Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

In researching potential books to review, the three candidates I came up with were The Word Exchange, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, and The Circle. The following is some general information I found in my search of each book on Amazon, WorldCat, Google Books, and Library Thing.

The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon:
Amazon:
     -rated 3.9 out of 5
WorldCat:
     -held by 933 libraries

Google Books:

     -Summary of reviews(a total of 10 reviews): the book was rushed and at some points underdeveloped, unsatisfactory ending, the beginning portion of the book as much better than the latter, enjoyed the story because it made me think, highlights the uncomfortable reality of our social lives.

Library Thing:
     -36 reviews
     -popularity: 71,264
     -avg. rating: 3.31
     -mentions: 18

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan:
Amazon:
     -rated 4.0 out of 5
     - A Winner of the Alex Award, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction, named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle
WorldCat:
     -held by 2,018 libraries
Google Books:
     -Summary of reviews(a total of 50): enjoyable read, draws you in, good balance between the importance of print vs. electronic books.
Library Thing:
     -274 reviews
     -popularity: 1,874
    -avg. rating: 3.9
     -conversations: 3
     -mentions: 384
     -on the list of Top Five Books of 2013

The Circle by Dave Eggers:
Amazon:
     -rated 3.6 out of 5
WorldCat:
     -held by 692 libraries
Google Books:
     -Summary of reviews(a total of 19): the book feels mostly scolding, entertaining, more of a "technothriller" than an engrossing exploration of looming technological danger
Library Thing:
     -126 reviews
     -Popularity: 5,562
     -conversations: 10
     -mentions: 113
     -avg. rating: 3.51

From these ratings and reviews, I was intrigued the most by the book Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. As demonstrated through the many reviews I read during my search, this book seemed very popular among the public and won/was nominated for numerous awards. Through my searches on ProQuest and Project Muse I was able to read further reviews from scholarly journals and professionals in the book critiquing field. In a synopsis, these reviews noted the correlation and balance between old technologies and new ones, just as we have been discussing and learning through our readings.

 

These are the citations to the academic reviews I found through ProQuest and Project Muse:

 

Anis Shivani. "The Emerging Global Novel." American Book Review 34.1 (2012): 22-23. Project MUSE. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. http://muse.jhu.edu/.

 

"Galaxies of Colour; New American Fiction." The Economist Oct 13 2012: 100. ProQuest. Web. 12 Oct. 2014 .

 

Gay, Roxane. "Bookworms and Apples." New York Times Book Review Dec 16 2012: 16,BR.16. ProQuest. Web. 12 Oct. 2014 .