Robin Sloan, author of Dal Reads’ 2014 selection Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore will join us live via Skype in Room G70 of the Killam Library on Thursday, October 16 at 5 p.m.

First, Robin will talk about the book, then take questions from the audience. This is your chance to ask him anything you’ve ever wanted to know about his NY Times best-selling book, which started as a short story on his website.

If you haven’t yet had a chance to read the book, now is the time to do so. The New York Times Book Review said it was, “Part love letter to books, part technological meditation, part thrilling adventure, part requiem… Eminently enjoyable, full of warmth and intelligence.”

Don’t miss this Dal Reads event. There will be delicious snacks and great book talk.

Robin Sloan

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, the 2014 Dal Reads selection.

You may be wondering how we came to select Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore as our Dal Reads title for 2014. First, we developed some selection criteria to ensure that the book will provide us with a robust reading experience. The selection criteria are as follows:

-must be written by a living author (to allow for possible events and engagement with the author)

-must be able to generate discussion and exchange of ideas

-must be appealing to a broad range of readers of varying ages, literacy levels, and life experience

-must be in print and available for purchase in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

-must be strongly written with elements that will generate excitement among readers

-must be published in the last five years

-must meet the current year’s pre-selected theme (when a theme is selected, not valid for 2014)

Then, a number of students from the School of Information Management program suggested titles that met this criteria. We whittled that list down to three, and took the shortlist to the Dal community, hosting a virtual vote on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as a pop-up vote in the Killam Library. Overwhelmingly, the votes cast were in favour of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.

The book is available at all five Dalhousie Libraries, and is on order at the Dal Bookstores in the SUB and on the Agricultural Campus. The novel, published in 2012, is described by Amazon reviews as “an old school mystery set firmly in tech-loving, modern day San Francisco.” The New York Times Book Review said it was, “Part love letter to books, part technological meditation, part thrilling adventure, part requiem… Eminently enjoyable, full of warmth and intelligence.”

Get your copy today!

The official selection for Dal Reads 2014 is Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. Thanks to everyone who voted, whether in person, on the blog, or via email, Facebook or Twitter.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, by Robin Sloan

To learn more about the book and the author, visit Robin Sloan’s website. In the meantime, we’re going to round up some copies of the book and make them available at the Dal Bookstore and the Dal Libraries, as well as plan programming for the fall.

Your mission is to read the book over the summer break and come back in September ready to discuss the book with other members of the Dalhousie community, as well as take part in some innovative, book-related programming. Stay tuned to our blog, Twitter feed and Facebook page for Dal Reads updates!

We’re counting DalReads votes today. We’ll announce the 2014 title sometime around noon. Thank you for voting and stay tuned for the title announcement.