{"product_id":"9780804171632","title":"What We See When We Read","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKirkus \u003c\/i\u003eBest Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA gorgeously unique, fully illustrated exploration into the phenomenology of reading—how we visualize images from reading works of literature, from one of our very best book jacket designers, himself a passionate reader. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat do we see when we read? Did Tolstoy really describe Anna Karenina? Did Melville ever really tell us what, exactly, Ishmael looked like? The collection of fragmented images on a page—a graceful ear there, a stray curl, a hat positioned just so—and other clues and signifiers helps us to create an image of a character. But in fact our sense that we know a character intimately has little to do with our ability to concretely picture our beloved—or reviled—literary figures. In this remarkable work of nonfiction, Knopf's Associate Art Director Peter Mendelsund combines his profession, as an award-winning designer; his first career, as a classically trained pianist; and his first love, literature—he considers himself first and foremost as a reader—into what is sure to be one of the most provocative and unusual investigations into how we understand the act of reading.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47030873981168,"sku":"9780804171632","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780804171632_p0.jpg?v=1763729451","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780804171632","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}