Chronicle Books Blog

A new year is just around the corner, so in honor of bidding farewell to 2011 and saying hello to 2012, Design Desk is embracing the spirit of “New Year, New You” and featuring some of our favorite cover makeovers.

As with any makeover, a new cover can inspire a shift in perception and revitalize timeless and well-loved content. And as the Penguin Classics Threads series reminds us, a makeover has the power to transfigure the simplest of forms into an object of beauty.

Left to right: A classic Emma cover and the Penguin Threads version by illustrator Jillian Tamaki.

A new cover can modernize and surprise while attracting new audiences.

Left to right: Original cover and cover illustration by Lina Stigsson for Penguin Ink.

Multiple makeovers of the same cover ensure that there’s something for every reading personality.

Left to right: Wuthering Heights 2010 cover; cover design and illustration by Jessica Hische for Sterling Publishing; and cover illustration by Ruben Toledo.

Or reflect the cultural preferences of different countries.

Left to right: The U.K. cover and the Chronicle Books version, The Wonderful World of Fifi Lapin.

A new cover can inform readers that there’s new content to discover.

Left to right: Original and revised edition of Craft, Inc.

It can elevate and engage… and make you want to drink wine.

Left to right: Original game and Chronicle Books’ revised version of Winerd.

A new cover can turn forgotten treasures of yore into relevant pearls of wisdom for today.

Left to right: Originally written and published in the 1930s; Chronicle Books’ revised edition, Bubbly on Your Budget.

Sometimes makeovers call for entire reinvention, but other times, it’s about subtly leveraging one’s assets.

Left to right: The original edition of Allure; Bullfinch edition; and cover for the Chronicle Books edition of this classic book.

Though the adage “You can’t judge a book by its cover” may ring true when applied to most things in life, we would be remiss as book designers to apply that thinking to our own craft. You can, in fact, judge a book by its cover. And sometimes a makeover is just what a cover needs.

Jennifer Tolo Pierce
Design Director

Hands down there’s no question that the color of the holidays this year is GOLD. Pantone 10120 is a beautiful clear gold shade—not too greeny, not too pinky—that perfectly encapsulates everything we’re obsessed with this holiday season:

The gold matches (did you get that? Gold. Matches.) from The City Club of San Francisco where our company holiday party was held this year.

This was the most coveted and fought-over gift at our annual editorial white elephant party (easy to see why).

The book I bought myself for Christmas.

The bag my boss is hoping Santa will bring her.

How utterly amazing it this? The Impossible Project just released instant film for Polaroid cameras that comes out with a gold border instead of the traditional white. Photo by the talented Bonnie Tsang (visit Tsang’s site and check out the feature on Bri Emery’s loft to see many more wonderful gold things).

Gold also turns out to be the color du jour for, of all things, sweaters. Above the fabulous girls of DwellStudio.

My own personal hop onto the gold sweater bandwagon is from J.Crew (sorry, cute baby not included).

And I got this sweet little girl’s version from the Gap for a small friend.

Finally, of course, it’s the absolute perfect shade for all your festive holiday décor needs.

Thanks, gold, for making the holidays so lustrous this year.
Thanks, Pantone, for, as always, helping us pinpoint our color fixations with precision.
And a very merry everything to all of you! Thank you SO much for reading The Chronicle Books Blog this year. You guys rock. See you in 2012!

Bridget Watson Payne
Editor

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This week’s guest blogger is the formidable Chester Hastings – trained chef, cheesemonger, and writer. His first cookbook The Cheesemonger’s Kitchen has recently been called out by the Chicago Tribune as one of the best of 2011.

Here’s a holiday-appropriate recipe taken from the book that sounds divine. Do you use cheese as an ingredient when cooking? Do you have an absolute favorite cheese on hand at all times for repeated culinary use (besides Parmigiano-Reggiano)? Leave a comment and you’ll be eligible to win a copy we’ll reward to a randomly selected winner (giveaway eligible to readers in the US and Canada only).

FRIED DOUGH AND TIRED COWS

My four-year-old son loves focaccia. Well, actually he loves it when daddy makes focaccia, because inevitably a small pinch of the dough gets flattened, formed into a ring, and quickly fried in some good olive oil until it blows up into a golden doughnut. A quick toss in the sugar bowl and perhaps a dollop of homemade black cherry jam, and we’re both in heaven. He’ll be doubly excited this New Years Eve, when I plan on making my favorite focaccia, the famous Ligurian focaccia col formaggio.

It’s one of those recipes that, like homemade pasta, once you get the hang of it, you’ll be looking for any excuse to make. This hot-from-the-oven cracker bread houses the ooey gooey melted Stracchino cheese which is made from ‘tired’ cow’s milk, when the morning milking is skipped to increase the butterfat of the evening milk (hence the exhausted bovines). Also like homemade pasta, the use of a good pasta machine can make up for any lack of rolling pin skills you may have, especially as the dough is rolled so thin you can watch the Times Square ball drop on television through it!

