Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops by Shaun Bythell review – virtuosic venting

Pantomime misanthropy is tempered with bursts of sweetness in the secondhand bookseller’s latest dispatches from WigtownThere’s a moment in the first season of the short-lived but influential sitcom Black Books in which an elderly customer appears with a box of attractive old editions of classics to sell to Dylan Moran’s crosspatch bookseller Bernard. Barely looking at them, Bernard offers him £40. But they’re worth more than that, the man says. “I know, I know,” Bernard concedes. “But I don’t want them. I’ll have to price them, then, and put them up on the shelves, and store them, and people will come in and ask about them, and buy them, and read them, and come back and sell them and the whole hideous cycle will just go on and on and on ...” He gives the man £40 to take the books away.Shaun Bythell’s dispatches from the Wigtown Bookshop, which he has run for nearly 20 years, read like a knowing riff on the persona of Bernard Black. He started out grousing about his life, pillorying his eccentric staff and venting about his noisome customers on a Facebook page. Then he did the same in his hit Diary of a Bookseller, continued with Confessions of a Bookseller, and here he is – an actual franchise – with a slim little listicle-titled till-point follow-up for the Christmas market. His inner Bernard Black will be heaving a world-weary sigh. The more he parades his contemptus mundi, the more the world loves him.Much steam is enjoyably vented over customers who whistle... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2020-11-11 09:00:33 UTC ]
News tagged with: #shaun bythell #christmas market #bookseller

Other news stories related to: "Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops by Shaun Bythell review – virtuosic venting"

Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops by Shaun Bythell review – virtuosic venting

Pantomime misanthropy is tempered with bursts of sweetness in the secondhand bookseller’s latest dispatches from WigtownThere’s a moment in the first season of the short-lived but influential sitcom Black Books in which an elderly customer appears with a box of attractive old editions of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-11-11 09:00:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookseller #christmas market #shaun bythell

New Shaun Bythell bookshop title for Profile

Profile Books will publish Shaun Bythell's Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops in November.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-08 23:31:01 UTC ]
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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,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-08-24 10:58:38 UTC ]
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The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell review – memoir

A proprietor’s journey from ‘amenable and friendly’ to ‘intolerant and antisocial’According to George Orwell, “there are always plenty of not quite certifiable lunatics walking the streets and they tend to gravitate towards bookshops”. Bythell’s diary suggests that not much has changed, in this... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘The Bookshop,’ by Evan Friss

“People feel differently about their bookstore than they do about their grocery store or electronics store,” writes Evan Friss, in praise of a retail ritual battered by the internet. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-08-04 09:00:54 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘One of Our Kind,’ by Nicola Yoon

In Nicola Yoon’s first novel for adults, “One of Our Kind,” a woman finds that a lush California suburb is not what it seems. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-06-11 09:01:04 UTC ]
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With Russia at war, fascism has taken hold of its young people, Canadian researcher finds

While his assessment has its detractors, Canadian author and Russia expert Ian Garner believes fascist views now permeate Russia's young people to such a degree that the chances of a lasting peace following the war in Ukraine are remote. ... Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-05-15 08:00:00 UTC ]
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Review: Katie Couric is done pleasing people, as her new memoir proves

The TV news star's memoir, 'Going There,' is fearlessly, wildly entertaining, often emotional and sure to upend the idea that she wants your love. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-10-26 13:00:12 UTC ]
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Bookshops 'vital' for high street regeneration, study finds

​Bookshops are playing a "vital" role in the recovery and regeneration of high streets in towns across the UK and Ireland, early findings from a survey have found. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-13 12:21:31 UTC ]
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A memoir that finds dignity in troubled people and places

Shawna Kay Rodenberg recounts her childhood in a religious sect and in rural Kentucky. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-03 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Where to Find the Best Children’s Book Reviews

There's more great children's books being published than ever before -- this is how to find the best children's book reviews online. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-08-30 10:36:00 UTC ]
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Review: Masterful memoirist Deborah Levy finds an empty nest of her own

Levy's memoir trilogy concludes with "Real Estate," pondering happiness and a new kind of home. Unlike Rachel Cusk, she keeps herself in the picture. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-08-24 15:00:41 UTC ]
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Review: You won't find a romance darker than Susie Yang's 'White Ivy'

Yan's debut novel overturns the tropes of the romance novel in this story about an immigrant's doomed pursuit of marriage and the American dream. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-11-02 15:00:30 UTC ]
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London Review Bookshop's Screen at Home series returns

The London Review Bookshop has partnered with the MUBI streaming service for the broadcast of eight films to be accompanied by fortnightly conversations with writers.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-01 17:23:15 UTC ]
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Forty per cent of western academics overloaded by peer review requests, finds IOP

More than 40% of UK, German and US reviewers feel overloaded by peer review requests, far more than in most other parts of the world, according to a study by IOP Publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-28 09:43:50 UTC ]
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A third of bookshop customers unsure about returning, Nielsen finds

Around 35% of regular bookshop customers are unsure about returning to bricks and mortar premises now lockdown has eased, according to a survey by Nielsen. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-17 09:56:49 UTC ]
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Eat Your Books Review: Search a Recipe Database to Find Out What's for Dinner

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[ Wired | 2020-04-18 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Where to Find the Best Audiobook Reviews Online

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[ Book Riot | 2020-03-23 10:34:10 UTC ]
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In difficult times, a surprise bestseller about kindness is bringing people together

Charlie Mackesy’s “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” began as a beloved Instagram account. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-15 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Concern for children's book market as The Book People fails to find buyer

Trade figures have said the failure of The Book People to find a buyer, leading to 155 redundancies, could have ramifications for the children's book market.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 05:00:29 UTC ]
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