2015 – Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
“Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” by Robin Sloan
The great recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele’s behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends. The full force of Google, social media, Hollywood movie design specialists, and a variety of other quirky characters band together to solve the mystery. With humor, cleverness, and insight, the book explores the power of books, technology, and knowledge, new and old.
The San Francisco Chronicle hails the novel as “a jaunty, surprisingly old-fashioned fantasy about the places where old and new ways of accessing knowledge meet.” The New York Times Book Review describes it as “part love letter to books, part technological meditation, part thrilling adventure, part requiem… eminently enjoyable, full of warmth and intelligence.”
2015 Companion Books:
- “Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library” by Chris Grabenstein
- “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” by William Joyce
- “Reading Makes You Feel Good” by Todd Parr
2015 Program Highlights:
2015 highlights included a tour of the Malden library’s historic reading room called “Secrets in the Stacks,” a youth-led presentation at Malden High School entitled “Malden High in the Digital Age,” the inclusion of “Table Talk” cards in our community dining series as well as a “pop-up” dinner in a former restaurant/bar with Brother Trucker performing as well as serving, a dynamic Skype chat with authors Robin Sloan and Chris Grabenstein (for students), a “Fairy House Event” at Pine Banks Park in partnership with Councilor Barbara Murphy, and the continuation of our Reading Circles, book discussions, and film series.