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    Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel
    Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel
    Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel

    Written by Robin Sloan

    Narrated by Ari Fliakos

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    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 serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead "checking out" impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he's embarked on a complex analysis of the customers' behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what's going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.

    With irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan has crafted a literary adventure story for the twenty-first century, evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or a young Umberto Eco, but with a unique and feisty sensibility that's rare to the world of literary fiction. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave, a modern-day cabinet of wonders ready to give a jolt of energy to every curious reader, no matter the time of day.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateOct 2, 2012
    ISBN9781427227423
    Author

    Robin Sloan

    Robin Sloan is the author of the novels Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore and Sourdough, published in the U.S. by MCD. He grew up near Detroit and now split his time between the Bay Area and the internet.

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    Reviews for Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

    4/5

    3,841 ratings430 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Excellent! Fast paced and spell binding. ? great read. ?
    • 4/5
      what a fun book! i had a great time with this read and loved sloane's humour and style. i am a bit waver-y between 3- and 4-stars because of some plot wobbles and the use of convenience. (i am just not a fan of convenience as a plot device), but the total meta-bookishness of the novel, it's quirk-factor and charm won me over.

      it's not a book i would recommend for everyone but it was the exact right book i needed to read right now.
    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed this book, mostly because how it was written. I do love a well written book, and this one managed to mix humor, tech and the love of books with mystery. I do not like to compare books, but if I would have to, yes a bit of Carlos Ruiz Zafon vibes with the whole something strange afoot.

      For a book lover, this is the book to read. Clay our hero starts work at a bookstore. Not many people comes by but some of those who do are strange and there is where a mystery is born. Who are they? Why can't he look at the books from the forbidden section? And the mystery grows.

      To his help he has a cute google girl, his old fantasy loving friend and of course Mr Penumbra.

      The hunt for the truth was good, I liked the use of technology in it, and the whole feeling I got. I love books, I will always love books and yes I need real books too.

      A book lovers dream. Put in a mystery and google, and this is what you get. Well written and excellent.
    • 5/5
      I love the reader. His voice is amazing, and he brings life to the characters in this book.
    • 5/5
      What an amazing book! The detail, the description, the amount of intent and passion that went into the storytelling. It was amazing. The story kept me hooked the entire time.
    • 5/5
      This book is not exactly going to change literary minds or make any postmodern waves but I loved the story and I loved how interesting the characters were! I bought a copy because I think this would be great paired with "Ready Player One" for the simple nerd quality of the books. Go read now!
    • 5/5
      This was just lovely! I loved the characters, the pacing of the story. I was tempted to race through it, but I didn't feel like I HAD to just to get to the end. I loved the mystery of the whole story; it was intriguing and kept me interested without being overdone. I enjoyed going on the adventure with Clay. It was fun meeting his new friends and allies and seeing him rely on allies from his past (and present).I was a bit disappointed in Kate and how quickly she changed once she got what she wanted. And I hated how cold and sort of rigid--or disbelieving she was once the truth of the puzzle was revealed, even though it was right there in black in white for all to see. And it was almost as if she was jealous that Clay figured it out without her technology--without her! I was hurt on Clay's behalf by her treatment of him.But what I loved most was Clay's loyalty to Penumbra and solving the puzzle. And that after all the help, the technology and gadgets, he was able to solve it without his huge group of helpers, all on his own and very simply.I've seen where some people were upset with the ending, or the revelation of the mystery was underwhelming. I thought the simplicity of it all was what made it so perfect, so wonderful. After all that work, reading, scheming, programming, computing, etc., the answer was simple and immortality was achieved in a way.
    • 4/5
      This book was chosen as the Group Read for Winter 2012-2013 in my Seasonal Reading Challenge group, and I ended up being very happy with this choice! I am a web developer by trade and loved all the various technical details thrown into this book. I also just loved the idea of a quirky, old, TWENTY-FOUR HOUR bookstore! Bookstores, especially ones with character, are magical places for me, so it was a real win that half this book took place in one.

      This was going to be a five star book for me, but it seemed like after they got to NYC, the plot really slowed down, and the mystery wasn't so interesting anymore. I kept my rating at 4 stars though just because I was totally into the first half of the book, and I thought the resolution being hidden in the Dragon Song books was a fun twist.

