Chronicle Books Blog

When you’re traveling in a foreign city, it’s a blessing to be able to go into somebody’s home. Especially when the city is big, loud, expensive, and a machine for tourism, like Paris. You see the insides of hotels, gardens, parks, museums, restaurants, but so rarely a home, a place where people actually live.

Millie and Jim Casper with Chronicle author Jenn Shreve

That’s one reason why it was very pleasant to recently visit Jim Casper and his wife Millie at their apartment in Paris, on the site where the Bastille used to be. One of the best ways to keep on top of contemporary photography is Jim’s Lens Culture. Lens Culture is a magazine/blog/review site and print store; it’s hugely informative and a joy to read.

Lens Culture Magazine website

Jim and Millie were entertaining a friend for her birthday when we stopped by. Then a few other visitors dropped in: super-sharp Japanese publisher Masakazu Takei, whose Foil magazine and gallery feature excellent new art and photography, and Korean photographer Han Sungpil, whose evocative photos of nuclear plant cooling towers in pastoral landscapes graced the current issue of Foil.

Photographer Han Sungpil and publisher Masakazu Takei

Something about all of us being from elsewhere, sheltered from a sudden storm, made Jim and Millie’s apartment that much more comforting. Maybe this is specious advice, but if you can get invited into the homes of friends and acquaintances while abroad, do. And read Lens Culture.

-Alan Rapp

Conceive Magazine held a book launch on April 24 for its first book, The Fertility Journal: A Day-by-Day Guide to Getting Pregnant. Designed to help women understand and track their monthly reproductive cycle, this journal is an essential tool for creating a family. We’re very excited to introduce this book and hope it assists many women on their journey to parenthood.

The party was held at a local, eclectic independent bookstore called UrbanThink!, which is downstairs from our office, and has both an amazing book selection and delicious treats from Infusion Tea, a vegetarian teahouse and café.

The Fertility Journal was written by fertility expert and founder of Conceive Magazine, Kim Hahn, as well as Conceive’s amazing editors. Kim was kind enough to sign copies throughout the night.

Michele, Conceive’s Administrative Assistant (and party planning queen), designed and catered the event, while the rest of the Conceive staff and family members helped to execute it. There were even cookies made to mirror the flower images on the cover. Aren’t they perfect? UrbanThink! manager Jim was spotted hitting up the cookie jar numerous times throughout the night.

We had a great turnout with about 60 people in attendance and know that the party was a success. As you can tell by our big smiles, the entire staff was very proud of the event.

To take a sneak peek inside the book visit www.TheFertilityJournal.com. And to stay up to date with everything happening with Conceive visit us at www.conceiveonline.com.

Thanks!
The Conceive Staff :)

The Big Beef Burger Stuffed with Blue Cheese

A grill book, especially one geared toward weeknight meals, wouldn’t be complete without burger recipes. For blue cheese lovers, nothing beats a beef burger seared on the outside, with a warm nugget of melting cheese in the center. Use a tangy, full-flavored blue cheese with lots of blue veining and a hint of salt. I’ve kept these burgers simple, with the addition of just lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise, but add whatever condiments you like, including bacon strips or grilled onions.

1 1/2 pounds freshly ground chuck
3 tablespoons grated yellow onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 sesame-seed hamburger buns, split
4 lettuce leaves
1 large tomato, sliced
Mayonnaise
Pickles

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill on high.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, onion, thyme, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape each portion into a ball. Press your thumb into the top of a ball, making a depression about 1 inch deep. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the cheese into the depression, press the beef over the cheese to enclose it, and shape the ball into a patty 1 inch thick. Repeat to form 3 more patties. Refrigerate the patties while the grill heats.

Oil the grill grate. Brush the burgers on both sides with the canola oil. Place the burgers directly over the hot fire and sear on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and sear on the other side until juicy and medium-rare, about 4 minutes more. Place the buns, cut side down, on the grill to toast during the last minute the burgers are cooking.

Serve the burgers on the toasted buns with the lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. Pass the pickles.

Serves 4

Purchase Grill Every Day.

Click here for more great recipes.

Peter Perez
Senior Marketing Manager

Chronicle’s dear friend and trusted talent Sam Potts (designer for The Spider-Man Chronicles and more!) recently refreshed his website, www.sampottsinc.com. Website as Jedi Mind Trick itself is worth a visit for any designer seeking more clients; other witty tricks are equally clever and delightful.

Aya Akazawa
Senior “Cute Specialist” Designer

Yesterday was a big day for Bay Area photographer David Maisel. First, he gave a lecture about his beautifully enigmatic work to a packed house at the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts. Second, he received an advance copy of Library of Dust, his third monograph and a book whose substance and quality are a source of pride for everyone here who worked on it.

David Maisel in his Headlands Center studio with Library of Dust proofs affixed to the wall.

David and I had met years back through the local photo community, but it was on a trip to Portland for a review at Photolucida where we spent some concerted time together, discussing a mutual love of the work and writings of artist Robert Smithson over a fish dinner in a hotel restaurant. Since then David published two monographs, and his star has dramatically risen, both critically and commercially.

As someone who admired David’s work, I was honored that he came to Chronicle to discuss publishing his third book. In some ways quite different than his haunting aerial landscapes of desecrated environments, Library of Dust is intense and dark, but also intimate, thoughtful, and extremely moving. But like his other work it allows the viewer to stare into troubling places, which are also mirrors to ourselves. In depicting copper canisters containing the cremated remains of patients from an Oregon state psychiatric hospital–which over time have corroded and bloomed with secondary minerals–Library of Dust goes where few contemporary art projects dare to.

With the help of the very talented designer Bob Aufuldish and in-house designer Brooke Johnson and production coordinator Tera Killip, we arrived at a rather large format for this book: 17 inches high. Seeing the reproductions at this size, along with a color range that really pushed what can be done with four-color printing, make for an immersive experience that affects everyone who holds the book.

David’s studio with large Library of Dust prints

At last night’s event, David gave an overview of his work that kept the audience spellbound, many of whom were there to see musician and fellow Headlands Center artist-in-residence Will Oldham. The audience was rapt as David scrolled through his major bodies of work, save for occasional gasps at the more astonishing images and poetic turns of phrase; when the lights came up an enormous round of applause erupted. It’s just the start of what promises to be an extensive lecture and exhibition series for David, and a promising preview for this major photography book. Thanks David, for making it happen with us.