Book Review / Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

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 Chronicle

The 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.

Published:     2nd October 2012
Publisher:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Author Website:  Click here
Goodreads :  Click here
Series:  Book 1, Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore
Source:  Bought
Review:   3 out of 10

My Review

What I loved about this story...
I had seen this book absolutely everywhere, BookTube and Blogs, and thought it was about time that I picked this up to see what all the fuss was about.  Its about a bookstore, who wouldn't want to pick that up, right?!  This is such a strange but fun story with a lot of mysterious characters.  The main character, Clay, is the main driving force in the story with his need for finding out what in the world was going on at the bookstore and I have to admit I was dying to know myself too!  Mr Penumbra was, of course, the weirdest of them all but I enjoyed finding out more.

 
What I was not fond of with this story... 
Although I really did enjoy the plot of this story, I did have a bit of trouble connecting with the characters in this book and did, at certain points, have to put in a bit of effort to keep going and push through to the end, but it was definitely worth the effort in the end.  I am looking forward to finding out where this story goes from here...

About the Author
(from Goodreads)

Robin Sloan grew up near Detroit and now splits his time between San Francisco and the internet. 

He graduated from Michigan State with a degree in economics and, from 2002 to 2012, worked at Poynter, Current TV, and Twitter. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is his first novel. 

You can learn more at robinsloan.com and follow along at @robinsloan.