In this brilliant sequel to The Diary of a Bookseller, Bythell plays the misanthrope to perfection. For fans of his first book there are many familiar faces.

This second volume, Confessions of a Bookseller, is more of the same, but in between the comic tales of eccentric staff and maddening customers there is a more reflective, melancholy undertone to the book.

... excels at the same kind of acid comedy that made Diary such a guilty treat. Those who can’t peruse the shelves of their local second-hand bookstore during this lockdown season will find Mr. Bythell’s diaries a sharp reminder of what they’re missing. But it’s probably better to shop at a bookstore than to own one, or so readers gather from Mr. Bythell’s wryly observed accounts of his tribulations in the trade.

There are very few confessions in Confessions of a Bookseller, Shaun Bythell’s second memoir. He entertains, but he keeps things close to the vest.

... just the right combination of repetition, humor and escape I need in a story right now.