Remainders of the Day: A Bookshop Diary

by Shaun Bythell

Overview

New from the author of Confessions of a Bookseller and Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops, another hilariously grumpy year behind the counter at The Bookshop. Though diaries of daily life, Shaun Bythell has created an endearing and cozy world for booklovers, a warm and welcome memoir of a life in books.

The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland is a book lover’s paradise, with thousands of books across nearly a mile of shelves, a real log fire, and Captain, the portly bookshop cat. You’d think that after twenty years, owner Shaun Bythell would be used to his quirky customers by now. Don’t get him wrong, there are some good ones among the antiquarian porn-hunters, die-hard train book lovers, people who confuse bookshops for libraries, and the toddlers just looking for a nice cozy corner in which to wee. He’s sure there are some good ones. There must be . . .

Filled with the pernickety warmth and humor that has touched readers around the world, stuffed with literary treasures, hidden gems, and incunabula, Remainders of the Day is a warm and welcome memoir of a life in books.

If you’re new to Shaun Bythell’s bestselling series, this is a great place to start. If you’re one of Bythell’s legion of fans, welcome back to The Bookshop.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781567927566
Publisher:	David R. Godine, Publisher
Publication date:	11/29/2022
Pages:	376
Sales rank:	394,476
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Shaun Bythell is the owner of The Bookshop, the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland. He is the author of Confessions of a Bookseller and Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops, both published by Godine. Shaun lives in Wigtown, Scotland.

Editorial Reviews

09/05/2022

Bythell (The Diary of a Bookseller) returns with another rollicking account of running The Bookshop, Scotland’s second-largest used bookstore. Bythell records his interactions with his colorful Wigtown neighbors, presented in short anecdotal entries alongside a running tally of daily sales. There’s his free-spirited upstairs neighbor who teaches an unpopular belly dancing class, temporary employees who have “made a singularly ill-judged decision to become a bookseller, and an even worse choice to seek my counsel on the subject,” and a neighbor’s poodle who constantly relieves itself on Bythell’s azaleas. Then there are the customers, a motley assortment of the best and worst of humanity—some who quibble over a single pound and others who insist on tipping. Bythell’s biting wit combines with an obvious passion for the work, even as he struggles to maintain an online presence, a new necessity for secondhand shops: “I’ve now been suspended from Amazon, ABE and Facebook, all by algorithms.” The time frame is prior to the advent of Covid, yet it’s a reminder of how bookstores remain sacred spaces, as well as the very real labor that goes into maintaining them: “The sun still rises in the east, and sets in the west. The shop is still here.” Bythell’s narration is equal parts preposterous and profound, sure to prove irresistible to fellow bibliophiles. Agent: George Lucas, InkWell Management. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Remainders of the Day and The Bookshop Diary series

“Bythell returns with another rollicking account of running The Bookshop, Scotland’s second-largest used bookstore. Bythell records his interactions with his colorful Wigtown neighbors, presented in short anecdotal entries alongside a running tally of daily sales....The time frame is prior to the advent of Covid, yet it’s a reminder of how bookstores remain sacred spaces, as well as the very real labor that goes into maintaining them: ‘The sun still rises in the east, and sets in the west. The shop is still here.’ Bythell’s narration is equal parts preposterous and profound, sure to prove irresistible to fellow bibliophiles.”
—Publishers Weekly

“As the lure of a good book found in the comforting confines of a cozy bookstore endures, so does the work of the bookseller....What remains along with Bythell’s wit and curmudgeonly demeanor is a continued dedication to the written word. Thankfully, books and booksellers will never fade.”
—Booklist

“[Of the series] Remainders of the Day feels more grounded, happier. Bythell ends the book with the same assurance as the previous two: ‘The shop is still here.’ And that is good news for us all.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A charming look at a small-town bookstore, its owner, and the people he meets....Bythell’s dry humor and skeptical view of humanity make for a very funny take on his business.”
—Library Journal

“Delightful....Bythell could be mistaken for a misanthrope, but he’s a more complicated host than that....he’s curious, observant, and appreciative of individual foibles, quirks, and flaws....set time aside for Remainders of the Day.”
—Foreword Reviews, starred review

“Bythell’s understated wit is at its best in his observations of the many quirky people who find their way into The Bookshop, Scotland’s largest secondhand bookstore...the author’s thoughtful eccentricity makes for entertaining reading. A refreshingly human narrative.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“What comes through strongly is Shaun Bythell’s obvious love of books and affection for those who spend their lives reading them, buying them—or giving him material for his next volume.”
—Guardian

