Bythell owns scotlands largest secondhand bookshop in the selfproclaimed book town of wigtown in galloway, southwest scotland. If you love books and feel like leaving your literary comfort zone, then the random book club is your new best friend treat yourself to a years subscription to the. Today wigtown is known as scotlands book town and is thus compared to hayonwye in wales. Chocolate and book monthly subscription for book lovers. I fixed on galloway as the best place to go wrote john buchan.
While their book collection is small and comprised mostly of. Random books given to random people during wigtown festival. The diary of a bookseller by shaun bythell bookconscious. After the credit crunch of 2008 and the inexorable rise of amazon, bookselling has become a pretty difficult business financially. Mar 28, 20 the chocolate lovers club chocolate lovers club 1 written by the super talented carole matthews was one excellent read, which one minute had me laughing out loud while the next the tears would be sitting in my eyes as carole matthews has a gift of creating characters which really get under your skin in so many different ways. Set in wigtown, scotlands national book town, hillcrest house guest house offers free wifi and free onsite parking. The author is the owner of a secondhand bookshop called the book shop, in the rural town of wigtown, scotland.
Every bookclubber and reading group member has been there. It lies east of stranraer and south of newton stewart. Unique airbnb is a book lovers dream come true cbs news. Id first heard about it in some sort of media report about wigtown, scotland and its annual book festival. While many book lovers may dream about spending all day every day working in a rambling georgian townhouse stuffed with over 100,000 books, bythells diaries from 2014 to early 2015 dispel a lot of the romanticised myths about running a bookshop, particularly when it comes to the realities of competing against a certain online retailer. Nov 06, 20 random books given to random people during wigtown festival. The open book is a bookshop and above a selfcatering flat in the heart of wigtown, scotlands national book town. From the tortured imaginations of the book shop s staff is born the genius idea of the random book club.
It could be anything from a rare first edition to a history of underwear. In any case, the book is a true pageturner, sweet, curious and, occasionally, funny. The people are very welcoming, the property is spotlessly clean, breakfast and dinner were well cooked and delicious. Sep 24, 2016 the glaisnock is wigtown s threeforone, offering books, bites, and board all in one place. Random house readers circle has been recommending the best titles for readers and book clubs since 1997. However, in contrast to hayonwye, wigtown s status as a book town was planned, in order to regenerate a very depressed town the main employers, the creamery and distillery, having closed in the 1990s, although the distillery bladnoch has now reopened and is. Join the club, sit back and enjoy a random hand picked book. Home of the random book club the book shop, wigtown. I loved the diary of a bookseller so much that at the end of 2018 i bought myself a membership in the random book club. Most days people bring books to the shop at a rate of about 100 a day on all subjects, but we also. Its an awesome idea by shaun bythell of the bookshop fame and the diary of a bookseller fame, too. An attractive indication of this can be seen in what is probably the towns largest building, the county buildings and town hall, built in 1863 and dominating the east end of the square.
The shop the oldest bookshop in wigtown, scotlands national booktown and our range of stock includes all subjects. Bladnoch is a small village barely a mile from wigtown, but was the base for two of the largest employers in the area. The bustle of book related traffic and visitors has brought a wider renaissance to wigtown in recent years. Founded in 1925, random house is the proud publishing house of the worlds most acclaimed storytellers, thought leaders, and innovators. When you sell a man a book you dont sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue. The random book club is the tortured brainchild and is run by the tortured brainchildren of the book shop, wigtown scotlands largest secondhand book.
The bookshop is the largest secondhand bookshop in scotland, with over a mile of shelving supporting roughly 100,000 books. It is well known today as scotlands national book town with a high concentration of secondhand book. Aug 29, 2019 bythell owns scotlands largest secondhand bookshop in the selfproclaimed book town of wigtown in galloway, southwest scotland. Random books given to random people during wigtown book festival. Chocolate and book is a monthly book box containing a book from a genre of your choice, handselected chocolate, and a hot drink. The club is usually bimonthly, with members meeting in wigtown and participating online.
For a small town, wigtown has a huge past which has shaped the future of scotland. Its a book club that sends you books every quarter without you knowing what books youll receive, but youll still end up. Book club love 12 picks your reading group will thank you for a list from readers circle. Mar 30, 20 join the random book club and receive one book a month for a year. Wigtown is a book town with several bookshops and a large festival. Sometimes we get the book choice so right, our members want to share their excitement with us.
The bookshop, wigtown scotlands largest secondhand. At the wigtown emporium, we sell an intriguing and always changing variety of vintage and retro curiosities, including unusual gifts, jewelry, lights, cameras and clocks, art, and of course, books. For the bibliophiles, avid readers, kindred book lovers, adventure seekers, we are the first ever bookshop holiday experience. Wigtown was once the chief town of galloway with considerable strategic and commercial importance. Youll have no idea what it will be until it arrives. With so much peace and quiet, it almost makes sense that the tiny. Come visit and explore the bookshops, ancient history, vibrant culture, distilleries, pristine beaches and more. Random book club acts of kindness number nine youtube. From the tortured imaginations of the book shops staff is born the genius idea of the random book club.
