BY ITS COVER: Mao, Mammaries, and Margaritaville

LOGAN AIRPORT—Among the obligatory Michael Crichton, Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell, and John Grisham offerings, I discovered these holiday in-flight gems...

“MAO: The Unknown Story,” by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday

This cover shows unwavering focus, from the main title in giant gold block letters to the artistic rendering of the man himself looming over the authors’ names. Then there’s the red background, a not-so-subtle homage to the “little red book.” Apparently it’s a national bestseller, and Time Magazine seemed to like it. Plus, who wouldn’t want “the unknown story” on one of the world’s all-time most notorious dictators?

“Confessions of a Video Vixen,” by Karrine Steffans

Exactly what kind of “video” isn’t specified, but given that the cover photo features a woman in a corset draped over a chaise and wearing an expression that says, “Just look what this top does for my breasts,” one could imagine that Steffans’ videos come in plastic wrappers. I wonder what the “bonus materials inside” could be...

“A Salty Piece of Land,” by Jimmy Buffett

Any book by Jimmy Buffett has to be good, right? That seems to be what his marketing team was thinking, since Buffett’s name, in red foiled lettering, dwarfs not only the little lighthouse hanging out on the aforementioned piece of land, but also the title, which practically gets lost against its background of sky with puffy white clouds. This would have made great beach reading, but might be too painful a reminder during the long winter months.