"Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore"-Robin Sloan

Book Title: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Author: Robin Sloan
Version: Hardback
ISBN: 9780374214913
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: October 2nd, 2012
Genre: Fiction/Mystery
Number of Pages: 288

REVIEW: This book was a really awesome mix of fiction and mystery. I was interested in it from the moment we first got it into the store based solely on the title. I mean I have said before how much I love books about books so the idea of a book about a whole bookstore was pretty exciting. When I read the description, explaining that the book was about a mysterious clientele that usually came in after midnight always searching for some of the strangest books and what happens when the hero of the story starts looking at the books himself, I found that I couldn't wait to get started. 

From the very beginning I knew that I was going to like the book. The writing was fresh and upbeat infused with humor and great suspense. I love writing that surprises me and makes me think about the author's motivation. With "Mr. Penumbra's..." I felt that each sentence was carefully crafted by Mr. Sloan. He has a very unique voice and a wonderful way of expressing it. The way the writing flows is fantastic and it becomes a character all on it's own. 

The story is so much fun. It's all about this man, Clay Jannon, who happens upon a rather strange job after being let go of his fancy web designing job. He finds work as the late night clerk at Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore. Although at first things seem to be pretty normal, sure Clay finds it a bit strange that he has to write down detailed descriptions of the people that come in and ask for certain books. But pretty soon he gets to be too curious and starts to look into the books that this strange late night customers are checking out. It starts out as a fiction story but it quickly becomes a story full of mystery and intrigue. What's not to love about that?

The characters are really weird but that is what I love most about them. They aren't your normal heroic types, it's a couple of tech nerds and an old bookstore owner. They don't scream hero to you and yet they make the book so rich and beautiful. As a reader I quickly fell in love with these unlikely characters. They are just awesome and I don't know if I can say much more about them. They are just so fun and strange and wonderful all rolled into one. It's really fun to root for them and see the journey they take.

This is a great book all around. It has all the elements of a true classic in the making. It's fun and thrilling and full of twits and turns. It's greatly written and full of lovable characters and the story is a true winner. A triple threat book! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who likes books about books or fiction books that have an air of mystery to them. I give "Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore" five stars with all my heart. I hope that you dear reader go out and get a copy of it and fall in love with it jut like me.