Focaccia di Recco – Ligurian Cracker Bread with Stracchino

More like two sheets of paper-thin crackers sandwiching one the greatest soft cheeses of all time, fresh Stracchino, this is not the typical Italian olive oil bread.

Crescenza is a good version of the Stracchino cheese, with a texture like ripe Tallegio and a sweet buttermilk tang. This is one of those dishes best made with friends standing nearby, as it should be devoured straight from the oven. Those of you with wood burning ovens that can reach higher temperatures, you are in for a treat!

2 1/2 cups/600 ml all-purpose flour
3/4 cup/180 ml tepid water
1/2 cup/120 ml extra virgin olive oil
8 oz/225 g Stracchino or Crescenza cheese
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, water and 3 tbsp of the olive oil. Knead by hand until a smooth and elastic dough is formed. Shape the dough into a ball, set it back into the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Allow dough to rest at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 500° F/260°C/gas 10.

When dough is rested, divide into two pieces. Roll each piece out separately on a lightly floured surface until dough is paper thin, so that the color of your hand can be seen through it. The masters work the dough like a traditional pizza, using the knuckles of both hands to move the dough in circles off of the table. Conversely, a pasta machine can be used to make rectangle versions, which is actually quite practical for parties.

Grease a large round pizza tray (or rectangular baking sheet) with 2 tbsp of the remaining olive oil. Place one sheet of dough onto the pan.

Tear the cheese into golf ball sized pieces and scatter evenly over the surface of the dough. Place the other sheet of dough on top to flatten slightly the mounds formed by the cheese using the palm of your hand. Gently rub the surface with the remaining oil and create a few holes in the top sheet of dough by pinching and tearing here and there. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt over the surface and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden, with a few burn spots being perfectly desirable and pools of melted cheese forming around the tears.

Cut into squares and serve immediately.

Wine parings
white wine: Pigato from Liguria
red wine: Aglianico

Purchase: The Cheesemonger’s Kitchen: Celebrating Cheese in 90 Recipes.

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Earlier this year, Chronicle published a book called F in Exams: The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers. The premise is basically that most everyone, at one point or another, has been in the situation of having studied hard, but when the big test arrives, you turn over the paper, and you draw a total blank… not a clue.

The book collects examples of the more creative and funny ways that students have tackled those particularly challenging exam questions. A few examples:

People seem to really love the book, which is incredibly gratifying. For instance, our publisher was riding the MUNI train (we’re based in San Francisco) and struck up a conversation with a fellow rider who was laughing out loud because he was reading… F in Exams!

The response has been strong enough that we’re compiling more material for a follow-up title, which we’re calling F for Effort, and which will be out next fall.

Are you a teacher who has been keeping a stash of your favorite student test responses? Are you a student who’s particularly pleased with how you answered question #39? If so, please consider submitting to the book! Any subject is fair game: English, math, science, history, geography, etc.

Please send a scan or a photograph of the page or pages in question to finexams@chroniclebooks.com. If we use your submission, we’ll send you a copy of the finished book. Please note, too, that we don’t name names in the book, so no one will need to fear the public spotlight, but we can all still enjoy.

Steve Mockus
Senior Editor

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During the holidays we are on the lucky receiving end of some thoughtful and charming gifts from the many creative people we work with throughout the year. Here’s a sampling of the lovely and tasty things that we have received this year.

From Smog—the design firm behind the brilliant Beck book, among many others—designer Michael Morris received these tasty looking frozen lasagnas. There’s veal osso buco, wild boar bolognese, and confit baby artichoke among others. Yum! Definitely a unique gift that I admit I’m coveting.

Photographer of Cake Stencils, Angie Cao, sent designer Alice Chau this adorable package of cookies and all the materials she will need to decorate them. Angie’s totally got our number! We (and probably other designers too) go gaga for things in little labeled jars.

Wise photographer Leigh Beisch knows she can’t go wrong with a gift of booze. She also included these charming notecards that feature photos of her cute pug, Bella. Leigh has photographed many cookbooks for us over the years, including the recent beauty, Southern Pies.

Design Army, the firm responsible for the award-winning design of This is NPR, comes through again this year with their fun and wonderfully graphic wrapping paper. Thank you, Design Army! This will be the 3rd year in a row that I have the best looking gifts under the tree!

Illustrator and author of the phenomenal Exquisite Book, Julia Rothman sent several of us this charming ornament that she created with the Land of Nod.

Caitlin Keegan, illustrator of our lovely Shakespeare’s Love Sonnets, continues to help me stay organized with her 2012 calendar (also mentioned in our calendar round up two weeks ago. I love this round format!

Thank you to all our freelancers for thinking of us this year. We feel fortunate to work with such talented and thoughtful people.

Happy Holidays!

Brooke Johnson
Senior Designer