Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller

I read Shaun Bythell's The Diary of a Bookseller last year, and found a lot to identify with, being that I work with books as well (as a lender in a library, not a seller). I found his irreverent humor at the crazy situations he ended up in personally identifiable, in that I also have to keep a straight face and a smile whilst fielding personally (or listening to my staff field) questions of all stripes from patrons. One can be ready and willing to help in any manner while also internally wondering how we got to this point, I think.

I found more of that irreverent humor here in this book as well, which follows Oliver as an apprentice bookseller at Sotheran's in London from his first steps into the store, through his career there, and his evolution out the other side at his realization that at some point he was no longer an apprentice. Throughout his time at Sotheran's, he tells us (with some exaggeration rooted in truth) about the bookish atmosphere that at any moment might turn on its inhabitants and cave in on itself, the people who come through their doors looking to buy or looking to look or looking to sing a song or looking to....smell, I guess, the myriad ways people try and get booksellers to buy their moldy books found in a basement/shed/attic somewhere, and many other amusing topics besides. I think my favorite topic was the recurrence of the cryptids throughout the book, leaving me with more questions than answers (as I'm sure the author thinks the same thing).

All in all a fun, short book to keep me just barely on track of my Goodreads goal for the year. I really do love reading these books about people in the book trade.

3.8

4.5/5 stars

This is the type of nonfiction that I love to read. Not only was it informative, but it also provided insight on what it's like to be a rare bookseller. I feel that in order to like this book, you need to love books, want to know about booksellers, have a specific sense of humor, & be okay when it reads like a collection of anecdotes.

It was a fun read, at least to me. I would recommend this to a couple of people but it would not be the type of book that comes to mind when recommending books.

A funny – occasionally laugh-out-loud – and sarcastic book about working in a London rare book shop. Not the best of books in this niche genre (Shaun Bythell's works had me in stitches much more than this one), but still an enjoyable read.

En fornøyelig liten hyldest til antikvariske bokhandler og menneskene som jobber der. Boken har den type omslag som hadde fått meg til å legge vekk boken hvis jeg skulle valgt den selv, men heldigvis har man brødre som ikke bryr seg om sånne ting når de gir julegaver.
Jeg har fått større interesse for antikvariske bøker etter dette, og hvis du vil styrke din bibliofili, er det bare å lese i vei. Koselig og lettbeint om en sær interesse.