I find Jen Campbell perched behind a glass counter. It’s one of the few clear surfaces to be found within Ripping Yarns in Highgate, which is stacked from floor to ceiling with secondhand paperbacks and children’s picturebooks, first editions and ancient annuals. And that’s just half the story.

“This place is full, as you can see,“ explains Jen who lives in Crouch End, “then we’ve got Celia’s [Mitchell, the shop-owner] house, all that’s full and we’ve got three garages as well. We have everything!

“We know where everything should be. We’ve got an old Olive Fairy Book, it’s very pretty, and those three big leather bound books at the top, they’re my favourites. They’re from 1776 and they’re a collection of customs and instructions on how to be an Englishman, they’ve got old chat up lines and stuff – fantastic!“

Jen has presided over these 30,000 or more books for the last three years, with many more in bookselling, introducing old yarns to hundreds of new readers. Now she is selling a book more special to her than any other – her own.

Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops contains exactly what you’d expect from the title, gleaned from her time on the shop floor dealing with all kinds of strange and unsavoury requests.

“The one that triggered it was the customer who asked my boss if Anne Frank had ever written a sequel to her diary because she loved it,“ says Jen.

The 25-year-old, who is looking forward to the publication of her poetry collection later this year, began recording these conversations on a blog, before it was picked up by a publisher.

“Once you’ve started noting them down, you can’t stop noticing them – you can’t! They don’t happen all the time, but when they do – some leave you speechless.“

Divided into three parts, Tales From the Edinburgh Bookshop (where Jen worked while at university), Tales From Ripping Yarns and conversations from other bookshops around the world, Weird Things... is perfect for anyone who loves books or has ever worked in retail.

Having shared the gift of new stories with an endless stream of customers, yesterday Jen sold her first copy of Weird Things... in person.

“It’s very surreal when people buy it,“ says Jen. “The first one I sold was to a lady who was going to the doctors and she wanted something to read in the waiting room. And she picked it up and said ’Have you read this? Is it any good?’

“And I said, ’it rings true with me’! I’m sure when she gets to the Ripping Yarns part she’ll realise I wrote it!“

Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops is available now in all good bookshops and online. And from Ripping Yarns, Archway Road, Highgate. www.rippingyarns.co.uk

Some choice Wierd Things...

Customer: Do you have a copy of Jane Eyre?

Bookseller: Actually, I just sold that this morning, sorry!

Customer: Oh. Have you read it?

Bookseller: Yes, it’s one of my favourite books.

Customer: Oh, great (sits down beside bookseller). Could you tell me about it? I have to write an essay on it by tomorrow.

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Customer: What books could I buy to make guests look at my bookshelf and think: ’Wow, that guy’s intelligent’?

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Man: Hi, could you recommend a book for me?

Bookseller: Sure. What kind of thing are you looking for?

Man: Well, I was let out of prison this morning, so something not too heavy would be nice.

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Customer: Do you have a book that has a list of aphrodisiacs? I’ve got a date on Friday.

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Customer: Hi.

Bookseller: Hi there, how can I help?

Customer: Could you please explain Kindle to me.

Bookseller: Sure. It’s an e-reader, which means you download books and read them on a small hand-held computer.

Customer: Oh OK, I see. So... this Kindle. Are the books on that paperback or hardback?