I adored Shaun Bythell's first two books. If you can read, then clearly you'll be able to tell that this third book is not in the same vein as the other two. Neither is it as good, but it's still entertaining, and should make a fun stocking filler come Christmas!

Bythell's trademark scathing-ness (he would probably be scathing of those two words being put together) is on show all through the book, though it is also tempered with sweet moments of human kindness. There's even a few references to Covid-19, as the book was finished during lockdown.

Of course, the humour is the most important element - and there is enough here to keep the reader well-satisfied (with even a few laugh out loud moments). So, if like me you are craving the next in the Diary of a Bookseller series, this is a handy stopgap.

(I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback)

Shaun Bythell’s ‘Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops’ gives a glimpse into a life of a frustrated bookseller (who still loves his job) and the customers of the bookshop he encounters daily.

Selling books from the bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, selling second-hand books Shaun Bythell gives as an honest and at moments funny account of those who visit his bookshops – often the visitors who don’t necessarily have a purchase of a book in mind. While on the overall, I liked the premise of ‘Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops’, I wasn’t completely convinced by the execution. Shaun Bythell’s style is witty and funny, and you can clearly see his experience and frustrations coming up in the book. But I felt that there was something missing in ‘Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops’. At moments, the frustrations of a bookseller have been too much and felt too much like complaining than a quirky and witty insight into a bookseller life and the customer he encounters. However, I really enjoyed the fragments where the author recalled his personal stories and anecdotes as well as those recalled from his staff. They have illustrated the kinds of people you meet in the bookshop far better than the mere description, and I wished that there were more of them in the book.

I haven’t read previously any book by Shaun Bythell – though his ‘The Diary of a Bookseller’ has recently joined my bookshelf – so I was curious about this one. Overall, I enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to reading earlier books by the author.

Having read The Diary Of A Bookseller last year and loved it, I was excited to see another book by Shaun Bythell. I also wondered which kind of person in a bookshop I was!
If this doesn't make you want to go straight out book shopping I don't know what will.
Fun, enjoyable and you can read it in one sitting. It might be helpful to read the first book, just so you can get a feel for Shaun's personality, that will help you enjoy this one slightly more.
Written with a humour and warmth that radiates off the page.
This would make a great gift to any book lover.
I hope there will be another book from Shaun Bythell.

Gently Amusing Tales Of The Booklover....
The third book from behind the till at The Bookshop, Wigtown, an idyllic sounding book lovers oasis, and follows ‘The Diary of a Bookseller’ and ‘Confessions of a Bookseller’. More of the same but really none the worse for that. Gently amusing tales of the book loving customers, from the eccentric to the bizarre to the perfect, as experienced by the author. An entertaining and witty diversion and, perhaps, proof that running a bookshop may not be the breeze that we may have first thought.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Serpent's Tail/ Profile Books and Shaun Bythell for providing me with an ARC of Seven Kinds of People You Find In Bookshops in exchange for an honest review.

Shaun Bythell has created a witty and delightful insight into the world of the bookseller and more specifically, the types of customers that you encounter in a bookshop. Whilst reading, I found myself picturing the exact people that Bythell has so masterfully described in each genus, and within each subspecies of each genus - from the Peritus (Expert) to the Homo qui desidet (loiterer).

Bythell’s newest book is a perfect easy-read for those in need of some witty humour and those with a passion for all things books, bookstores and the book trade. It is quirky, relatable and undoubtedly entertaining. I found myself constantly wondering which genus I belonged to and secretly hoping that I am the rare, and elusive, Client perfectus (Perfect Customer).

If you are a fan of witty humour and the book trade, I would highly recommend this title!

Dear Book Lover,

If you are not familiar with Shaun Bythell and the goings-on at The Bookshop in Wigtown, where on earth have you been hiding yourself??

You've some catching-up to do, for this is Shaun's third book.

A warning before you start on this one: do NOT attempt to read this if you have a full bladder or while drinking a hot beverage. It won't end well.....

Vastly entertaining, hysterically funny. As ever, an utter joy :)

This was a quick and easy read. One for in the car, keeping me company whilst waiting for the kids to come out of various after school clubs. I was so worried I would find my "type" in the list of people found in bookshops. I don't think I was there. Maybe I was. I am a bit worried now. The next time I go into a bookshop, I am definitely taking this book as a guide and doing a bit of people watching

I truly found this hilarious. So much so that I spent hours reading excerpts to my husband. We laughed as we tried to categorise our friends into the different types.

Loved the story about the morningside lady asking to see the manager. I wish I could have been there!

Great little book you'll want to share.

Great fun, this snippet into the life of a frustrated bookseller was clearly going to be a third diary, much like the previous two, but generously our author was allowed to fill out this stop in his contract with something else, what with coronasniffles and one thing and another. Here, he berates everyone he doesn't want through his doors – which, if you believe his shtick, is everyone who fails to buy his entire stock, property, every ounce of earthly belongings and his soul. The self-aggrandizing expert, who is the only specialist in acorn callouses, or something, and finds it galling (pun unintentional) that there's not a shelf devoted to books about them; the couple in search of free parking for their offspring while they naff off elsewhere; the person who spent too many evenings ogling Gillian Anderson and her sceptical, motherly ways – oi, stop talking about me dammit. We get callbacks to his staff of old which are almost quaint if we've got to know their ways from volumes prior to this; we get the usual sense of the shop as a place that almost acts as repository for the unwanted, selling things almost by accident; and we see the usual acerbic approach from its head – which is actually quite understandable, and relatable, and entertaining. It's definitely on the slight side – an audio version could be two hours, max – but it is worth a browse when you want something light-hearted and suitably bookish.