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Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
The New York Times Bestseller
A Winner of the Alex Award, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction, named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco ChronicleThe Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything--instead, they "check out" large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele's behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends. But when they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the bookstore's secrets extend far beyond its walls. Rendered with irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave.
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Community Reviews
This was an ODD book but I ended up really enjoying it. Can technology solve a puzzle that has been unbroken for years? How the unlikely group of friends works together to figure out the mystery of Mr P's bookshop and what exactly these strange characters are doing with the odd tomes they are checking out.
I don't think this is a bad book, just uninteresting (for me). I did like the narrator, he is quite good. At first I thought it might develop into a modern day "Shadow of the Wind", but it just didn't.
The book cover glows in the dark! How cool is that?! I wondered if that would play into the story and I suppose it does on a thematic level. The story started out great - an old bookstore, mysterious volumes that even Google has never heard of, peculiar patrons that borrow books and rarely purchase any, a secretive owner....What's it all about? Such a great premise and feeling, but for me, it soon began to feel like a story told by gamers. You know, the ones with Mages and powers and such, like "D&D". The wonder and intrigue wained in the last half and while I was curious how it would end, I liken my experience to that of Ralphie with his Little Orphan Annie Decoder in the movie A Christmas Story; disappointing. I was hoping for a WOW! but ended up with a Hmmmm instead. Even so, I'm glad I read it; It was entertaining and a pretty quick read. So don't let me dissuade you. Loads of others have loved it.
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