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

Synopsis: 'A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life—mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore'

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone—and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead “checking out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he’s embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what’s going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.

My review: I loved how nerdy this book was.  It blends old world book printing with modern computer technology.  I'm not much of a techie so some of the descriptions were a bit over my head but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book.  I was surprised by how short each chapter was (varying from 5 to 15 pages) but that made it easier to finish a chapter when I had to stop.

This book is told in the first-person narrative by the main character, Clay Jannon.  I quickly came to like him.  I liked the voice the author used for him but I'm not able to describe exactly why I like it.  Perhaps because it is accessible/easy to read but not dumb.

Clay is a resourceful guy who is able to find the help he needs when he needs it.  Although he relies mainly on the intelligence, finances, and resources of others, I liked that the actual mystery solving is done by Clay himself.  He is the true hero in the story and I would have been vastly disappointed if the case were cracked by someone (or something) else.  Throughout the book, I got the feeling that Clay was a bit of a bumbling character (smart but with no sense of direction).  That he ultimately solves the riddle proves that Clay does have brains of his own.

There were moments in the book that I want to remember because of the emotional reaction I had to them.  There is a scene when Clay has found the punches and doesn't want to put the box down.  I could totally understand how he felt and I found the scene funny even though it isn't funny within the story.  And I love the scene when Clay is listening to the audiobook on his drive back to San Francisco because it was a moment that caught me by surprise where something clicks/makes sense in a dramatic way.

I like my books to have happy endings and this one has an epilogue that wraps everything up nicely...just the way I like it.

This was an intellectual mystery that included a secret passage hidden behind a bookshelf.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who likes reading books about books.

Read on,
Paula