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Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Mr Penumbra's 24Hour Bookstore
Author: Robin Sloan
A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life—mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore — The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone—and sere...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780374214913
ISBN-10: 0374214913
Publication Date: 10/2/2012
Pages: 304
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 71

3.7 stars, based on 71 ratings
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Chocoholic avatar reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on + 291 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I read a review of this book and was compelled to read it for myself. This book is really something special and I really enjoyed reading it, in fact I may just read it again in case I missed something in the first go-round. The story is about a man named Clay who finds himself unemployed and seeking a job at Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore. But of course, nothing is what it seems in this bookstore, where certain customers come and go at weird hours and always after the same books. There are a number of characters in this book described so vividly that they all but leap off the page. I don't even begin to know how to classify this book. Parts are humorous, but it's not a satirical piece. Parts seem historical, but it's not exactly historical fiction. It defies description. Parts of the book will leave you wondering..."do they really do that?" There are several places in which the line between fiction and nonfiction, between a cute story and real life are blurred. Read this book. You won't regret it!
smith-jones avatar reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on + 47 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I loved the story, it was great and gave it 5 stars.

I had a lot of fun with the friendship among the characters and how the ingenuity of youth blended with the old Penumbra. I laughed a lot and was rooting for the characters whom I found very interesting and rich in personality
reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on + 27 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
An entertaining, quick read. Liked the mystery, liked the friendships of the characters. As an older reader I was more interested in the bookstore than the computers and tech information. My book cover glows in the dark - that is really my favorite part!
thehurl7 avatar reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was right up my alley as tech junkie that still prefers my books to be in paper form. This book is like a Davinci Code for books and using technology. A very quick and well written read.
Read All 20 Book Reviews of "Mr Penumbras 24Hour Bookstore"

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Yoni avatar reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on + 327 more book reviews
This book was fun, interesting, and full of geekiness. Ancient world meets modern technology. Not my usual read, but very enjoyable.
kimberlyrav avatar reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on + 417 more book reviews
Sorry to rate so low, but this was so boring. I think this may be a good read for a guy who is socially awkward, an introvert, a reader ect..I stopped reading around Chapter 4 I think it was. I recommend skipping this one.
reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on + 1153 more book reviews
This was a fun action read with some interesting questions about the role of technology as it relates to the acquisition and storage of knowledge. It felt like a mashup of a Dan Brown book and the movie National Treasure with a tech twist.
reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on + 279 more book reviews
Was excited to read this book as I love bookstores and love San Francisco.

I really tried to enjoy this book but guess I'm just too old. Many terms about coding and technology went over my head, had to look up quite a few.

I enjoyed Sloan's writing styled look forward to reading other books by him. Just couldn't finish this one. Am sure someone else will enjoy.
njmom3 avatar reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on + 1384 more book reviews
Review first posted on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/04/mr-penumbras-24-hour-bookstore.html

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is an adventure story for grown-ups. A children's story with adult characters and relationships. Clay Jannon lives in San Francisco, is out of work and desperately in need of a job. He get a job at a sleepy little book store. It's unclear how the bookstore sustains itself considering the small number of patrons who shop there.

However, he discovers that things are not quite as they seem. Clay begins to investigate, enlisting the help of two friends. A childhood friends who happens to a billionaire. A new girlfriend who happens to be a technology genius working at Google. Add to that a secret society and lots and lots of books and you have the making of a fun and fanciful tale.

I was intrigued by the start of the book - a character trying to find his way in life, a mysterious bookstore, the hint of intrigue, lots and lots of books, and technology. In the middle, I wasn't so sure because the setup was complete, but the adventure hadn't really started yet. And then the adventure began. My ultimate reaction was a little bit of Harry Potter meets Jimmy Neutron.
Dargent avatar reviewed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on
A hi-techie puzzle wrapped in enigmas of a 500 year old printer font mystery (sort of), an ancient text (sort of) and a secret society (yes). Not a story about a quaint old bookstore. More a story of data visualization, codes and coding, Googleesqueness, search for immortality, and I'm still thinking about what its about! (which is a plus) It is certainly interesting.

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