Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell review – a brilliant sequel

A heart-warming love letter to books and bookshops, by an amenable fellow turned antisocial old misanthrope“I was in here two years ago and you had a book by Roger Penrose. Do you know what happened to it?” Shaun Bythell – owner of the Book Shop in Wigtown, Galloway – has 100,000 books in stock, sells 20,000 a year, and has handled nearly 1m second-hand books since he bought the shop in 2001. Unsurprisingly, the Roger Penrose volume had not stuck in his mind.Before he entered the book trade at the tender age of 31, he was “amenable and friendly”. Now, after many years of fielding bizarre questions, constant haggling over prices (why is it “acceptable to try to screw the profit out of struggling small businesses” but not supermarkets?), and struggling to survive despite Amazon’s “icy grip” on bookselling, he has been forced to embrace the stereotype of the “impatient, intolerant, antisocial proprietor”. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-08-24 10:58:38 UTC ]

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When my memoir came out, I got a brutal shock. Vulnerable writers need protection | Terri White

Nothing prepared me for revisiting the most painful times of my life – then being criticised for it. We need industry-wide guidelines to helpI called her Terri The World Gets. She was the outward-facing me, the woman I’d spent decades curating. And Terri The World Gets was about to be rocketed... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-02-08 08:00:10 UTC ]
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German Book Trade Peace Prize: ‘Winter Aid for Ukraine’

As nominations open for the 2023 German Book Trade Peace Prize, the program joins in the 'Winter Aid Ukraine' campaign. The post German Book Trade Peace Prize: ‘Winter Aid for Ukraine’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-01-17 05:19:13 UTC ]
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Joyce Meskis, Bookseller Who Defended Readers’ Rights, Dies at 80

Her Denver bookstore, the Tattered Cover, was among the country’s best, and she often found herself in the midst of First Amendment fights. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-01-07 20:10:30 UTC ]
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Egypt’s IPA Prix Voltaire Laureate Khaled Lotfy Out of Prison

The Prix Voltaire-winning Cairo publisher and bookseller Khaled Lotfy was released from prison, the IPA reports, on November 19. The post Egypt’s IPA Prix Voltaire Laureate Khaled Lotfy Out of Prison appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-01-03 05:05:52 UTC ]
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Big Bad Wolf’s Big Plans

As the cofounder of BookXcess and Big Bad Wolf, Andrew Yap is the most powerful bookseller you likely don’t know. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Denver Bookseller Joyce Meskis Dies, Age 80

Joyce Meskis, the long-time owner of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Col., has died. She was 80 years old. Meskis was known as an innovative indie bookseller and a champion of free speech. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Denver Bookseller Joyce Meskis Dies, Age 80

Joyce Meskis, the long-time owner of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, has died. She was 80 years old. Meskis was known as an innovative indie bookseller and a champion of free speech. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Europe’s largest Middle Eastern bookseller to close

Al Saqi Books in London, which was established in 1978, blames closure on rise in prices of Arabic-language books and ‘detrimental’ effect of BrexitEurope’s largest specialist bookseller for Middle Eastern books, based in London, has been forced to close because of the hike in prices of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-12-05 15:40:52 UTC ]
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Dagny Corcoran, Bookseller and Fixture of the L.A. Art Scene, Dies at 77

Her store, Art Catalogues, specialized in books for and about museum and gallery exhibitions and became a gathering place for artists and bibliophiles. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-11-20 21:18:47 UTC ]
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Inspirational passion or paid-for promotion: can BookTok be taken on face value?

TikTok’s book reviewing community is here to stay, having even received publishing awards for innovation, but issues of authenticity and safety aboundBookTok, the nickname for TikTok videos in which books are discussed, analysed, cried about and turned into “aesthetic” moodboards, began as a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-11-15 17:10:25 UTC ]
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Drusilla Park Jones, founder of a former antique children’s book shop in Baltimore, dies

Drusilla Jones, who owned an antique children’s book shop in Baltimore, died of end stage Alzheimer’s disease and diabetic complications Oct. 20 at Charter Senior Living. The Lutherville resident was 82. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2022-11-04 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers Thrilled to Get Back Together

In-person regional bookseller conferences came roaring back to life this fall with six high-energy shows. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Alex George Named 2022 Midwest Bookseller of the Year

Author Alex George, the owner of Skylark Bookshop in Columbia, Mo., was named Midwest Bookseller of the Year by the Midwest Indie Booksellers Association. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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MPIBA 2022: A Rocky Mountain & Plains Bookseller Celebration in Denver

The Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association's annual gathering in Denver, renowned for being a high energy show, was an especially exuberant affair this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Shelve This In Memoir: Confessions of a Teenage Bookseller

I’d begged my way into this job in the hopes that it might lead me closer to a literary life. And it would. Eventually. The post Shelve This In Memoir: Confessions of a Teenage Bookseller appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2022-09-05 10:00:28 UTC ]
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Publishers on the Future of the Regionals

Large houses and small presses discuss the need for face-to-face fall bookseller gatherings. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Fall Bookseller Gatherings Preview

This season’s regional shows mark the first time that many booksellers have been able to get together in person since the start of the pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Programming Highlights Fall 2022

This year’s bookseller gatherings offer plenty of opportunities for meeting authors and illustrators and sharing bookselling tips. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers Find Ways to Connect

In the absence of in-person regional trade shows and conferences the past few years, two Midwestern booksellers who craved connection began organizing in-person bookseller gatherings on their own. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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7 Books That Epitomize Bookseller Noir

Noir has long been obsessed with books—books as objects, as evidence, as repositories of the past, and occasionally as glimpses into other worlds of possibility. It’s no wonder, then, that booksellers often turn up in fiction, and especially in mystery. There’s something intoxicating about the... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-07-29 11:00:00 UTC ]
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