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Oliver Darkshire: Once upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller (2023, Norton & Company Limited, W. W.) 5 stars

Welcome to Sotheran’s, one of the oldest bookshops in the world, with its weird and …

Review of 'Once upon a Tome' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This was a bit left field for me. I had been following Sotheran's Twitter account for a while. Not because of an interest in rare, antique books but because it is pretty funny and random. When it popped up that the guy who does Twitter for them had also written a memoir I pre-ordered it on a whim. I am very glad I did, this was a delight.
This is a collection of funny vignette's that roughly follow the arc of the author's development from a scruffy apprentice to a, well, scruffy rare bookseller. It is funny, droll and told with a very light touch. It kind of jumps about in time but that works because of the somewhat timeless nature of a bookshop itself (this one has been going since the 1700's).
It is a very British book, a lot of of the humour comes from that Britishness. This is not to be seen as a detraction but more a description of the feel of the book.
Sometimes very good things come from unexpected places. This was one of them.
Can definitely recommend.