That's us, and that's Stan the window cleaner. Thanks Stan

The Bookseller Crow based in the historic neighbourhood of Crystal Palace south London is owned and run by Jonathan Main and Justine Crow who between them have more bookselling years in the tank than they care to think about, thank you very much. They have three children, small, small-ish and not so small, who have grown up with the shop over the last 12 years that The Bookseller Crow has been trading.

In fact, eldest can now sometimes be seen serving behind the till, or on a very rare occasion, with a duster in her hand. Like her mother before her, she likes the novels of Alice Hoffman.

Her mother has an about page over on her blog, Eddy Currents, that will tell you everything and more than you need to know about her.

She also writes a monthly book review in Families South East.

Her dad has a blog, too. But he doesn't have much of an about page.

We don't got the big house no more. That burnt down a long time ago.

But we do have dinosaurs! Be very afraid.

This Crystal Palace shop is "shabby but wonderful," says Rebecca, with "the best range of imported American literature in London. It is also the best place to have a full-on opinionated discussion about good writing, and is a citadel of light in the community with a proper focus on local authors." Chris also recommends it.

Listed no. 6 in The 50 Best bookshops in The Independent newspaper 

The Bookseller Crow's fantastic blog. Come here for tips on the best books, local news, tales of customer (and shopkeeper) randomness and lots of funny.

The Londonist May 2009

Our Bookhugger profile

Yann Martel on The Bookseller Crow.