Weekly Reads: Mr. Peumbra's 24 Hour Book Store

<----This was me growing up (big shocker).  We lived out in the country for three years of grade school, and there were no kids nearby for miles.  My brother was six years older than me, and in high school, so clearly hanging out with his little sister wasn't high on his priority list.  So in the summer time, I would load up my backpack with books, get my golden retriever BFF Buck, and follow Frog Creek to my favorite tree.  The tree was deep in a wooded area and difficult to get to, so I felt like I was the only person in the world.  The tree's branches stretched out over the creek, and one of the branches had a giant gaping crack in it that I could store things in.  My dog would lay at the base of the tree and keep me company while I read summer afternoons away.  I saw this picture on Books Direct tumblr and had a major flashback of those great years.

And with that wordy diatribe, I am announcing a new weekly (hopefully) component to my blog entitled:  Weekly Reads.  I hope to highlight a book that I'm currently reading and obsessed with, a soon to be released book, or a great read I've just finished. Reading is more fun when we do it together, amiright?

Right now I'm reading a few books, but the one I'm most excited about is Mr. Peumbra's 24 Hour Book Store by Robin Sloan.  I have been waiting forever for this book to come in at the library for me, and finally decided to just attempt to listen to it on audiobook.  I'll usually give an audiobook 30 minutes to decide if I like (=can stand) the narrator before giving up and picking up the hardcover version instead.  I'm so glad I lucked in to the audiobook version because I love the narration.

The story is set in an eccentric bookstore in San Francisco that is open all hours of the day.  Clay is the clerk working the night shift.  He hardly makes a sale on any of his shifts, and the only customers he sees regularly request obscure books from the VIP section of the store that are for check out only.  When he delves into the store's quirks more in depth, he finds there is even more than meets the eye in Mr. Penumbra's store.

I'm typically not one who's in to fantasy novels, but I am obsessed with stories that have fantastical elements that could be happening in our lives right now, and we don't know it.

What's your read of the week?

**If you click on the book cover and purchase the book through Amazon, I get a few pennies of the sale.  If you check it out from your library, it's free, and I don't get anything, but I'm super stoked that you're supporting your library.  :)**