title, really really made me want to read this. The entire book is written in form of letter. We all know, we love books that are related to bibliophile or Bookstores and we are all in. Bythell is the same sardonic self as he was in his last book, and I guess some people are put off by him, but I think if he was a Mr. Rogers (from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood) the book would be borrrrring. Some of his observations, and some of the stuff that comes out his customer’s mouths, are quite interesting and /or funny. He typically gives us the weather for each day and I like that because I like rainy days to curl up with a book and there certainly were enough of those days where his bookshop was located. He made many a run to different homes to assess books the person at the home wanted to sell, and that was interesting enough.This just has me feeling all sorts of tingly and good throughout. Its one of those books you could curl up in front of a fire and let the hours slide by being completely engrossed in Shaun's book shop and everything his days entail. The approach is in diary-form from 1st January to 31 December 2015 where the year starts with the shop, which is located in the Scottish town of Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway, closed for New Year's Day. Overall, Fawn is a unique character that will stay with me for a while, but then I'm rather fond of eccentric older female characters. Four stars and not five because I found the ending a little too convenient and a little too happily-ever-after. Not that I begrudge Fawn a little lightness and optimism for the future, it just didn't fully ring true to me.

Confessions of a Curious Bookseller - Goodreads Confessions of a Curious Bookseller - Goodreads

Of course she was an unreliable narrator, but that is soon made clear by her ranting and lies. I admit it was not hilarious but certainly amusing. Next comes her dynamic with Richard, a fellow librarian and her ex boyfriend. She has been very mean to her and has been practically tagging him along with a lie about his father's death. As noted above - similar content to the previous book, but as a diary - a few year of happenings! Just don't go in expecting there to be many new revelations! He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.We will all miss a high street containing proudly independent bookshops when they are forced to shut their doors After lunch I took down the Christmas decorations from the window displays. The left-hand window was still full of little puddles in places. On the way to the post office, I spotted Eric, the Wigtown Buddhist, in his orange robes—a welcome splash of colour on an otherwise grey day. I’m not sure when he moved here, but Wigtown has absorbed him with the amiable indifference it shows to everyone, no matter how incongruous they may appear in a small rural Scottish town.

Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell | Waterstones

There are some beautiful lines on family, lost childhood, priorities, and empathy. Made me wonder, we only know parts of the exchanges, and still form a solid image of the characters, develop love and hatred for them, how opinionated and judging we are! That is exactly what I loved about the story too, a very good read, a very critical one too on the protagonist, that doesn't show an all positive or all negative person as the head. Thank you to Goodreads Giveaway and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with a copy of this novel. humorous, philosophical, personal, written by someone shaking his head at the eccentricities of his fellow human beings… an easy and entertaining read.” Our main protagonist is Fawn Birchill, who is the owner of the a local bookstore. She is struggling to keep her father's legacy of this bookstore running smoothly.

A heart-warming love letter to books and bookshops, by an amenable fellow turned antisocial old misanthrope . . . brilliant . . .” 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. Secondly, Fawn as a character I just didn't like either, I found her quite stuffy, boring, hard to connect with and just unkind to everyone around her. I was looking forward to a fun, light-hearted read and since the title and concept of this book intrigued me, I dove into the rivalry between two bookshops. From New York Times bestselling author Joanne DeMaio comes an enchanting novel about love, family, and the delicate power of snowflakes.

Confessions of a Bookseller - Books from Scotland Confessions of a Bookseller - Books from Scotland

Shaun drives to distant houses to buy private libraries, meditates on the nature of independent bookstores ( “There really does seem to be a serendipity about bookshops, not just with finding books you never knew existed, or that you’ve been searching for, but with people too.”), and, of course, finds books for himself because he’s a reader, too. I appreciated Shaun's further insights, as well as meeting a new character, Granny. As usual, I've forgotten the specific details of the previous book, but here I wasn't particularly fond of Anna. From what I gather she can be clingy (needy), which might explain his fear of commitment with her. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed byIt is endlessly entertaining and genuinely laugh out loud in places. Customers, those oh so wanted people, come in many shapes and sizes and we learn of their foibles, manners and interests. There are descriptions of regular customers, as well as many who drive the author to despair. Something I do appreciate about any book is if it continues to evolve after I have completed it. This one did. Did anyone else wonder about her poor old tenant? Did she really exist? Was she actually alive (creepy thought of Psycho in my head)? Notice that she never opened that box of old Valentine candy. Was George really traveling with her? No one saw him but Fawn.