Pondering Penumbra

I finished “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” this past weekend, and I absolutely loved it! It was the perfect mix of entertainment and suspense. Ryan has already reviewed this amazing book, but I’m going to give you five little thoughts I had while reading it.

1. How would I answer Mr. Penumbra’s questions?

There are two questions asked in this book. The first is asked to Clay and his answer is contingent upon his securing a job: “What is you favorite book?” And the second is, “What do you seek in these shelves?” My first answer would be obvious, “1984” by George Orwell has been my favorite book since I read it this past Christmas. (I promise to review it soon!) But I wonder if this would get me hired! And then I believe that my answer to the second question would be, “Adventure.” I read to escape my world, so I want to either learn something or experience something.

2. I really really want to explore a bookstore designed like Penumbra’s. 

I recently went to an amazing bookstore in New York City. I immediately loved it with its packed walls of books that reached high into the sky and the little stools placed all around that allowed you to scour the lower shelves. But the icing on the cake was the ladders. There were huge ladders that ran up the sides of store. My dream is to own a house with a secret room just for books and have similar ladders that I can glide around my library. (If this reminds you of Belle from “Beauty and the Beast”, you’ve found my inspiration.)

3. Are there real life bibliophile bars? Because if there are, that’s where I want to be. 

In the book, Clay and his posse meet Mr. Penumbra is a bar with books on every surface. That would be my dream way to spend an afternoon and a much better place to meet a man than at any normal bar.

4. When does Clay sleep? 

Seriously! He never sleeps! He works the night shift at the bookstore (10 p.m.—6 a.m.) and then he talks about meeting people for lunches and doing activities during the day. I am baffled as to when he catches more than a couple hours of the so necessary Z’s we all need. I wish I could function on zero sleep!

5. This book contains the best epilogue since the ending to Harry Potter. 

I was actually a little hesitant about saying I loved Mr. Penumbra’s…until I finished it. I’m a huge fan of clear endings, and nothing gets more clear than this epilogue. It looks into the future and sums up how everyone’s story ends. I absolutely loved it.

I sincerely suggest this book to anyone who enjoys books and adventurous stories.

Happy reading,
Kimberly