S1 Ep. 1: Shaun Bythell, The Bookshop (Wigtown, Scotland)

<p>This is the first episode of <em><strong>Got Books?</strong></em><em>,</em><em><strong> </strong></em>a podcast for those who love getting lost in (and among) books. For those who appreciate the comfort of a bookshop, the smell of a new book and the story of an old one. It's a podcast with those making this possible: the booksellers. We will be interviewing bookshop owners all around the world and for our very episode we travelled to Scotland.&nbsp;</p> <p>In the south-west parts of Scotland lies Wigtown, a small town where 1,000 people live and 10,000 visit every year. Wigtown is Scotland’s National Booktown, a title won in 1999 that has not only turned it into a tourist attraction, but gave a complete makeover to the local economy. Down Main Street, in a millennium-old Georgian building, behind a forest green door guarded by two spiralling book columns you will find <a href="https://www.the-bookshop.com/">The Bookshop</a>, Scotland’s largest second-hand book shop. Nine rooms, a mile of shelving, 100,000 books. Straight out of a fairy tale, the Bookshop has hidden nooks and crannies, a staircase door, a creaky old floor showing off scars from when it used to be a grocery store back in the 50’s and of course, a resident cat.</p> <p>Much of its charm has been crafted or preserved by its current owner and our guest today, <strong>Shaun Bythell</strong>. Shaun has been the owner of The Bookshop since 2001 and has since published three delectable books of wry observations from his perspective as a bookseller, which have only increased the notoriety of his bookshop: The Diary of a Bookseller, Confessions of a Bookseller and Seven Kinds of People You Find in a Bookshop. We couldn’t have wished for a more fitting first guest to our podcast. Without further ado, Shaun Bythell.</p> <p>Find us on social media @gotbookspodcast</p> <p>Books recommended by Shaun</p> <p><a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/books/a-confederacy-of-dunces/9780241951590?aid=5275">A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole</a></p> <p><a href="ht