Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Ratings415
Average rating3.7
Love love love love.
Bookshops. Libraries. Secrets. Secret Societies. Programming. Fantasy books. Modern Life. Google. Nerdiness. Likeable characters.
So many good things in one place! Absolutely recommend this book!
I was duped! I thought this would be a quirky little book about books. But it is just a book about quirky IT people and Google. Oh well....
This is a pleasant little book, and a must-read for typography nerds. It never really grabbed me by the lapels and yelled, “KEEP READING - must find out what happens next!” but it was charming and funny, and the narrator delivers wry, nerdy quips at regular intervals.
The story flirts with transhumanism, but never really goes anywhere with that subject, except maybe to subvert it. This is a tale of reading and relationships, much more than one about eternal life.
There are frequent references to abstruse places, practices, and events that might or might not be real - I found myself thinking very often, “Wait, is that a real thing? Does Google really do that? Is there really a book copier like that? Is that an actual typeface we use?” I can't decide if these instances added to the experience by engaging my curiosity, or if they detracted by being distractions and messing with suspension of disbelief. I feel like this book (to the extent that it reflects reality in these things) could spawn multiple episodes of 99% Invisible and This American Life.
Ultimately, I recommend it. It was a fun, thought-provoking ride.
Oh so amazing! You all need to read this. Google and the printing press. Friendship and secret cults. Oh my goodness. I'm already thinking of reading this again.
This book snuck up on me. All I knew about it before I read it was that it was about a bookstore, and that was going to be interesting enough. But the story ended up reminding me of a combination of Snow Crash, The Circle, and The Da Vinci Code, which means I definitely couldn't go to sleep until I finished it. One aspect of annoyance - the many references to Google may be interpreted as either an endorsement or a warning.
[Spoilers ahead]
An inexplicably charming bookstore, a designer who learned programming as a side hobby, a secret book cult with a batcave, a roomate who works at ILM, the art of cryptography, characters with an undying love for the smell of books, and the underlying message of how technology isn't always as powerful as we'd want it to be, but it does help a great deal in bringing people closer together. Felt like Sloan wrote this book just for me - needless to say I was captivated from the very beginning.
This book had so much potential to be great. And yet the ending seemed a bit... rushed. Some of the technical explanations also felt a bit effortless. And yes, too much Google. Can't go past 2 or 3 pages without that name popping up. It got annoying after a while :/ I wish I could give it a 5/5 but I just can't. But in all honesty it was still very impressive for a debut novel, so kudos to Robin Sloan.
One huge problem I had with this book was how the author referred to female characters as “girls” when they were clearly over the legal age of adulthood (18 years old in the US). Females who make it to 18 and beyond are called women; calling them “girls” is infantilizing and condescending. This aspect of the book really upset me, and every time I came across its use it would derail me from the story.
Aside from the infuriating use of a patronizing term, I did enjoy this book. The plot was light and fun, and the developments kept me interested. It was very curious to me that the author would choose to fictionalize many aspects of Google, since the reality of the place is already rather (self-consciously) wacky. In any case, it all hung together very well and made for good reading.
A twentysomething website designer suddenly finds himself without a job and takes a job at the titular bookstore. He quickly learns that the odd bookstore has even odder books and few (and secretive) customers. So he investigates what's going and brings in some friends into the investigations and they lead to a secret society. There's a lot of cool ideas going on here and so many geek and pop-culture references that it helps to be familiar with Generation X stuff. But while the story drew me in immediately, once I was halfway through it wasn't as much as a page-turner as before. Also, the characters are basically ciphers. But it was interesting enough to finish it. One thing is for sure, the author is a big fan of books, the internet, and Google.
This is a super fun book! I like books about books so I was obliged to read it. I loved the story and the combination between literature and technology, although I had felt lost with the technological jargon. I loved the lack or little romantic involvement. The final message of the manuscript Manutius was perfect and the storytelling was impeccable. However, the end of the bookstore was a little ambiguous...
I recommend it for those who want to have some fun and dive into the world of literature.
Quando começaram as propagandas sobre esse livro, bem eu já tinha ouvida muitas coisas a respeito dele. E estava curiosa. Muito curiosa. Não é todo dia que escuto uma amiga dizer que largou todos os livros que estava lendo para se dedicar somente a leitura de um – eu, pessoalmente, raramente faço isso. Então, foi com muita felicidade e ansiedade que recebi A Livraria 24 horas do Mr. Penumbra. E o resultado disso, você confere agora.
Somos apresentados a Clay, um web designer que consegue um emprego de balconista na livraria do Mr. Penumbra e aos poucos, ele percebe que aquela livraria é mais do que aparenta. Com um grupo de amigos, ele se vê em uma missão e se envolve em eventos fantásticos envolvendo muito mais do que livros – uma sociedade secreta e códigos tão secretos quanto. É uma mistura de passado e presente envolvente. Foi uma boa experiência, mesmo que alguns pontos tenham me decepcionado um pouco.
Alguma coisa no personagem principal não conseguiu ganhar todo o meu coração. Talvez esteja no fato de que seus amigos são um cara fissurado por computadores e uma moça lindamente inteligente que, é claro, é a paixão de Clay. Para mim ele tinha uma mente juvenil demais. Ou então eu esperava muito e me senti frustrada. E é exatamente esse tom juvenil demais que mais me desagradou. Com todos os personagens adultos, eu esperava uma narrativa mais adulta, mais séria. A Livraria 24 horas tem mais similaridades com uma obra young para garotos adolescentes – com os personagens bidimensionais e tudo.
