Review: Remainders of the Day: A Bookshop Diary
Remainders of the Day is the third diary chronicling Bythell’s experiences as a used books bookshop owner and his involvement in the Wigtown, Scotland community. Bythell’s recordings are from 2016 although his epilogue is post-pandemic.
Remainders begins in February. Bythell begins each month with a paragraph or two from R. M. Williamson’s 1904 book Bits from an Old Bookshop. He then offers a page or two of reflection on his selection. These reflections are always interesting. Well, they are interesting to bibliophiles.
Remainders has all the caustic wit, sharp insights, and plain talk about the impact of the Internet and the behemoth Amazon.com of his previous two diaries. And, like his previous diaries, he includes the number of online orders, books found for online orders, customers per day and the amount of money earned from book sales. We get a sense of the flow, or not, of his business.
Dealings with the public brings an assortment of encounters from the pleasant to the downright contrary. I lost count of how many times, people demanded less for a book than the price listed or who expected big prices from books that will not sell in his or anyone else’s shop. People who do not wish to comply with pricing are often loud, abrasive, and rude in their non-complaisance. Bythell’s reporting of these, and many other conversations, are often hilarious. Bythell does not suffer the indignant meekly. He offers his own comments which, of course, lead to further irritation on the part of the customer. The customer is not “always right” in Bythell’s shop. And, the customer often has the pleasure of knowing such. These reports are often hilarious to read. Many times, I laughed out loud.
Staff is also a source of comment. In previous volumes Nicky’s antics and comments provide much grist for the mill. This time around, “grandma” and Meredith provide amusing conversation and commentary.
As any homeowner or business owner knows, communication streams and devices, facilities and facility management add to the challenges of ownership. In 2016, Bythell had significant trouble with the boiler that provided water and heat to his bookshop and rooms upstairs. In the dead of winter, the boiler broke, and it took over three weeks for it to be properly fixed. The credit card reader acted up. And, he had the ongoing issues of being suspended from Abebooks and Amazon and then trying to communicate with the behemoth Amazon.com.
In the course of his reportage, we learn that Bythell’s parents, especially his mother, is undergoing health issues, and there is a lot of coming and going of friends and family. The annual autumn book festival in Wigtown is an intense time for commerce but also planning and setup. At the end of this book, more than the previous books, I was amazed at the rich, textured, community life that Bythell enjoys.
I hope he continues to write and share with us his adventures.
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