and now, another Penumbra review

I’m probably the tenth person to review Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore this year on the CBR, but without all those previous reviews I probably wouldn’t have heard about this novel since it’s a bit out of my typical genre. I’m a bit more “chick lit” and “historic fiction” with some YA fiction thrown in the mix. Mr. Penumbra has a bit more of a fantastical element then I look for; I prefer my books a bit more grounded in reality but this was a fun change of pace.

If you’ve been living under a rock, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour book store is about a recently laid off web-designer named clay who happens upon a small bookstore and gets a job. There are few customers, despite being open 24 hours a day, and majority of them “check out” obscure, coded books. Clay begins investigating, with some help from a girl he meets with Google connections and a wealthy childhood best friend, and eventually discovers the bookstore is part of an ancient secret society.

Like I said, this isn’t my typical fare but it was an enjoyable read that requires a bit of suspended disbelief to make some of the parts work. I can see why a lot of people on this site enjoyed it: even though there is a lot of technology used, at it’s core Penumbra is about books and typography.