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I bought this mostly for the beautiful cover while away in Edinburgh. I have to say I feel the blurb was a bit misleading: "How a bookseller inspired a nation... Feeling like a woman on the run, she went home and opened a bookshop against all the odds" (paraphrasing). The book itself is actually a daily diary of things happening at the shop, orders of merchandise, customers coming in. It's cozy and there are some interesting family stories. The diary is from early 2021 so it is partially a memoir about the second wave of COVID and how that affected the shop. I would have appreciated a lot more about her life before the bookshop, what led her to go home and open it, and how she actually went about it. The daily notes are nice but not why I actually bought the book.

4.5 - I really enjoyed this book. Only thing that keeps it from a 5* was the frequent, detailed descriptions of the crime and crime scene - I could very much have done with less mental imagery of it. But the story went in a direction I was not expecting, and I really liked the whole cast of characters towards the end. I want to read the Bill Hodges books now, though I definitely need a few palette cleanser books first!

Very readable and I enjoyed some elements, but I found the start rather trite and the end quite rushed. The misogyny was exhausting - maybe I need a break from sexism books. I did quite enjoy the cooking show scenes and I loved Harriet and Six-Thirty.

Spoilers

I found the fridging of Calvin quite disappointing, as it killed the relationship as soon as it was fully established, as so many stories do. Long term partnerships are so important to our lives and I feel like we never get to read about them.

I also found the awful behaviour of the boys home priests really depressing to read, and even as an atheist it felt like a bit of a brutal characterisation. The graphic rape scene at the start was also a shock and horrible to read.

Honestly this was a pretty difficult read - it was infuriating which I'm sure was intended but didn't make for an enjoyable reading experience. However I recognise the value it has in bringing everyday sexism to light, even though in my case it was preaching to the choir. The end was pretty gut-wrenching and left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Again I realise this was intended, but that still doesn't make it fun! All in all it was 3.5 stars for me.

This memoir was really quite harrowing. They are coy about it in the marketing, but it is largely dominated by the terrible misogyny and harassment Kate Beaton experienced in the extremely male dominated environment she worked in. It was a deeply affecting read, and while it was difficult at times, it gave a portrait of a place and time that was really impressive.

Some laughs, but overall a bit disappointing. Bryson is really at his most crotchety - usually his complaints are part of the fun but in this one he comes across as a bit mean, grumpy and unable to be pleased by anything other than a country hillside and a pint. There were quite a few cringeworthy comments that just made him seem wilfully out of touch. Also, the whole of Scotland gets barely more than three pages. I look forward to reading more of his other more cheerful books.

This book made me feel so seen. It doesn't have many practical tips, but the depth and readability were excellent and it articulated a lot of things I had been thinking about really well. I'd highly recommend it to anyone.