Review: Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore

On occasion I will buy/borrow a book based purely on the cover/title. I won't read the synopsis or anything, I will just get the book and read it. I do this because I like to be surprised. Usually I will pick these books up because I see them on other peoples' bookshelves, but not with Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. The title intrigued me like nobody's business and I just couldn't resist it.

Penumbra's is the story of Clay, an unemployed web designer who finds a job working as the graveyard shift clerk at Penumbra's bookstore. As he works there he discovers the bookstore has some mysterious customers and some mysterious books.

That, I guess is the best synopsis I can give without spoiling anything. I'm glad I went into this book blind. It was fun slowly unraveling the mystery with Clay. He constantly made me nervous as he broke rules and pushed boundaries to figure out what was going on with the bookstore.

I liked the characters, especially Mr. Penumbra. He was very well drawn as an elderly eccentric who genuinely loved what he was doing. Another character I liked was Kat, she was very interesting as someone who worked for Google who was obsessed with the idea of living forever.

Overall I enjoyed the book, I wouldn't say that it was anything revolutionary or amazing, but it was a fun read. I gave it 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

*****

Unfinished Book Read-a-thon: The Scorch Trials

Oh My GOSH people! This book is bat-poop crazy! I just finished it and I am reeling. All I want to do is pick up The Death Cure and start reading it right away. I'm not going to spoil any of it for those of you who haven't read it, but man...

Okay, now that I've gotten that off my chest, I will try to coherently express my thoughts... The Scorch Trials barely feels like a sequel to The Maze Runner at all. If Dashner had used different names, I'm not sure I would even recognize it as happening in the same world as the first book. That being said, I was completely gripped the entire way through, caring deeply about Thomas and some of his friends and entirely mistrusting the rest of the characters. It has mostly short chapters and nearly every chapter ends with a sharp turn. I simultaneously love and despise the unpredictability of this book. You never know what is going to happen next, and that is refreshing.

I wouldn't say that I had fun reading this book but I can say that it was an experience. And I think I value an intense experience just as much as lighthearted fun. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone who likes action adventure mystery stories, or anyone who values an intense experience.