Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Houyhnhnms and Dragons

Moonbound by Robin Sloan

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I’ve had Moonbound on my TBR shelf physically for a while. It’s also been long enough that I don’t remember hardly anything about Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (first big hit, by this author). I remember that I really enjoyed both Mr. Penumbra and the follow-up, but not direct sequel, Sourdough. I vaguely remember both of the earlier books as vaguely magical realism, and overall entertaining but Moonbound seems to be something a little different. The power of story and narrative is major theme, and it […]

It Was Fine

Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

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Best for: Maybe people who liked the DaVinci Code? In a nutshell: Clay gets a job in a bookshop in San Francisco, which turns out to be the front for something else entirely. Worth quoting: N/A Why I chose it: I love a bookstore, and I love a good mystery. What it left me feeling: Ambivalent. Review: This book was absolutely fine. I think it might be one that was better suited for the page than audio book, so if this is on your list […]

You Never Know What You’ll Find in an Old Indie Bookstore

Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

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Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” was an interesting read. It went quickly and was an enjoyable experience. It’s set in modern day San Francisco, where the narrator is a graphic designer who is let go from an internet startup. He’s needing work and happens by a bookstore that announces it’s open 24-hours. He goes inside and meets the enigmatic and mysterious Mr. Penumbra. After getting the job at the bookstore, he notices that […]

I Have Always Imagined that Paradise Will Be a Kind of Library

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

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Have you ever felt that a book was written just for you? Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is my Platonic ideal: a novel by an Elder Millennial, set in an alternate San Francisco Bay Area populated by talented, curious people, weird-but-plausible technologies, and endless shelves of books. By the time I discovered the in-story trilogy of fantasy novels and the credible centuries-old secret society, I committed to becoming a Sloan completist. Our initially hapless first-person hero Clay Jannon is looking for a job, any job. His […]

Episode 1-29: What the F–k Did I Just Read?

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https://killingmykindle.com/2018/08/08/episode-1-29-what-the-fuck-did-i-just-read/ Wherein I review: 111. A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or a Neetsa Pizza Employee’s Guide to Saving the World by Rachel Cantor 112. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan 113. The Fold by Peter Clines 114. High-Rise by J.G. Ballard 115. Turbulence (Stone Barrington #46) by Stuart Woods Sometimes your little brain needs to get fried.  This was a combo platter of what the f–kery.  I enjoyed Robin Sloan’s wonderous cult of personality, and Peter Clines’ Lost-esque pseudo-sequel to 14.  Didn’t so much love […]

Have some actual sourdough ready before you start. #CBRBingo

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I read and enjoyed Robin Sloan’s debut novel, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, when it first came out a couple of years ago. I thought it was a fun concept that didn’t quite hit all the right notes, but was so short and fast to read that I forgave it a lot. This one was also a fast, short read, but it hit me emotionally in a way that Sloan’s first novel didn’t. Some of the storylines and themes didn’t come together perfectly, which is why […]



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