The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop - Lewis Buzbee

The first few pages of Lewis Buzbee's ode to the bookshop caught my interest immediately, appealing to all those of us who love to wile away the hours holed up in our favourite bookshops. Using his own personal experience, Buzbee explores our love of the written word, the books that hold them and the ancient bookselling trade that brings them into our lives.

Buzbee has had an interesting career, beginning as a bookseller, becoming a sales rep (sadly the advent of the internet have made that line of work almost defunct). He discusses the love of books, with anecdotes from his career, interwoven with interesting historical details and fascinating facts about the publishing industry in the United States. One chapter that particularly stood out for me was concerning the famous Shakespeare & Co bookshop in Paris, that changed the face of bookselling, and was ultimately responsible for the publication of James Joyce's epic novel Ulysses.

I loved my few years of working as a bookseller, and this fascinating and endearing book reminded me of all the amusing and satisfying days I had, the kindred spirits I inevitably worked with, and left me with a warm nostalgia I have not felt in years. The dream is still there...to open my little independent bookshop one day, even if it only remains a dream. I still spend hours at a time wandering through the shelves of many a bookshop, and in all honestly, I find nowhere else as peaceful when there are still people present.

A really enjoyable read for anyone who loves books or bookshops...so thats most people that are reading this blog!

Other blog reviews:
A Striped Armchair
things mean a lot
You Can Never Have Too Many Books