Rejected Book Cover Designs

Friday, May 4, 2012 See How Christopher Buckley's New Book MIGHT Have Looked Hi everyone! I'm Madeleine Crum, the Assistant Books Editor. I want to share a new series we started a few weeks ago called "Rejected Covers," where we discuss and share images of the thought process behind new releases you're likely to spot at the front of bookstores. So far we've talked about "The Mirage" by Matt Ruff, "Second Person SIngular" by Sayed Kashua and "The Wizard of Oz," redesign for Penguin's "Threads" series. We're crazy about design at HuffPost Books, and think it's an interesting and important way to keep physical books relevant (we especially love Melville House's "Art of the Novella" series!) But book covers aren't just about creating beautiful objects readers can display on their coffee tables: They convey the mood of, or an important moment in a novel in a concise way, and play a big role in the way a book is marketed. This week we featured Christopher Buckley's new book, "They Eat Puppies, Don't They?" designed by Will Staehle. Buckley also wrote "Thank You For Smoking," and his latest is an equally snarky take on a defense lobbyist who will stop at nothing to soil our country's perception of China. Staehle and his team illustrated this theme in the style of a communist propaganda poster, but not before tossing around a ton of other compelling ideas first. If you judge books by their covers, check out our awesome new series! More on HuffPost Books VOTE: Help Make A Dream Come True Helen Keller's Secret Love Life Emilio Estevez: Why I Wrote My Memoir With a Guy Named Martin Sheen The World Of Miniature Books Literary Recipes: Walt Whitman's Cranberry Coffee Cake BLOG POSTS Nicole Villeneuve: Literary Recipes: Walt Whitman's Cranberry Coffee Cake Among Whitman's collection of papers are the few recipes he liked enough to preserve -- one for coffee cake. Whitman's letters have inspired my new personal philosophy: Live every day with sass, and with several slices of cake. Ann Bauer: In Praise of Flawed Women During the long year that The Forever Marriage was circulating, I sought out portraits of imperfect but redeemable women. A.J. Walkley: Are Book Trailers Necessary? Trailers for movies make sense -- a visual medium for a visual product. If you aim to read a book, why do you need anything more than the synopsis of the book before you know whether you want to read it? Debra Ollivier: Deborah Copaken Kogan On The Red Book, Reunions, And Real Life Reversals of fortune and the artifice of self-presentation are the subjects of author Deborah Copaken Kogan's superb new novel, "The Red Book." Philip Warburg: Wind in the Flint Hills In the Flint Hills of Kansas, rancher Pete Ferrell angered neighbors when he allowed turbines on his land. They preferred looking at pristine prairie; he chose to invest in a sustainable, locally abundant energy resource.

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