MR PENUMBRA'S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE by Robin Sloan

What a magical reading experience this was, so engrossing, so marvellous! And how amazing it was when I put this book down on a cabinet in the dark to have it glow at me! Apparently the first edition hardback version was made with a glow-in-the-dark cover - thank you Auckland Libraries for purchasing one of those!!! Very cool.

So this book is really all about modern day magic, specifically the power of the internet and how the computer is now the dominant means of communication in the world we live in. This, of course, is in direct contrast to the other subject of this book - the humble book. From the time of the invention of the Gutenberg printing press in 1440, it has been the printed word on paper that has been the essential tool of communication, taken over in recent years by words on a screen. But words, whether on a page or on a screen, need form, and it is the magic of the font or more correctly the typeface that ties today with yesterday.

Clay is a young man very typical of smart young men working in the Silicon Valley area. Gifted and competent in his use of computers, algorithms, coding, hacking and general wizardry, like many he finds the company he was working for disappearing overnight. Hence his job on the night shift at the 24 Hour Bookstore, in San Francisco. Mr Penumbra is the owner of this rather unusual store, that seems to have two sections. At the front is the mainstream collection of books for customers to browse through and hopefully buy from. Further down the back there is a most mysterious collection of books, that attract a slightly different type of clientele. Being an intelligent and most curious young man, there is obviously some sort of mystery to uncover here, which takes Clay and his genius friends into a world where ancient meets modern. So we are taken into the Google behemoth - an extraordinary place to be employed; an underground library in New York; secret meetings where everyone wears black cloaks; a cult leader; coded messages. It is really quite brilliant.

I am not usually a fan of fantasy or science fiction, and this does sort of cross over into each of these genres, but because it is so firmly grounded in recognisable modern day New York/San Francisco, because physical books are its heart, because Clay and his fellow geeks are so wonderful and relatable, I didn't feel as if I was reading either of those two genres. There is lots of computer-speak that I didn't even bother trying to understand or make sense of, but it didn't matter, because the story is great and highly entertaining. Long live books!