A lively cultural history from a charmingly idiosyncratic bookseller.
Martin Latham has been a bookseller for thirty-five years. He has a PhD in Indian history, and taught at Hertfordshire University before turning to bookselling. He is proud to be responsible for the biggest petty-cash claim in Waterstones' history, when he paid for the excavation of a Roman bath-house floor under his bookshop. Martin's other books include Kent's Strangest Tales and Londonopolis.
The Bookseller's Tale is a joy. I read the first chapters in a
single binge-read, and each chapter instantly became my favourite
... Individually, the paragraphs are threads of the very best
trivia: collectively, they become a cultural history of the book.
Memoir-flecked, magpie-minded, relentlessly engaging ... I loved
this gnarly old bookshop in nifty book form.
*Twitter*
Martin Latham, who has sold [books] for more than 30 years, has
done the tradition proud. His exploration of the history of books,
and why we love them so much, is packed with touching stories and
fascinating facts ... Underpinning the whole narrative is that
simple pleasure, the love of a good book.
*Daily Mail*
Latham thinks bookshops should have an "Aladdin's cave feeling" and
the same is true of this book, which combines
anecdotes about his career (guest author Spike Milligan was a
liability) with a cultural history of reading, printing,
bookselling, libraries and anything bookish you care to think of
(there's even a digression on the 5,500 different species of
booklice). If ferreting through bookshops is your idea of heaven,
you'll get the same pleasure from this treasure trove of a
book.
*Sunday Express*
I loved this book, and I don't think I've read a book which is more
crammed full of fantastic stories, interesting ideas, great quotes,
great insights. It's not just on every page, it's in every
paragraph.
*Simon Mayo, Scala Radio*
Garrulous, wide-ranging and humane ... The Bookseller's Tale has
the teetering, ramshackle feeling of a reliably eclectic
bookstore.
*Times Literary Supplement*
Roaming across topics from legendary libraries to humble book
pedlars, as well as historically overlooked literary forms like
chapbooks and comfort reads, its appeal is vivid enough that even
the electronic edition seems to exude the tantalising aroma of a
used bookstore.
*The Observer*
A history and celebration of all things bookish ... This is a book
that celebrates stories, scribbling in margins and the collecting,
cherishing and even kissing of books - something done with
surprising frequency, apparently ... ... Those who enjoy browsing
in paper-scented bookshops, run by eccentric old storytellers with
yarns to spare, will come away with something unexpected,
reassuring and possibly worth a kiss.
*The Guardian*
For sheer enthusiasm, it will be hard to beat Martin Latham,
bookseller at Waterstones Canterbury for three decades. His The
Bookseller's Tale is a collection of tales about famous writers and
bibliophiles, but above all a love letter to pages between
covers.
*The Guardian*
A celebration of reading and readers and all things bookish.
Entertaining, erudite, eccentric - The Bookseller's Tale is a
delight.
*Alison Light, author of COMMON PEOPLE: THE HISTORY OF AN ENGLISH
FAMILY*
Aside from being a history of books, this is a love letter, larded
with charming anecdotes. There's AS Byatt buying a Terry Pratchett
Discworld novel and admitting she can't be seen doing it in London,
and another customer having a heart attack in his shop and saying
it would be "a great place to go".
*Evening Standard*
A shared love of books creates a fellowship that transcends race,
culture, gender, age and class. This book, written with wit,
elegance and understanding, by one who knows what he is talking
about, celebrates the abiding pleasure, nourishment and comradeship
that books provide.
*Salley Vickers, author of THE LIBRARIAN*
Delightful ... a love letter to publishing.
*The Times*
God, this book is wonderful.
*Lucy Mangan*
Martin Latham is a man of many parts ... This is jam packed full of
interesting facts, amusing anecdotes, and witty quotes. It is to be
devoured or dipped into, depending on one's taste and time and
rewards both types of readers. A treat for book lovers.
*BookBrunch*
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