Mount TBR 2013 Reading Challenge discussion

Feel free to join Michelle and me for this read, which we are starting this weekend.

Yay! Starting tonight.

The first few chapters are intriguing. The bookstore sounds amazing, especially the moving ladders. I am curious as to what the books are about (view spoiler)[ there are no ISBNs and are filled with letters that look like a code, and it seems like a membership type of bookstore? (hide spoiler)].

The bagel company going down was very tongue-in-cheek and so on point!

I started this book last night, and I found myself smiling within 5 minutes of starting my reading. I'm 15% in and should be able to read some more at lunch today.

I loved, love, love this bookstore. I also think that the main character is funny, but charming, too. I find his life to be pretty lonely though. I've never thought about people who solely work the late shift and how disconnected they must feel at times from the rest of society.

Are you trying to (view spoiler)[crack the code (hide spoiler)]? I've noticed some similarities in the responses of the patrons to the store who were returning books, but nothing that I can make sense of at the moment.

I can tell that I am really going to enjoy this book.

I continue to really enjoy this book. I'm almost half-way through (I'm on the second part, The Library) and I am very much impressed with the creativity of the author.

I am finding the characters interesting as well. What do you think of Kat? How about some of the patrons?

Isn't it great! I love the mood, and what could be better than a mystery in a book store.

Kat is so cool. I love that she has so many of the same red shirts. I think that the fact that she works at Google is so very tongue in cheek. I am right at the part where he visits her at google and they are queuing up for lunch. Specialized diets for the employees? That was interesting,

You read fast!

I think that the computer program will be the key to solving the mystery. An I loved how they recreated the log book.

The patrons are an eclectic bunch. I wonder if their membership numbers mean anything.

Back to reading...
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Oh, do you get the sense that Mr. Penumbra knew about the fake log book when he came in that morning?

I'm 80% in. The story moves quickly. I'm hoping to finish tonight.

Kat is great in the novel. Do you see elements of fantasy in this book besides the reference to the Dragon series? The overall approach reminds me of fantasy games that I used to play on video.

I'm curious to hear what you think some of the themes that the book tries to address.

MichelleCH wrote: "Oh, do you get the sense that Mr. Penumbra knew about the fake log book when he came in that morning?"

I think that he knew that Clay was up to something even if it was not necessarily about the fake log book. Once Clay cracks the initial code, Penumbra cares very little about all of the rules that were broken, which makes sense because of what happens later in the story.

I find it interesting that the author made up the name of the bagel company (NewBagel), but didn't change Google to something else.

I have also been thinking about the concept of a 24-hour bookstore and the odds that it would be able to stay in business. This thought led me to another around the notion that e-readers have become 24-hour bookstores in their own right.

I am about 60% in, it is a lot like a game. Maybe Zelda? Except there isn't a princess to save (at least not yet!)

What do you think about the quest for (view spoiler)[ eternal life? I feel like all authors of codex or other books life forever, even if not in a physical sense. Isn't this what Clay describes as the murmurs he hears when he's in a library? (hide spoiler)].

Also the Dolphin and Anchor is the symbol for "Festina Lente" and was first used by Aldus Manutius. He is the Founder of the Philhellenic Academy. This is all so fascinating. I love having real history woven into this story!

I am sure I am missing a bunch of other stuff.

Sera wrote: "I find it interesting that the author made up the name of the bagel company (NewBagel), but didn't change Google to something else.

I have also been thinking about the concept of a 24-hour booksto..."
Yes! And you can get books from online sellers at any time much too easily!

MichelleCH wrote: "I am about 60% in, it is a lot like a game. Maybe Zelda? Except there isn't a princess to save (at least not yet!)

What do you think about the quest for [spoilers removed].

Also the Dolphin and..."

I didn't realize that the Manutius was real! Wow, that is pretty cool.

Let me know when you finish the book so that we can discuss the ending.

I thought that the first half of the book was great, but that the second half then fizzled out for me. I thought that the ending was kind of corny, actually.

Oh no, almost there! Boys just home from college so limited reading time....but it's ok. We are having fun.

Two side notes: my "oh no" comment was about the ending...

Second, we are going on vacation tomorrow so I am trying to finish before we leave!

Will have to get back to this on the weekend... Sorry!

No worries - I hope that your vacation went well :)

Thanks it was great... Paris is beautiful.

I am twenty pages from the end and confused...(view spoiler)[the action is now in the warehouse in search of the type set. And Kat has dropped Clay like a hot potato, very abrupt, in my opinion. (hide spoiler)] The Accession table is really cool though.

I would love to go to Paris - you lucky woman :)

I see that you also gave this one 3 stars. Did it fizzle out for you, too, by the end?

Thanks! It was a long awaited trip!

Yes, I was expecting more...such a build up for really not a lot. What do you think happened? It really started with a lot of promise.

Since it's a first time novel for the author, I would presume that she backed herself into a plot that she hadn't thought all of the way through at the beginning. I kind of felt that Sloan had painted himself into a corner and then had to make something fit that didn't work as well as he had intended.

I had the same thing happen with Where'd You Go, Bernadette.

Makes sense. It's too bad since the beginning was really cool.

I know! Well, I guess we were due for just a "good" book. Otherwise, we've been very fortunate with our selections.

I started this book a week ago but got held up with job interviews and kitchen renovations and read about 90% in the last 24hrs. It just sped past.

For some reason (view spoiler)[ I didn't really like Kat from the beginning so I wasn't that sad when she dumped Clay (hide spoiler)]

And I really liked the ending (view spoiler)[ instead of trying to make some super-duper secret like the Da-Vinci code it was believable and true to the facts. I think the point was to show that people like Corvina (and Kat) need some high powered mystery of immortality whereas everyone one else was more than happy with the idea of a deep, long-lasting friendship. And in fact by the end some great friendships and co-operative ventures had been formed (hide spoiler)]

The beginning reminded me of The End of Mr. Y and I also felt a slight taste of The Shadow of the Wind

I enjoyed your take on the novel Esther! I agree about Kat.