Inspired by Reading – Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

Tags

Andrew Thornton, Glass Geo Beads, Inspired by Reading Book Club, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan

This month’s selection for Andrew Thornton’s Inspired by Reading book club is Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.  I was glad to see this book on the list because I had been meaning to read it but just hadn’t gotten around to it.  The book is about a young computer programmer named Clay who, out of a job, begins working as a clerk at a bookstore and gets caught up in intrigue concerning its books, visitors and especially the titular, enigmatic owner.

I really enjoyed the book.  The main character was likable and relatable (always huge pluses to me) and the story was interesting and kept moving.  Even more minor characters (for example, Clay’s roommates) were well drawn and interesting.

Although I enjoyed the book, it somehow wasn’t very visual for me.  I usually get several ideas for pieces when reading, and this time I only had a couple of not very strong ideas.  However, one visual that stuck with me was the character Kat’s wardrobe staple – a red and yellow graphic t-shirt featuring the word “Bam!” in a comic book type exclamation “bubble”.  It made me think of some geometric beads I have by Glass Geo Beads.  They have amazing stringer work outlining them in black like the word bubble.

I thought about using only the red and yellow beads, but I couldn’t bring myself to separate the whole set (although I didn’t use a round blue bead that had no black.)  For the rest of the necklace, I used some black interlocking beads.  Each bead is a partial circle with a notch out so that another bead can fit into it. For some reason, that interlocking nature reminded me of computers, which feature prominently in the book.  Maybe I’m showing my age and harking back to Pac-Man!

It’s a simple necklace, but pretty fun.  In my teens and 20s, I loved wearing all black with a pop of bright color.  It’s a look I still love, so this is a good use of the lampwork beads I’ve been hoarding for quite some time!

Thanks once again to Andrew Thornton for hosting this book club.  I’m really enjoying it.  I had skipped a bunch, but this latest crop of books really appeals to me.  Also, Andrew made up some bookmarks that list the book for each month this series.  Having the titles handy makes it so easy to keep up and participate!  Please visit Andrew’s blog to find out what other participants created.  It’s so interesting to find out what inspired everyone else.