"Tales of an Accidental Bookseller" by Paul Bugden (SIGNED copy)

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The Accidental Bookseller tells the true story of a struggling actor and aspiring filmmaker who, in the midst of tragedy and great personal loss, finds redemption in the last place he would ever have thought to look – the second hand book trade.

 It is 1995, the height of the AIDS epidemic. Paul is surrounded by suffering and loss. Adding to his woes, a once promising career as an actor and budding filmmaker, with ambition enough to propel him to New York, is now in free fall. He’s been reduced to working part time, as a Therapist’s Assistant, in a minimum security twilight facility. What the hell happened? This wasn’t the plan. Life was looking bleak.

Enter Hal, friend and hustler extraordinaire. Hal cajoles his friend to try his hand at the flea markets. Taking this tentative step up from despair, Paul suddenly finds himself in a new reality, the world of wheeling and dealing. It’s a dramatic departure, but one which will afford him not only a new trade but, more importantly, a fresh perspective: on life, on business, literature, art, and people. It just goes to show, we don’t always know what’s best for us.

This is the story of the birth of the much loved Bugdens Bookshop, that hole-in-the-wall haven for lovers of old books and records which blossomed in the heart of bohemian Sydney, in Kings Bloody Cross.

Author: Paul Bugden

Paperback  Published July 2020  224 pages