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Summary of Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops 

4 . 748 reviews

Short summary

In two decades of running The Bookshop, Wigtown, Shaun Bythell has met almost every kind of customer there is. From his wealth of experience, he shares his classification of the book-loving public. The author of “Seven Types of People you Find in Bookshops,” Shaun Bythell, bought The Bookshop in Wigtown on November 1, 2001 and has been running it ever since with an increasing passion for the business, matched only by a sense of despair for its future, and an ill-humor inspired by almost two decades of dealing with confused customers and surly staff. His internationally-bestselling books, “The Diary of a Bookseller” and “Confessions of a Bookseller,” have been translated into over twenty languages, including Russian, Korean, and French. In this book, he distills the essence of his experience into a warm, witty, and quirky taxonomy of the book-loving public. He adopts a Linnaean system of taxonomy in describing the types of people you find in the bookshop. “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” ~ George R.R. Martin

Table of content

  • Summary of Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops
  • About the author
  • What is Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops about?
  • Who should read Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops
  • Topics in Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops
first key point

The Antiquarian book trade

Listen the first key point
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Shaun Bythell owns the biggest second-hand bookshop in Scotland. He has an increasing passion for book-selling business matched by an expanding despair for its future. In his everyday interaction with the various types of customers that frequent his bookshop right around twenty years, he is able to categorize them utilizing a Linnaean system of taxonomy. He recognizes seven classes of the bookshop customers, giving them Latin names: Peritus (the expert), Familia juvenis (Young family), Homo qui maleficas amat (Occultist), Senex Cum Barba (Bearded pensioner), Viator non tactitus (The Not-So-Silent Traveler) and Parentum historiae studiosus (Family Historian) and Homo qui desidet (Loiterer).
Within the seven genuses of customers found in a bookshop are different interesting subcategories or species.
Asides from the customers found in a book shop, Bythell added a bonus classification: the Staff, which included their different types. He also described the perfect customer that every bookseller wants and adores.

Keep reading this summary to meet the sly Antiquarian, the modest and retiring Erotica Browser, and gormless yet unusually amiable shop assistant Student Hugo — alongside the much-adored bookseller favorites like the enthusiastic Sci-Fi Fan, the ravenous Railway Collector, and the rarely seen Perfect Customer.
second key point

Genus: Peritus — the self-appointed expert

This is a kind of customer who is a self-appointed expert. He has no audience or a group of readers eager to hear what he or she has to say. The expert prefers to use long or complex words where short and simple language can be used. This is for the purpose of creating intellectual superiority.
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third key point

Genus: Familia Juvenis — The young family

fourth key point

Genus: Homo Qui maleficas amat (Occultist)

fifth key point

Genus: Homo Qui Desidet (Loiterer)

sixth key point

Genus: Seneca cum Barba (Bearded prisoner)

seventh key point

Genus: Viator non tactitus (The Not-So-Silent Traveler)

eighth key point

Genus: Parentin Historian studiosus (Family Historian)

ninth key point

Genus: Operarii (Staff)

tenth key point

Cliens Perfectus (Perfect customer)

eleventh key point

Conclusion

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Do you find yourself staring at your computer for long minutes, unaware of time slipping by? Do you enter a room and suddenly cannot remember why you stepped in the first place? Is it a herculean task for you to sit through ten pages of a book without reaching for your phone? If yes, your focus needs some work and fast.

Actually, yours is not a unique situation. Many adults like you have issues concentrating on a given task. However, in this fast-paced world of ours, you can’t afford to be not focused at all times. Thankfully, this article comes to your rescue! With the tips and tricks from Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey, you will get in the top percent of folks who have mastered the art of concentration.