Well Cult is a bit of a strong word but to does come to mind when I think of this book. In Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore we meet a cast of unforgettable, lovable characters. Our main characters are Clay Jannon; an unemployed web designer and Ajax Penumbra, a mysterious bookshop owner. Clay wanders into Penumba's bookshop looking for a job, and right away he and the old man hit it off. Clay takes on the over night shift and it does not take him long to notice that this book store is very different. As in it does not have customers but it does have folks that come in and borrow large, unsellable tomes. Upon taking the job Clay has to agree to three things: 1) he must always be at the bookstore from the hours of 10 pm to 6 am. 2) He can not browse, read or otherwise inspect the shelved (secret) volumes , and 3) he must retrieve them for the "members". These "members" are odd, mainly older folks that come in usually in a frenzy for a new book to help them with her "research". Clay works in the store for weeks recording his interactions with each "member" and never takes a peak at the books. That is until one of us meddling friends comes for a visit and that is when things really start to get a little weird. Clay embarks on a journey to find out how to decode the books and even goes as far as to steal a log book (what he records the members interactions and member numbers in) and takes it to Google for scanning. He even goes as far to enlist a friend to produce a look-a-like copy of the book. Of course, Penumbra figures out Clay took it but he does not fire him. Instead he explains to him that the people that a borrowing the books are members of a secret society called "The Unbroken Spine". The group is made up of three levels; novices, the unbound and the bound. These folks are challenged with solving an encrypted puzzle by "reading deeply". Upon completely each objective they move up in the ranks and will eventually learn the greatest secret of all. How to gain immortality. Of course, Clay has an issue with this and has his doubts but he can not bring himself to shake it off. So with the helps of some friends from Google, a production company and members of the Unbroken Spine itself to break the mystery of its most sacred codex vitae (book of life). What I loved about this book was that it could appeal to any reader. It deals heavily with technology, programing and delves into the into the book versus e-reader debate. Also the book is funny, imaginative and like nothing I have read in a while. It has the perfect mix of mystery and humor and just a tad bit of drama. I gave the book five out of five stars.
Quotes I loved:
"But when people are past a certain age, you sort of stop asking them why they do things. It feels dangerous."
About having a Kindle "I always imagine the books staring and whispering, Traitor!"
"I didn't know people your age to read books," Penumbra says. He raises an eyebrow."I was under the impression they read everything on their mobile phones." "Not everyone. There are plenty of people, you know - people who still like the smell of books." "THE SMELL!" , Penumbra repeats. "You know your finished when people start talking about the smell"
"The Unbroken Spine. It sounds more like a band of assassins, not a bunch of book lovers"
"Walking the stacks in a library, dragging your fingers across the spines - it's hard not too feel the presence of sleeping spirits"
"A man walking fast down a lonely street, Quick steps and hard breathing, all wonder and need. A bell above a door and the tinkle it makes, A clerk and a ladder and warm golden light, and then: the right books exactly, at the right time"
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