Note: Wendy Jehanara Tremayne will be presenting her book at Powell's City of Books on Sunday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m. For seven years Mikey and I...
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jaymaolivia, May 20, 2013 (view all comments by jaymaolivia)
Read it solely because of a recommendation from a friend and could not put it down. It is the book for book lovers with some fantasy mixed in. It is the kind of book that you will walk past in a store, pause and smile :)
Teri Linquist, May 7, 2013 (view all comments by Teri Linquist)
Every once in awhile a book manages to capture the essence of something you have been searching for. A quiet unassuming book that brings to life the search for something bigger that we all secretly yearn for. The ultimate grown up "quest" book.
Max, February 10, 2013 (view all comments by Max)
It is one of those books you can't put down. Part mystery, part ode to the book, part romp through technology, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is magical. You'll find yourself equally engrossed in the characters and in untangling what the heck is going on. I took it on a trip to the east coast for the weekend- it was the perfect length.
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surprisefish42, January 31, 2013 (view all comments by surprisefish42)
This book reminded me of Neal Stephenson mixed with Umberto Eco, with a little touch of Michael Chabon and a healthy dose of topicality. It was interesting, fast-moving, and never disappointing. I highly recommend it.
Rachel Coker, January 30, 2013 (view all comments by Rachel Coker)
Such fun! One of the best books I have read all year, no question. At one point, I desperately wanted to know how the novel would end and simultaneously didn't want to finish it. I liked the characters, the tone, the language, the plot. It's unusual to read a book that's *so* very of the moment, complete with references to Facebook and Google. But it absolutely works. I love the collaboration of bookish nerd and computer geek, the triumph of said bookish nerd and the concluding message: almost nothing is more important than "the right book exactly, at exactly the right time."
"Publishers Weekly Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"For those who fear that the Internet/e-readers/whatever-form-of-technological-upheaval-is-coming has killed or will kill paper and ink, Sloan's debut novel will come as good news. A denizen of the tech world and self-described 'media inventor' (formerly he was part of the media partnerships team at Twitter), Sloan envisions a San Francisco where piracy and paper are equally useful, and massive data-visualization — processing abilities coexist with so-called 'old knowledge.' Really old: as in one of the first typefaces, as in alchemy and the search for immortality. Google has replaced the Medici family as the major patron of art and knowledge, and Clay Jannon, downsized graphic designer and once-and-future nerd now working the night shift for bookstore owner Mr. Penumbra, finds that mysteries and codes are everywhere, not just in the fantasy books and games he loved as a kid. With help from his friends, Clay learns the bookstore's idiosyncrasies, earns his employer's trust, and uses media new, old, and old-old to crack a variety of codes. Like all questing heroes, Clay takes on more than he bargained for and learns more than he expected, not least about himself. His story is an old-fashioned tale likably reconceived for the digital age, with the happy message that ingenuity and friendship translate across centuries and data platforms. Agent: Sarah Burnes, the Gernert Company." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
"Review"
by George Saunders, in Blip Magazine,
"Wonderful...I had a great time reading [Mr. Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore], flew through it in one sitting....The reader gets that deeply satisfying feeling of entering a wholly created world, and looking on in wonder as that world gets created by the authors fearlessness and disregard for convention....It's a lot of fun, a real tour de force."
"Review"
by Nick Harkaway,
"I love this book....It's a good-hearted, optimistic book about friendship and being alive and the lure of the mysterious. It's a book that shows you Google the way Google sees itself, and bookshops the way bookshops ought to be. Its a tonal roadmap to a positive relationship between the old world and the new. It's a book that gets it. Plus, you know: book cults, vertical bookshops, hot geeks, theft, and the pursuit of immortality. This book is in my emotional heartland."
"Review"
by George Saunders, Blip Magazine,
"Wonderful...I had a great time reading [Mr. Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore], flew through it in one sitting....The reader gets that deeply satisfying feeling of entering a wholly created world, and looking on in wonder as that world gets created by the authors fearlessness and disregard for convention....It's a lot of fun, a real tour de force."
"Review"
by Nick Harkaway, author of The Gone-Away World and Angelmaker,
"I love this book....It's a good-hearted, optimistic book about friendship and being alive and the lure of the mysterious. It's a book that shows you Google the way Google sees itself, and bookshops the way bookshops ought to be. Its a tonal roadmap to a positive relationship between the old world and the new. It's a book that gets it. Plus, you know: book cults, vertical bookshops, hot geeks, theft, and the pursuit of immortality. This book is in my emotional heartland."
"Review"
by Charles Yu, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe,
"A clever, entertaining story that also manages to be a thought-provoking meditation on progress, information and technology. Full of intelligence and humor."
"Review"
by Emily Temple, Flavorpill,
"A mysterious bookstore, puzzles, adventure, secret societies, quirky humor, new knowledge, old knowledge, and old-old knowledge. What else could you want in a book? Seriously."
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