During his twenty years behind the counter of a bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, Sean Bythell not only immersed himself in the world of second-hand books and became an active participant in the cultural life of the city and the country as a whole, but also encountered a wide variety of customers, from the benevolent to the obnoxious. He's now amassed enough impressions for a third book—following the international bestsellers 'The Diary of a Bookseller' and 'The Notebook of a Bookseller'—these elegant sketches.

Jokeily assuming the role of the great Linnaeus, Bythell classifies the appearance and 'habits' of the regulars of his famous bookshop, naturally not forgetting to direct the spotlight of irony at himself. Golden grains of life's credo glimmer in the hourglass of his notes. Our observant bookseller, a connoisseur of good books himself, knows how to find inspiration in the daily grind!

'This isn't about us—a handful of unfortunate souls down on their luck who take up book sales to earn a pittance. This is about our customers... I miss every single one of them—from the most charming and quirky to the truly rude and uncouth.' (Sean Bythell)