A facilidade com que os problemas encontrados por Clay, Neel e Kat conseguem ser removidos é provavelmente um traço da narrativa de Sloan e a maneira que o autor conseguiu de mostrar que atualmente acreditamos que tudo possa ser encontrado e resolvido na internet – chega até a ser cansativo o número de vezes que Google, Twitter e outros aplicativos são utilizados.
É, de fato, uma leitura divertida. É leve. É sem problemas. E cada personagem tem suas habilidades específicas em uso para um bem comum. Mas, ao final, eu realmente não senti toda a empolgação que aquela minha amiga me passou no começo da resenha. Uma pena, certamente – e pretendo lê-lo novamente no futuro para tirar a prova.
Resenha disponível em http://aluanaminhajanela.blogspot.com.br/
This is a superb book. Inspiring, permanently thrilling, believable but without trying to be, witty and laugh-out-loud funny in places – I can't recommend it enough.
I dug this! It was on the Alex list of adult books with teen appeal and I could definitely see nerdy teens enjoying this. But also nerdy adults. It reminded me a bit of [b:The Magicians 6101718 The Magicians (The Magicians, #1) Lev Grossman http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1313772941s/6101718.jpg 6278977] and also [b:The Da Vinci Code 968 The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2) Dan Brown http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1303252999s/968.jpg 2982101]. (But I don't mean for the DaVinci Code comparison to be a dig, okay???) Fast paced and fun, and deeply rooted in a love of both books and technology. All the references to Google might seem outdated in a few years, who knows? So read it now.The audiobook was fine, and I thought it was cute that the author read the audiobook-within-the-audiobook.
This book features a designer as the principal character, technology, a love for books, typography, secret societies, and some good cryptography principles.
Yes, it sounds like my kind of book, alright. I highly recommend it.
The only real reason for me not to give it 5 stars was the ending. The book always seemed to maintain a good pace, but the ending, even if sufficiently explanatory, felt a little rushed compared to the pace of the rest of the book.
Don't let it keep you from reading, though.
From now on, I will be aware of Mr. Robin Sloan's new books.
‘There is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care. All the secrets in the world worth knowing are hiding in plain sight.'
A book about books: can it get any better? Yes, it can. If you're into technology, using Google as your go-to seeker of information, solving puzzles, cracking codes, and city life, this one's for you. This book has truly made me appreciate the wealth of information I can gather from a few key strokes, and it has sparked in me a new found interest for the art of the old ways of printing books. Paper and technology can co-exist and this book does a fine job of combining the two.
Raise your hand if you Googled any of the following while reading this book:
The Dragon-Song Chronicles by Clark Moffat
Festina lente
Dolphin and Anchor
Grifo Gerritszoon
Aldus Manutius
The guy responsible for creating the glow-in-the-dark book cover, Rodrigo Corral
Favorite quote: “There is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care. All the secrets in the world worth knowing are hiding in plain sight.”
Just finished this charming little book, and really I would give it 4 and a half stars, if allowed. While I did suspect, for a quarter of the book, that this was one giant ad for Google, I quickly got over that and let myself fall into the story. I'm sure other reviewers have recapped, so I will skip to what it was I got from this book: human lives are short, life is better with a quest and a bunch of friends, Google is a great place to work, books are the best thing in life, and all of those kids books I read may just help me later on in life. I liked all of the zany characters in this novel, and appreciated that they all had interesting jobs. I will be nudging a great many people to read this one. I think it would appeal to nerds of every type, book lovers, and anyone who enjoyed the Night Circus (although there is a refreshing lack of romance in Mr. Penumbra).
I liked the build up to the ending more than the actual ending, but it was still a good read. I could have done without the epilogue though.
Have you ever read a Cory Doctorow book and thought “I like the way this guy is all enthusiastic about technology and how it's changing our lives in a million tiny ways, but holy fuck, I wish he wrote more interesting stories”? Then Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is for you! I finished it in two sittings. The last time I did that with a book, it was Phillip Pullman's The Northern Lights. Can't recommend this enough.
What a delight! This book is for readers young and old, paper and electronic. It is a modern homage to books - real, physical, towering stacks of knowledge - but also a testament to the power and possibilities of the digital age.
Reads like a YA novel. Characters are one dimensional, and the “conspiracy” is not intriguing.
Reading this book makes me smile. From discussions about typeface, mention of Google, boob animations, and of course discourse on books, both real and electronic. The ending was rather underwhelming, but the journey there is such a joy that I'll still give this a four stars.
An absolutely charming book. For everyone who loves adventure, books, and a little mystery.
Clay Jannon shuffles into Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore in search of a job and discovers another world. Clay mans the bookstore during the long hours of the night shift and is surprised to learn that there are very few real customers. Instead, the same people return regularly and, rather than buying books, check them out. A mysterious bookstore. A mysterious society. Seeking a mysterious secret hidden through the ages in books. Mysterious.
Clay is intrigued and draws on the knowledge of new and old friends to solve the mysteries.
I was delighted with this little story. Fun. Mysterious, of course. And ultimately satisfying.