We gave away random books to random people during wigtown book festival. I definitely recommend if you have the opportunity to stay here then you should do it. Its a book club that sends you books every quarter without you knowing what books youll receive, but youll still end up loving them. It is a great example of a historic scottish town that has reinvented and regenerated itself in the face of an economic downturn. Bythell augments his sales by a subscriptionbased random book club and bits and pieces picked up at auction. Book clubs whether you are a current book club member or are looking to start a book club of your own, this is the place to go for great book recommendations your club is sure to enjoy. Its great that this superb collection of carefully selected titles now magically arrives in my mailbox without further ado. If you love books, support independent bookshops, and feel like leaving your literary comfort zone, then the random book club is your new best friend treat yourself to a years subscription to the rbc for just. When it became scotlands national book town 15 years ago, it was a place suffering from the decline of traditional industries.
Planes and trains stop hours shy of the remote village on scotlands seaswept west coast. The bookshop is at the heart of this with the shop also providing a gathering space for visiting authors and a festival bed that can be booked in advance. Oct 05, 20 the wigtown book festival concludes tomorrow but, for those of us not fortunate enough to live within a stones throw of bythells shop, the random book club is one way of taking the culture. Join and you could receive the best surprise of your life. I set up the random book club as a mail order service where subscribers receive a book a month but they have no control over what they getits up to me. The diary of a bookseller by shaun bythell all good book club. When you sell a man a book you dont sell just twelve ounces of paper and ink and glue you sell him a whole new life.
Sep 20, 2017 shaun bythell runs the bookshop, wigtown, scotlands largest secondhand bookshop. I guess for the lover of books and observer of people, you cannot really write a better book. Its a yearlong diary bythell kept to share his life as owner of a large used bookstore in a small rural town. But throughout the book there are gibes followed by rants against amazon for driving down the price of secondhand books, even charging 41p commission on the, then. Wigtown is scotlands national book town, we have bookshops on just about every corner. Shaun bythells the diary of a bookseller is laugh out loud funny. Randoms is a middle grade age book that my son encouraged me to read. Sep 29, 2019 my daughter gave me the diary of a bookseller by shawn bythell for my birthday. The book was written before the great war when society, farming, even the landscape of.
The chocolate lovers club chocolate lovers club 1 written by the super talented carole matthews was one excellent read, which one minute had me laughing out loud while the next the tears would be sitting in my eyes as carole matthews has a gift of creating characters which really get under your skin in so many different ways. Today most visitors are drawn by its many book shops and annual book festival. Oct 14, 2019 while many book lovers may dream about spending all day every day working in a rambling georgian townhouse stuffed with over 100,000 books, bythells diaries from 2014 to early 2015 dispel a lot of the romanticised myths about running a bookshop, particularly when it comes to the realities of competing against a certain online retailer. How i made a dream come true life and style the guardian. Join the club, sit back and enjoy a random hand picked book from the shelves of scotlands largest. Bythell augments his sales by a subscriptionbased random book club and bits and pieces picked up at. Jan 12, 20 arriving in wigtowns charming main square, i found the town was everything i had dreamed and more colourful stone houses, bookshops and vistas of mountains, sea and marshland. The story features zeke reynolds who is the united states member representative of a team of four adolescents from earth selected to candidate to be part of the confederation of united planets.
Random book club, 17 north main street, wigtown 2020. Andrew wilson, a book club member hopes these notes about sunset song get you thinking. The bookshop, wigtown scotlands largest secondhand book shop. The random book club are you sitting uncomfortably. There is a wide range of topics and some real gems in terms of rarity and quality. Shaun bythell runs the bookshop, wigtown, scotlands largest secondhand bookshop.
Of the twelve books, roughly half will be fiction, half nonfiction. First look book club weve partnered with to deliver to your inbox free email excerpts of our favorite justpublished books in all categoriesfrom mysteries to historical fiction to memoirs, and much more. Random book club 17 north main street, dg8 9hl wigtown rated 4. The random book club is the tortured brainchild and is run by the tortured brainchildren of the book shop, wigtown scotlands largest secondhand book shop. The glaisnock is wigtowns threeforone, offering books, bites, and board all in one place. If you love books and feel like leaving your literary comfort zone, then the random book club is your new best friend treat yourself to a years subscription to the rbc for just. Join the club, sit back and enjoy a random hand picked book from the shelves of scotlands largest secondhand. A charming and quirky bookshop which extends into every conceivable book and cranny of the ground floor and staircase of its wigtown home.
400 342 403 595 775 138 589 815 778 245 27 965 1255 1482 21 163 1227 43 403 224 744 1328 1042 524 323 920 74 638 1400 577 553 26 1230 363 193 1144 500 69 264 649 615 579 894 517 214 306