Why a Booktrail?
2000s:What does go on at at 24 hour bookshop?
Mr Penumbra’s 24 hour bookstore
What you need to know before your trail
Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a Web-design drone and serendipity coupled with sheer curiosity has landed him a new job working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. And it doesn’t take long for Clay to realize that the quiet, dusty book emporium is even more curious than the name suggests. People don’t seem to buy books!
The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he has plugged in his laptop, roped in his friends (and a cute girl who works for Google) and embarked on a high-tech analysis of the customers’ behaviour. What they discover is an ancient secret that can only be solved by modern means, and a global-conspiracy guarded by Mr. Penumbra himself… who has mysteriously disappeared.
Locations
Reset- America/ USA - CA San Francisco
- A: Broadway - The 24 hour bookstore
- B: City Lights Booksellers & Publishers
- C: Russian Hill Bookstore
- D: Alexander Book Company
Travel Guide
San Francisco
The 24 hr Bookstore owned by the very own Mr Penumbra is on Broadway.
Sure enough, the 24- hour bookstore did not have the look of a legitimate employer:
Help wanted
Late shift
Specific requirements
Good Benefits
Now, I was pretty sure “24-hour Bookstore” was a euphemism for something. It was on Broadway, in a euphemistic part of town.
Inside:
Imagine the shape and volume of a normal bookstore turned up on its side. This pace was absurdly narrow and dizzyingly tall, and the shelves went all the way up – three stories of books, maybe more. I craned my neck back (why do bookstores always make you do uncomfortable things with your neck?) and the shelves faded smoothly into the shadows in a way that suggested they might just go on forever.
He then lists what he considers to be good book acquisition experiences in order o comfort, ease and satisfaction.
1 The perfect independent bookstore like Pygmalion in Berkeley
2 A big bright Barnes and Noble
3 The book aisle at Walmart
4 The lending library aboard the U. S S West Virginian
5 Mr Penumbra’s 24 hour bookstore
There are a few other bookshops in the city as this map shows. Why not explore each and everyone? As well as the 24 hour Penumbra store of course!
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Mr Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore
Destination: San Francisco Author/Guide: Robin Sloan Departure Time: 2000s
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