      Highly recommended!
    • 5/5
      Synopsis:Clay just got fired and is looking for a job when he walks into Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore to apply for a clerk position. Mr. Penumbra gives him the once over and with a the deep, soul probing question (What is your favorite book and why?) hires him on the spot. Clay takes on the night shift of the 24 hour bookstore and finds that, with the exception of a few eccentric customers requesting exceptionally odd books written in a sort of code. After meeting with another curious character named Kat (WHO WORKS FOR GOOGLE?!?! WWWHHHAAATTT???) things pick up quickly. He infiltrates a secret society and threatens to bring down the very pillars which support the society with the help of a very interesting crew (a warrior and two warlocks [you'll get it later]). All and all this was a PHENOMENAL read! The author is so gifted that he could have been writing about winged horses farting rainbows and I would have been enthralled. He makes the journey though this novel such an enjoyable one that it was effortless to read. I loved the epilogue (and that doesn't happen often) and felt like everything closed appropriately.
    • 2/5
      Not my favorite, a little nerdy for my taste... but a die hard book lover would probably like it
    • 5/5
      A beautiful combination of Harry Potter mysticism and Sherlock Holmes stone cold logic.
    • 3/5
      I thought that the idea was solid-combining modern technology with the 'old fashioned' style of books on an elaborate mission. However, the punch line fell short for me.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful story with absolutely FABULOUS narration! If you’re even thinking about listening to this one, here’s the push you need: do it!
    • 5/5
      So fun, inventive and we’ll written. A truly unique voice. I’m sort of shocked that it’s not higher rated but also not that surprised because it’s not a typical book for an average reader.

      It takes a certain aliveness of imagination to enjoy this book. But if your imagination is alive you’re going to love it.
    • 5/5
      Awesome narrator! Reminded me of A Christmas Story narration. Brava!
    • 3/5
      the first 189 pgs were good, but I put the book down for a few days and just couldn't get back into it as much. The one part that was bothersome was I felt that cracking the mystery with technology killed all the hard work and due diligence that all had done 500 years ago. The main characters were not hesitant to expose the secret society which seemed careless and disloyal somehow.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected. Here are some reasons why: a secret society in a book store, codes, coding and data visualization, a glow in the dark cover, Google, Mr. Penumbra, typography, fantasy literature and RPGs, ereaders, clues in audiobooks, and hidden libraries.Basically, this book is a giant hodgepodge of all sorts of nerdy fun.I was hooked by the time Clay met Mr. Penumbra on page 9, particularly by this line (his enthusiasm for this book made me grin): "Tell me," Penumbra said, "about a book you love.'" I knew my answer immediately. No competition. I told him, "Mr. Penumbra, it's not one book, but a series. It's not the best writing and it's probably too long and the ending is terrible, but I've read it three times, and I met my best friend because we were both obsessed with it back in sixth grade." I took a breath. "I love The Dragon-Song Chronicles."On the downside, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore probably wouldn't be as enjoyable for people who don't aren't avid book-lovers or who aren't part of Generation Y. Also, thanks to all the technology references, this book will definitely be dated within a year or two.Moral of the story: read it before it becomes dated!
    • 4/5
      Clay Jannon is an out-of-work graphic designer when he comes across Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore in the Broadway porn gulch in San Francisco. In short order, Clay is hired for the 10pm-to-6am shift. It's hard to figure out why the bookstore is open at all, let alone 24 hours, since customers are extremely infrequent--and quite bizarre. There are only a few books for sale on the floor. The real bookstore seems to be what Clay calls the Waybacklist; a collection of unique, leather-bound titles in the back, shelved to an absolutely dizzying height. And when I say unique, I mean it. Clay can't find any of these titles listed in any catalog. They can't be purchased; only borrowed by the strange members of a club, who always know exactly what title they want next when they return a book.With so few bookstore customers to distract him, Clay can't help investigating the meaning of the Waybacklist and its mysterious patrons. He soon recruits a league of friends to help in his quest, including new girlfriend Kat, from Google, his roommate Mat, who works at Industrial Light and Magic, startup multi-millionaire Neel, and several others. The conjunction of the team's ultra-modern technological resources with the dusty arcana of the Waybacklist, full of old knowledge--or OK, as Kat says it is known at Google--is one of the most fascinating aspects of the book.The quest takes us from San Francisco to the Google campus (described in entertaining detail, especially the café), the headquarters of a secret society in New York, a knitting museum in the East Bay, and a museum warehouse in Nevada. We learn a lot of fascinating details about programming languages, the history of type fonts and printing, and attacking data-intensive problems by distributing them across huge numbers of machines and people. There is whole lot going on in this relatively short book, but author Sloan never loses control of his story. It's always about the people and, in short, the meaning of life.Funny, suspenseful and heartwarming, this is an adventure story that celebrates both Old Knowledge and modern technology. Highly recommended.DISCLOSURE: I received a free review copy of this book.
    • 5/5


