Books I've loved: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

 

This was one of the books I picked up to read on my holiday, a kind of random selection off the library shelf because I liked the title.  And it ended up being my favorite read of the vacation!

Set in San Francisco,  the book is about Clay, a young man still trying to find himself after college.  He's had a brief moment of glory as the wunderkind behind a viral marketing campaign, but since then, he's failed to find the career he feels he deserves.  Broke and desperate, he takes a job as a night clerk at Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour bookstore, working from 10pm until 6am.

The bookstore is odd, with tall shelves that can only be accessed by ladders.  There are only a handful of books in it that anyone has actually heard of, the bulk of the stock being obscure volumes that customers "check out" and return based on some archaic system only Mr. Penumbra understands. Without much else to occupy his mind or his time, Clay begins an analysis of the customer behavior, thinking he may uncover whatever the strange store is a front for.

What he discovers is far stranger, and when he brings his findings to his eccentric boss, things take a turn toward the bizarre.  Clay finds himself on his way to New York and the headquarters of an ancient institution where people engage in a centuries-old quest for immortality.

Mixing conspiracy theories, ancient texts, font analysis, big-tech, romance and more, this book was a total blast from start to finish.  The characters are unusual, yet for the most part, endearing and I found myself ripping through the book in a single afternoon, desperate to discover the secret to eternal life alongside the characters.

I won't reveal the ending or much else because it would ruin the joy of reading the book.  Just know that this is a fun romp with a lot f surprising twists and turns.

Definitely recommend.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

Global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, the secret to eternal life. Mostly in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore.

Clay Jannon tells how serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has sent him from Web Drone to night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. After just a few days on the job, Clay realizes just how curious this store is.

A few customers come in repeatedly without buying anything. Instead they “check out” obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. All runs according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes.

He embarks on a complex analysis of the customers’ behavior and ropes in friends to help. Once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore. A quest to New York City dips in a world conspiracy for eternal life. The current of romance pulls Clay onward.