Bookseller's diaries

People of books are those who never buy books, perhaps this is one of the surprises included in the book "Diary of a Book Seller," in which Sean Bethel revealed secrets from the world of this industry, details about the mood of book customers and what they read, and secrets about a world that does not seem as rosy as expected. In 400 pages, Bethel talks about book enthusiasts, promoting books with innovative ideas, and expert advice from a book seller who spent nearly two decades in this profession. All this in a book described by the British newspaper "Daily Mail" as "Intimate, charming, and so funny that you laugh out loud," published in 17 languages, and rights sold for a TV series. A paradise of the bookish. The author of the book in one of its chapters cites a quote by British novelist and journalist George Orwell, defining and paving the way for this elegant profession, when he wrote in his well-known book "The Memoirs of a Library" his imaginations about secondhand bookshops, saying, "When I worked in a secondhand bookstore, I imagine it easily — if I had not worked in a library before — as a kind of paradise where kindly old men move among the books, browsing endlessly, among volumes bound in calfskin, what struck me most was the rarity of truly passionate book lovers." Sean Bethel takes us to the same truth, as he owns a bookstore called "The Bookshop" in Wigtown, Scotland, a secondhand bookstore with shelves supported by about 100,000 books, receiving about 100 books daily from people on all topics. He is one of the active individuals behind the Wigtown Book Festival, bought this bookstore and has been managing it since 2001, with increasing passion and a grumpy mood inspired by dealing with rude customers, as he says he was friendly before buying the bookstore, but now he is annoyed by the constant barrage of foolish questions from customers, the financial hardship of his business, endless arguments with staff, and the stubborn, tired customers who always want to haggle over a few pence. Ironically, Bethel saw this bookstore when he was 18, and he bet with a friend that it would close within a year, before he met the owner while searching for a job, who suggested he buy it because he was about to retire, and that was the beginning of the story. The deceased. One of the situations that booksellers constantly face is the veiled threat from online customers, such as the customer who says, "I haven't received my book yet, please resolve this issue for me, I haven't written a review of your service yet," and they call them dishonest customers, known for using these tricks to recover part or all of their expenses when they receive what they ordered. Bethel points out in his book that many book deals start with a complete stranger calling on the phone, saying that a close relative recently died and tasked them with disposing of their books. It is understood that they are still grieving, and it is almost impossible not to be drawn into their grief, even in the simplest ways, by looking through the books of the deceased, which gives an idea of what kind of person they were, their interests, and somewhat their personality. These books are usually sold at a cheap price; he bought about 300 books on aviation for only 750 pounds, leaving some books behind as a memory for the deceased's family. The random book club. Sean Bethel was clever; he founded the Random Book Club when his business at the bookstore declined. For 95 pounds a year, subscribers receive a book every month, with no right to comment on the type of book they receive. The choice is entirely their responsibility, and they are responsible for placing it in the box where the books are sent. Since the subscribers are clearly avid readers, he makes sure to choose books that anyone who loves reading for pleasure will enjoy, something that doesn't require much understanding, a mix of fiction and non-fiction, with a slight preference for the latter, some poetry, all in good condition, many of which are hundreds of years old. He has about 150 members in his club. Bethel usually tends to avoid giving any reading advice, preferring naively to dig into his own literary mine. He sees books as a commodity he trades in, commenting that the huge number of books circulating around the world fascinates him in a different way. When he goes to buy books, the feeling of anticipation creates a kind of excitement, as if casting a net into the sea, never knowing what you will find. He believes that booksellers and antique dealers share that same feeling of excitement. In a satirical and engaging style, Bethel exposes the pretenders to book love, saying they are always a nuisance to the bookstore, and he describes them as "really passionate about books — a rare breed despite many claiming so. They are easy to recognize; they mostly present themselves as book people, wearing shirts or carrying bags with slogans that clearly confirm their love for books. But the surest way to identify them is that they never buy books." The death of the book industry? In ancient times, bookstore owners used to print "catalog" publications from their stock for customers on mailing lists, with detailed descriptions of the titles they sold, such as decorated edges, font type, publication information, and more. Today, no one in this trade still sends out these catalogs, especially with the advent of the internet. This is not the first transitional period in the history of publishing and selling books. Bethel reminds us of his "colleague" bookseller, who was the first in history to predict the death of the book industry. Jane Campbell in her book "The Library" notes that after Gutenberg's invention of movable type printing and the emergence of mass-produced books, the famous Florentine bookseller Spasano da Piestichi was furious that books were no longer handwritten, so he closed his shop in a fit of rage, becoming the first person in history to predict the death of the book industry. Perhaps these predictions and others will be discussed at the second publishers' conference, which will be held in the capital coinciding with the Riyadh International Book Fair 2022. Over two days, "next Tuesday and Wednesday," experts and publishing sector leaders will explore the future prospects of this industry, including the mechanisms of selling and trading intellectual property rights, distribution, marketing, printing, translation, publishing, and ways to benefit from advanced technologies to sustain the book industry.