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What Members Thought
I fell instantly in love with this book. In many ways, it's a love letter to books themselves and anyone who loves reading and who could get lost in a bookstore for hours will love this one. In other ways it's about friendship and in other ways about how we see ourselves and our position in the world. In others, it just a plain good story about people I really want to be friends with. Very highly recommended.
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3.5 stars...would have given it a straight three but listened to the audible version with Kendra and the reader (Ari Fliakos) was simply dead on in his narration, making our trip from CT-Boston-LakePlacid-CT really enjoyable. Even the last 90 minutes when we listened through a makeshift speaker fashioned out of a styrofoam coffee cup :)
Listened to audiobook on drive up to Berkeley. Very entertaining!
Nov 25, 2013
s_evan
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
book-group-books,
fiction
I really liked this fun tale that explored technology, old knowledge (and ways of being), and San Francisco. There were some lines that were remarkably witty or chuckle-worthy, others that were so corny (otherwise it would have ben a 5). I especially liked this as an anti-dote to 'The Circle' since it was a more layered look at technology and the written word (and San Francisco's characters/caricatures) rather than being dystopic.
Also, the cover is so cool: glow-in-the-dark books on bookshelves ...more
Also, the cover is so cool: glow-in-the-dark books on bookshelves ...more
I love this book more the more I reflect. It was a love story to books and bookstores, and it was also a love song for the digital revolution. Mix in a deep respect for gaming, fantasy book theologies, secret societies, and ironic t-shirts, and the tale that swirls in and around Mr. Penumbra's bookstore is pretty much this modern librarian's dream. I'll admit that it took a little while to grow on me, but I ended up loving it.
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I agree with others' reviews that say this is kind of in the vein of Shadow of the Wind or Neal Stephenson's work, but is a MUCH lighter read. Quick and enjoyable.
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I was consistently surprised by how much I enjoyed the journey throughout this book!
Quirky and enjoyable.
Oct 31, 2012
Maggie Downs
marked it as to-read
Nov 09, 2012
Camille
marked it as to-read
Nov 19, 2012
Jana
marked it as to-read
Nov 29, 2012
Elizabeth
added it
Dec 10, 2013
Akilah
marked it as to-read
Dec 15, 2014
Cassandra Moore
marked it as to-read
