{"product_id":"9781939621023","title":"A Life In Books: The Rise and Fall of Bleu Mobley","description":"\u003cp\u003eA \u003ci\u003eLIFE IN BOOKS: The Rise and Fall of Bleu Mobley\u003c\/i\u003e is an illuminated novel containing 101 books within it, all written by Lehrer’s protagonist who finds himself in prison looking back on his life and career. Nearly a year after the controversial author is thrown into a federal prison for refusing to reveal the name of a confidential source, he decides to break his silence. But it’s not as simple as giving up a name to the grand jury. Over the course of one long night, in the darkness of his prison cell, he whispers his life story into a microcassette recorder, tracing his journey from the public housing project of his youth, to a career as a journalist, then experimental novelist, college professor, accidental bestselling author, pop-culture pundit, and unindicted prisoner.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eA LIFE IN BOOKS\u003c\/i\u003e , Mobley’s autobiography\/apologia is paired with a review of all 101 of his books. Each book is represented by its first-edition cover design and catalogue copy, and more than a third of his books are excerpted. The resulting retrospective contrasts the published writings (which read like short stories) with the author’s confessional memoir, forming a most unusual portrait of a well-intentioned, obsessively inventive (but ethically challenged) visionary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten and designed by award-winning author\/artist \u003cb\u003eWarren Lehrer\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA LIFE IN BOOKS\u003c\/i\u003e is an extraordinarily original, funny, heartwarming and heart-wrenching exploration of one man’s use of books as a means of understanding himself, the people around him, and a half-century of American\/global events. Rich with stories that spring from other stories, this genre-defying novel orchestrates a multicultural symphony of characters from Bleu’s life and books: lovers, mothers, children, friends, enemies, teachers, students, runaways, rebels, thinkers, dreamers, believers, skeptics, the displaced and dispossessed. It celebrates the mysteries and contradictions of the creative process, and grapples with the future of the book as a medium, and the lines that separate truth, myth, and fiction. This four-color, full-length novel—containing over 101 hilarious and scrumptious book cover designs (and book-like objects)—fuses art and literature, and distinguishes itself as one of those books you’ll want to hold in your hands, feast your eyes on, read and re-read, share with friends, and treasure for years to come.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GOFF BOOKS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47054499381488,"sku":"9781939621023","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781939621023_p0.jpg?v=1763664821","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781939621023","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}