Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

by Robin Sloan

★★★★

When Clay unexpectedly loses his job he finds himself taking a position as a night clerk at a 24-hour bookstore. He soon realizes the shop is more unique than he could have guessed. Peculiar individuals come in at all hours of the night and use the store as a library, checking out obscure titles. Clay’s curiosity gets the better of him and he begins to research the history of the store and its quirky owner, Mr. Penumbra.

Sloan does a great job blending an ancient love of books with the world’s progression towards technological dependence. In addition to the San Francisco bookstore, the story is set in a library in New York City and even takes Clay to Google’s headquarters. The supporting cast of characters, made up of Clay’s friends, roommates and employers is a mishmash of oddballs. Clay bonded with his childhood best friend over their shared love of the fictional fantasy series The Dragon-Song Chronicles. He meets and falls for a cute Google employee and he admires his mysterious elderly employer as he gets to know him.

The adventurous book has a lot in common with Ready Player One, which I loved. Both share a playful tone, center around a quest and have the same general nerd outlook on life. The ending of the book is a bit silly, but I can’t imagine how else it would have ended, so it works if you just suspend your cynicism and have fun.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s a really amusing read. The plot is definitely secondary; the focus is on the geeky characters and their love of books and technology. Just let go and enjoy the ride.

Ready Player One: Gunter Reading List

Ready Payer One

by Ernest Cline

★★★★☆

Everyone has officially read and reviewed this book. So instead of doing that, I thought I would share the Gunter Reading list that Wade talks about in the book. If you haven’t read the book this doesn’t spoil anything and it’s just a fun list of sci-fi/fantasy authors to check out.

Recommended Gunter Reading List

- Douglas Adams*

- Kurt Vonnegut*

- Neil Stevenson

- Richard K. Morgan

- Stephen King*

- Orson Scott Card*

- Terry Pratchett*

- Terry Brooks*

- Alfred Bester

- Ray Bradbury*

- Joe Halderman

- Robert A. Heinlein*

- J.R.R. Tolkein*

- Jack Vance

- William Gibson 

- Neil Gaiman*

- Bruce Sterling

- Michael Moorcock

- John Scalzi

- Roger Zelazny

*Authors I've Read

BOTTOM LINE: I loved the book. It was filled with geeky goodness, fun characters and a plot that really doesn’t let you go. I listened to the audio version and as everyone has already stated Wil Wheaton is so fantastic as the narrator.

Here are a few great reviews that have already expressed my thoughts…

Book Addiction

The Written World

Capricious Reader

Top Ten Most Vivid Worlds/Settings In Books

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for my top ten most vivid worlds/settings in books. I’m going to list the top 5 I love and top 5 I hate.

Best Fictional Worlds

1) Harry Potter’s world: I know this will be on everyone’s lists, but I can’t help it. I can’t wait to visit Hogwarts and Hogsmeade at the new amusement park in Florida because Rowling created such an unforgettable place!

2) Avonlea: L.M. Montgomery’s quiet community has always held a special pull for me. I know Prince Edward Island is real and I feel like if I visit I’ll see Anne playing with Diana in a field.

3) Narnia: I’ve read the whole series multiple times and it’s such a fascinating world. We witness its creation in the Magician’s Nephew and return many times as decades pass throughout the seven books.

4) Middle-Earth: From Rivendell to Mordor, Tolkien went into insane detail describing the fellowship of the ring’s surroundings as they journeyed through the fictional world.

5) Pern: McCaffrey’s world is one filled with dragons and … wait for it… they’re your friends! That would be just awesome.

Worst Fictional Worlds:

1) Fahrenheit 451: They burn books! It is illegal to read! Need I say more?

2) The Handmaid’s Tale: Just about the worst fate for women that I can imagine.

3) Ready Player One: The world is horrible and everyone sits in front of a computer playing video games. The book itself is fun, but the world created within it would be awful.

4) V for Vendetta: Big Brother on steroids, this would not be fun.

5) It’s a tie for the final spot – The Stand and The Road: Both provide equally abhorrent living situations in a post-apocalyptic world. 

Image from here. 

Your Audiobook Year

Hello, my name is Melissa and I’m an audiobook addict. I’ve loved audiobooks ever since my Dad encouraged me to try them when I was in high school. I didn’t listen to them regularly until my first summer home from college. I took a job running an exterior house painting crew (I know, odd). One of my main duties was to canvas local neighborhoods and give estimates. I hated the job, but I loved being able to listen to audiobooks all day as I drove around.

As far as places I listen, I feel like they’re endless! Obviously the car is a major one, but my commute is incredibly short. I listen while taking a shower and getting ready in the morning. Also while doing dishes and cleaning the house. I love listening while I walk my dog or play fetch with him. The options are infinite!

I get almost all of my audiobooks at book sales or by borrowing them from the library. I keep one in my car and another in my house. I may be one of the last people in the world still listening to audio cassettes. I can find them so cheaply at library book sales and I still have a few audio cassette players.

I would also like to add that some people claim listening to audiobooks isn’t actually reading them. To them I say this; the great tradition of story telling was around long before written books were available. Odysseus’ travels and Arthurian legends were shared in front of fireplaces before anyone took the time to record them on paper. I can’t imagine anyone claiming those people didn’t know the stories they heard.

Sometimes listening to an audio version of a book makes me appreciate the writing more because you have to listen to every word instead of skimming a paragraph. It also gives me a deeper appreciation for favorite books that I’ve already read in print version.

I’m currently listening to Alan Rickman reading The Return of the Native and Wil Wheaton reading Ready Player One. Both are absolutely excellent and I would highly recommend them.

This post is part of Audiobook Week hosted by Devourer of Books

Image from here.