“Among the most irascible and amusing bookseller memoirs I've ever read.”
—Dwight Garner, New York Times

“Shaun Bythell’s wicked pen and keen eye for the absurd recall what comic Ricky Gervais might say if he ran a bookshop.”
—Wall Street Journal

“Something of Bythell’s curmudgeonly charm may be glimpsed in the slogan he scribbles on his shop’s blackboard: ‘Avoid social interaction: always carry a book.’ ”
—Washington Post

“Warm, witty and laugh-out-loud funny...”
—Daily Mail

“Bythell is a skillful writer . . . he creates a full, appealing world populated with colorful characters. The Scottish landscape—geese flying over the salt marsh, the meandering river where he likes to fish—is gorgeous . . . an endearing and thoughtful book.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Equal parts preposterous and profound, sure to prove irresistible to fellow bibliophiles.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Bythell writes with biting humor . . . he is a man on a mission, and a year seen through his eyes convinces the reader that is a mission worthy of undertaking.”
—Chicago Tribune

“An enveloping account from the front lines of an industry in flux.”
—Foreword

“Bythell remains an unwavering correspondent whose daily rambles reminds us of the joy in real bookshops.”
—Fine Books & Collections Magazine

“A bookseller in Wigtown, Scotland, recounts a year in his life as a small-town dealer of secondhand books....Irascibly droll and sometimes elegiac, this is an engaging account of bookstore life from the vanishing front lines of the brick-and-mortar retail industry. Bighearted, sobering, and humane.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Bythell’s witty descriptions of cheap customers, the drudgery and comfort of his daily routines and the consistent weather manages to create a sense of place strong enough to capture my flittery mind for long enough to feel settled-in near his fire.”
—Portland Herald Press

From the Publisher

11/01/2022

Bythell (Confessions of a Bookseller) is the owner of Scotland's largest used bookstore, which has more than 100,000 books in stock. The Bookshop is located in Wigtown, a small town in southwest Scotland that has transformed itself from a declining industrial center to a haven for booklovers. With Bythell's fourth book (after Seven Kinds of People You Meet in Bookshops) about his experiences as a bookstore owner, he shares amusing and wry anecdotes about the ins and outs of running a secondhand bookstore. Written in diary form, this book covers a year, beginning in February 2016. The author takes readers along with him to appraise and buy collections, and he describes his everyday encounters with local characters, eccentric employees, and customers who both buy and sell books. As one of the organizers of the annual Wigtown Book Festival, Bythell reveals the planning that goes into making such an event successful. His dry humor and skeptical view of humanity make for a very funny take on his business. VERDICT This is a charming look at a small-town bookstore, its owner, and the people he meets.—Rebecca Mugridge

Library Journal

2022-10-05
A bookstore owner and sometime writer muses on buying books from and selling them to a colorful cast of readers.

As he recounts, Bythell fell into used and antiquarian bookselling in Wigtown, Scotland, as a 30-year-old ex–law student. Like his two previous books, Diary of a Bookseller and Confessions of a Bookseller, this narrative—the third in an unofficial series derived from Bythell’s journals—contains a host of droll stories taken from a year of his professional life. The author’s days follow predictable patterns revolving around behind-the-counter sales to at times unusual patrons, order fulfillment for the Random Book Club, or acquisition hunts for tomes by obscure writers or on arcane—but surprisingly bestselling—topics like Freemasonry and heraldry. As in his other books, Bythell rails against online retail sites like Amazon, which are governed by sometimes faulty algorithms that have occasionally suspended his accounts without apparent rhyme or reason. The author’s understated wit is at its best in his observations of the many quirky people who find their way into The Bookshop, Scotland’s largest secondhand bookstore. Some are new to Bythell’s world—e.g., Petra, an Austrian woman who held weekly belly-dancing classes just above the store. Others are returning characters from the author’s previous books, including “Sandy the tattooed pagan,” who “rarely leaves empty-handed,” Granny, the Italian-born bookshop clerk with a fondness for greeting Bythell with the middle finger; and Captain, the author’s scheming, dog-taunting cat. For all the charm inherent in the anecdotes that comprise this book, however, the overall narrative lacks some of the threads that held together his earlier books, such as his relationship with the free-wheeling American Anna. When she does appear, Bythell speaks of her with curious detachment, barely referencing their involvement or its aftermath. This is a minor flaw, however, and the author’s thoughtful eccentricity makes for entertaining reading.

A refreshingly human narrative.

Kirkus Reviews

Shaun Bythell’s wicked pen and keen eye for the absurd recall what comic Ricky Gervais might say if he ran a bookshop.”

Wall Street Journal