Chronicle Books Blog

There’s a word that gets thrown at our books and gift products a lot: “quirky.” It’s usually meant as a compliment, but it also feels like something you say when you’re not sure what to say (“she’s um….quirky….”).

But in an increasingly homogenized world, we’ll almost always take it. There are still books that are sufficiently hard to describe, or so counterintuitive, that even if people get it eyebrows are still raised. For example, what about a book of photographs by blind teenagers? Even for a house that has published a number of seriously successful in-betweeners, this was a challenging one to get everyone on-board for. But the story behind it is uniquely compelling, and the photographs that these students took demonstrate a lot of things about perception, imagination, and our potential to always go beyond supposed limitations.

The book’s author, Tony Deifell, took an approach that was as unique as the book itself. Tony is a social entrepreneur with several interesting ventures who knows how to bring creative, dedicated people together to maximize any effort. Tony didn’t just write a book; he amassed a team of friends and volunteers to organize activities and events around it. He also thought Chronicle was the right publisher for his book because of our motto, “We see things differently.”

Reba Drew and Merlett Lowery sign books. Photo by Leslie Keough.

The major event, dubbed the Seeing Beyond Salon and cohosted by the Craigslist Foundation, was held in San Francisco last month. Two of Tony’s former students whose work is in the book, Merlett Lowery and Reba Drew, took their first airplane trips to attend the event and sign books. There was a tactile collage, and more people took up the ongoing “blind photography” challenge. It was a broadly inclusive celebration of the book, and a way for nonprofits and other unique organizations to network.

Tactile Collage led by artist Andera Maynard. Photo by Leslie Keough.

Last week Tony had people over to his apartment as a way to say thanks for everyone’s help. The group was big, each person having contributed to the book’s effort in a significant way; some of us were meeting for the first time. Tony asked us each to introduce ourselves and talk about our “passion project”—something challenging and not with monetary reward in mind, but which you feel so strongly about you do it anyway. I thought this was the an appropriate close to the whole project, one that took him on a journey well over a decade, and for which he went far beyond what many people think of when they think “Author.” So . . . quirky? Or passionate?

Author Tony Deifell at the post-publication gathering. Photo by Nick Sholley.

We just awarded 25 lucky ducks a free pattern to make Amy Butler’s awesomely oversized Betty Shopper. If you missed that promotion (which was emailed a few weeks ago via our special offers e-newsletter), don’t forget that we often offer free sample patterns from our books right here on chroniclebooks.com. Right now we have a pretty sash from Amy Butler’s In Stitches, badass wrist warmers from Pretty In Punk, and three sweet wee-one projects from our Baby Knits Kit. Enjoy them! And poke around for all the others.

Want a free sample project from one of our other craft books? Write me a note in the comments below and I’ll see what I can do.

Kate Prouty
Assistant Editor, Home

The books:

Mommy’s Summer Fried Chicken from The Martha’s Vineyard Table

This dish is a classic in the African American repertoire. It’s what my family ate on the road and on picnics and at home on Sundays. When it comes to fried chicken, there are two basic types of cooks: the dredgers and the batterers. I’m a dredger, preferring the crunch of a crisp skin that is free of batter. This is my mother’s recipe. The Bell’s poultry seasoning is not optional, as other brands will have a different taste.

Serves 4 to 6

1 frying chicken, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, cut into serving pieces
Vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup white cornmeal
1 1/2 tablespoons Bell’s poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to taste

Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Pour the oil to a depth of about 1 inch into a deep cast-iron skillet and heat to 350°F on a deep-frying thermometer. While the oil is heating, combine the flour, cornmeal, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper in a brown paper bag and shake to mix well. Place the chicken pieces, a few at a time, in the bag and shake well to coat evenly. Remove from the bag and shake off the excess flour mixture.

Working in batches, place the chicken pieces in the skillet and fry, turning the pieces as they brown, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crispy and cooked through . To check for doneness, prick the pieces with a fork in the thickest part; the juices should run clear with no trace of blood. Transfer to paper towels to drain and keep warm in a low oven. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Note: The chicken is traditionally drained on pieces of brown paper bag, but paper towels will do just fine.

Jessica B. Harris

Oh, stop it.

We cannot believe the uproar caused by our little book, Porn for Women! It wasn’t like we invaded a sovereign Middle Eastern country, or single handedly brought back leggings! People, please calm down.

Most of you love our porn. But, apparently, some of you hate our porn. And some of you just can’t make up your minds. So, today I’ll step out of the Cambridge Women’s Pornography Cooperative’s (CWPC) lab to address a few of the negative comments our book has received. Maybe in the end you’ll warm to our cold hard facts.

Complaint #1: Porn for Women implies that this porn will appeal to all women because women respond sexually as one robotic Borg. OK, I admit that we took some artistic license with the title. We toyed with Porn for Lots and Lots of Women, Porn for Most of the Women We Know, and Porn for Women, Except for the Women for Whom This Porn Isn’t. None of them quite had the ring of Porn for Women.

Seriously, aren’t we getting a little bit picky here? Do you think that the person who wrote The Dangerous Book for Boys was certain that all his ideas would in fact appeal to all boys? (Actually, judging by its freakishly rapid sales, maybe he did). No. Look, we tested this porn. We had actual women of all ages, shapes, sizes, and political bents come to our laboratories and view images. We had sensors, heart rate monitors, and all kinds of bio feedback devices. We found that stuff like this:

Figure #1:

I love a clean house

was more appealing to most women than this:

Figure #2:

Bottom line: this book is based on hard science. Rock hard science.

So we can’t apologize for the breadth of our material’s appeal. It simply IS appealing to a lot of women (OK, OK, not every single woman). It may not be for you, but a lot of us think this stuff:

Figure #3:

I like to get to these things before I have to be asked

is totally hot.

Next time we’ll address this question: is Porn for Women belittling women’s real needs by turning us into domestically obsessed, easy-to-please, empty-headed lap dogs? My goodness, we’ll have to think about that one.

-Gloria, Lab Manager, CWPC

Have something to say to us at the CWPC? Please post a comment below.

By the time you read this, I’ll be far, far away, basking on a beach in Baja. Okay, maybe more like baking on a beach… But I love Mexico in the summer. The air so crazy hot you feel your skin melting into the sweat that drips from your temples and permanently moistens the creases in your elbows. When there really is nothing else to do but wait in your hammock for a skin-diver to emerge from the water carrying the octopus you’ll eat for dinner. To me, Mexico means thick, handmade corn tortillas; fresh mangoes served with rock salt; ice-cold Coronas you somehow can drink like water and never get a headache; and color.

I can’t get enough of the rich, saturated hues of Mexican architecture. We decided to splurge on three nights at a fancy hotel in Loreto based almost entirely on the fact that it had walls the color of sangria. Well, that and the glass-bottomed pool on the roof, which casts the most amazing light into the colonial-style foyer. How cool is that? (I’ll give you a full report upon my return…)

With all this vacation planning, I’ve had Mexico on the mind for the last few weeks. Lucky for me, thumbing through gorgeous illustrated books is just another day on the job here at Chronicle.

Once I got started, I was hooked: Mexicolor, Mexicasa, Mexicocina, In a Mexican Garden, Mexican Textiles, Hecho en México, Mexican Calendar Girls, Cine Mexicano… My desk looks like a piñata filled with books exploded above it. (Sorry, you’re not getting a photo of that embarrassment.)

Where I’m going (at least for the first half of the trip) there’s no phone, let alone Internet. But don’t worry, I’ll send a postcard.

¡Hasta luego!

Guinevere Harrison
Marketing Design Coordinator