The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History Paperback – September 30, 2008

Bibliophiles, gather! Lovers of books about books, this one is for you! Lewis Buzzbee writes a book-centric memoir detailing his lifelong adoration of the printed word and some of his best memories working many years as a bookseller. Along the way, he also shares book-related historical tidbits regarding famous writers and bookshops around the world. For instance, there is mention of how books in the Middle Ages were often made with covers made of large slabs of wood, sometimes covered in leather. Pre-printing press books were expensive to create, so they were intentionally made heavy to deter thieves!So, have your notepads ready as you read through this one, as you're likely to get some titles added to that ever-growing tbr of yours!Buzbee's love of books started at the age of 15, with what became regular visits to his local B. Dalton bookstore and many pre-Scholastic Book Fair days spent with the Scholastic Weekly Reader. This was a magazine full of puzzles, articles, and of course, order forms for books. Instead of the book carts coming to the school, students could order and have the books sent to their homes. To me, this sounded less exciting than my memories of book fair days at school, but it's what he had at the time, I guess. During this portion, Buzbee also touches upon the "real reader" discussion (ie. what makes a person considered "well-read") and his teenage embarrassment at his mother's love of Gothic romances and his father's preference for men's magazines full of adventure stories & travel articles. Buzbee himself describes finding a love for classics early on, notably the works of John Steinbeck, with all the descriptions of oak and manzanita forests.Love bookshop history? There's one great story in here regarding the famous Shakespeare & Company and how they came to publish James Joyce's doorstop of a novel, Ulysses. James Joyce estimated that roughly 1/3 of the book was written on typset proofs. And shop owner Sylvia Beach must have had the patience of a saint! She spent nearly a year just getting the manuscript right for the printing process, THEN Joyce insists that the covers had to be the EXACT colors of the Greek flag -- white font on blue paper, to suit the "Homeric nature of the novel". All this WHILE she was in the process of moving the shop's location! The shop -- in name only -- is still in operation today. Beach's store officially closed after WW2, but George Whitman (illegitimate grandson of poet Walt Whitman), with a collection of 1,000+ books, revived the location, originally calling it Le Mistral but later brought back the name Shakespeare & Co in honor of Beach. For those who love doing bookshop tours (crawls? lol) Buzbee includes a list of his personal favorite shops around the world (and explains why they're his favorites).While this is the journey of one specific booklover, as well as a bit of a history of bookshops and bookmaking, this book, at times, speaks as an ode to book SELLING more than anything... not surprisingly, really, what with the author being a retired bookseller! For anyone curious, he breaks down the math behind those "closeout books" sales we readers love. Turns out, the author gets ZERO royalties from remainder-marked books. Buzbee writes of the fun of being able to get just the right book to the right person at the perfect time in that person's life...sometimes through orchestrated opportunity, other times via pure serendipity. He also argues that there should be a mandatory two years of retail service duty assigned to everyone and I can't say that I disagree! As he says, "sales for sturdy shoes would skyrocket!"Oh, and the stories about shrink wrap pranks brought back memories for me!Either way, it makes for fun reading when he shares which books proved to have the most impact on him throughout the course of his life. With the book's closing pages, Buzbee shares his stance on the whole topic of online vs brick & mortar bookshops / indy sellers vs superstores / ebooks vs print books.. and where he sees things going in the future.Altogether, this book is worthy of at least one flip-through from any and all book lovers because Buzbee covers -- even if just a bit -- nearly every aspect of book culture you could want information on. Break this one out on a lazy Sunday or a rainy day in and curl up for some bibliophile bonding time!

I think you've probably got to be a book-lover to love this book. But if you are a book-lover, and I am, then this book is like comfort food - soothing and nourishing.The author gives us a memoir of his bookish life starting with the Weekly Reader and ordering books through it. He shares the authors he first fell in love with (Steinbeck first) and then his work as a clerk in a bookstore and then a sales rep for a publisher. Along the way we are treated to a rather good history of books starting with ancient times up to e-books. And if your gut cramps up every time you read about the million scrolls in the ancient library of Alexandria being burned to heat bath-houses, you will probably appreciate the historic bon mots within.But the funnest parts concerned bookstores - both stores he worked in and stores he freqented as a rep and as a customer. The people that frequent bookstores do so for as many reasons as there are stars in the sky, but the common denominator is the love of books and what they can do for you. And I can't quite describe the yearning to visit some of these famous stores and spend an afternoon browsing them. I found myself, while reading this book, day-dreaming of bookstores I have known and of what the perfect bookstore would be. (And it would probably be different than yours.) One of my favorite treats is to go to a favorite or new or - well, really any bookstore would do - bookstore and browse among new and used books and pick out a few to take home with me. Maybe argue politics with a college-student age employee. Or ask the owner where he keeps the Louis L'amour and Rush Limbaugh books, or if his politics are conservative, and you can always tell by the books and how they are displayed, ask where the Ginsburg, Gay studies or Feminist theory books are kept.Ironically, here I am on Amazon describing the joys of brick-and-mortar stores. And I can't help but feel slightly guilty. Anyway, I enjoyed the pacing and content of this book and recommend it to book-lovers. 4 stars.

I bought The Yellow-Lighed Bookshop after coming across the reviews on Amazon. I love books - reading them, the physical pleasure of the paper, the size and weight, the cover, the binding all combine give me imense pleasure! It's good to find someone else who feels the same and who has written such a lovely book. You must read it!

Everyone I know who's read this loves it. Well written and accessible. Highly recommend it.

A wonderful narrative of book selling person

A nice, easy read for anyone who loves books and book hunting.

True bookstore devotees will adore The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. Buzbee celebrates the book from its humble beginnings in Mesopotamian clay tablets, Indian palm leaves, and Chinese and Japanese silk and bamboo to our modern day versions in all their varied sizes, shapes and construction. Woven throughout The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is Buzbee’s love of bookstores and booksellers, who have been around as long as books.Buzbee has worked in the book business for most of his adult life, and in The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, he shares his experiences in the front of the shop, in the backrooms and from a book reps perspective on the road. In a fitting end to his memoir, Buzbee provides a guided tour to some of his favourite bookshops.If you are a book aficionado and you want to understand the book business, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is a very good place to start as well as an entertaining read.