      So goddam good!! One of the most fun and enjoyable books I have read in a very long time.
    • 5/5
      I'm convinced that Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan was written just for me. I was absolutely enthralled by page 10, smiling as I was reading and confident that this was going to be a five star review by the end, and I was right.So what's got me all excited? Well, Mr Penumbra owns a 24 hour bookstore that never closes, with regular new books for sale at the front of the store. Also for sale - and the real purpose for the store - are second hand, fabric and leather bound books at the back of the store on high shelves accessed by several ladders and are only for sale to customers with a special member number.Clay starts working at Penumbra's as a clerk during the late shift and all he needs to do is serve the customers and record all of the details about the members purchasing books from the high shelves into a large register. He is told not to look inside any of these books, and the members are all eccentric in their own way.During the course of the novel, Clay unveils a secret bookish quest involving the bound and unbound, meets a super smart girl who works for Google and learns that the member books don't exist according to the world wide web.Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is a book for book-lovers, those who enjoy unravelling mysteries and modern day quests involving intellects rather than knights with swords. Our hero has a computer as his weapon and a girlfriend working at Google as his 2IC. Some quirky and interesting characters add depth and enjoyment and I just didn't want this novel to end.I heartily recommend Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore to all readers and stand by it as one of my favourite reads for 2012.Carpe Librum! Or as they say in the book: Festina Lente
    • 3/5
      Actually this is a 3.5 stars. The book was very unique, but the ending wrapped up too neatly. I enjoyed reading this though, because it is different than a lot of books I've read. I recommend this book for a change of pace!
    • 5/5
      I got Carlos Ruiz Zafon´s vibe out of this book. And it is a good vibe.
      Also this book gets an automatic plus one star for referencing Harry Potter.
    • 3/5
      Quirky fun filled with nerds. Though the characters shine, the story seems to get in the way of us getting to know them all that well. Not that I don’t like the story, but it could have been fleshed out a bit more. Otherwise it’s light and cinematic – all of which should attract readers.
    • 5/5
      A really fun listen!! I love books and the bookstore environment, and the blend of old books and cutring-edge tech makes this a very interesting listen. The author works in a lot of little quips, and I found myself intrigued and smiling a lot.
    • 3/5
      A fun techie book all about books, mysteries, and the unknown future. Best line:
      “There is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care.”
    • 4/5
      Tolles Buch, macht viel Spaß. Sehr spannend, sehr sympathische Charaktere, mystischer Plot mit Rätseln und unerwarteten Wendungen. Eines der sehr seltenen Bücher, in denen Begeisterung für Bücher und Begeisterung für moderne Technik vereint sind. Einziges Problem: Die moderne Technik wird so sehr vergöttert, dass ihre problematischen Seiten fast komplett untergehen. In dieser Hinsicht wirkt das Buch etwas platt und naiv. Aber immerhin sind technische Elemente weitgehend korrekt und realistisch wiedergegeben. Insgesamt eine klare Empfehlung.
    • 2/5
      The DaVinci Code for hipsters.
    • 4/5
      There's a lot to love about this novel. Bookshop setting? Check. Likeable hero? Check. Love interest? Check. Wide range of interesting characters? Check. An intriguing mystery stretching back hundreds of years? Check. I should have absolutely loved Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore, but it left me slightly wanting. All of the obstacles encountered by our hero are easily overcome thanks to having friends with specific talents. An event that should have been a big deal in the love story was summed up in a paragraph with no emotional reaction. There's no real showdown with or explanation of the motives of the main 'villain'. The writing style is mostly good, but some of it is a bit detached, as if the events are happening to someone other than the hero (which is quite an achievement considering it's written in the first person).I also had problems with the birds-and-rainbows picture painted of Google, which definitely isn't as altruistic as is suggested in the novel.Still, I was intrigued enough to race through it to the end, and enjoyed the resolution of the central mystery. I just wish there was a bit more emotional fulfilment, I suppose.
    • 5/5
      In this book, I have found one of my all time favorite books. It is one that I stumbled upon quite by accident, much the way that the main character of this book stumbled upon Mr. Penumbra's book shop. For beneath all the technobabble and occasional boob humor is a beautiful story about human potential in all its forms: that is our potential to learn, to appreciate the written word, to find fellowship in one another. In this sense, it is a story that is eternal, even as it speaks of computer codes, operating systems, and yes, of course, books. A quirky, nerdy gem of a book! It won't be to everyone's taste and it surprises me how much I loved it. Perhaps as the last words of the book state, it was the right book at exactly the right moment.
    • 5/5
      I love a good mystery with books and codes wrapped up in it. This was like reading a bookish version of a Dan Brown novel, only better because the story stayed on track and didn't feel as if the author were trying to prove something to the world. This was simply people enjoying books and wanting to share their love for them while also sharing a piece of themselves. I could get behind a secret society like that!