This is Not a Book! by Keri Smith

A curious, engaging, and creative rethinking of what a book can be, from the creator of Wreck this Journal.

In this uniquely skewed look at the purpose and function of "a book," Keri Smith offers an illustrated guide that asks readers to creatively examine all the different ways This Is Not a Book can be used. With intriguing prompts, readers will discover that the book can be:

• A secret message-tear out a page, write a note on it for a stranger, and leave it in a public place.
• A recording device-have everyone you contact today write their name in the book.
• An instrument-create as many sounds as you can using the book, like flipping the pages fast or slapping the cover.

This Is Not a Book will engage readers by having them define everything a book can be by asking, "If it's not a book, what is it?" - with a kaleidoscope of possible answers.

In January, I read this post on Cheri's Chatter that got me curious about making a Smash Book or Junk Journal, so I went on-line in search of more information.  I found the Smash Books (scrapbooking for the non-scrapbooker) and ordered Amanda and I each one.  It's still sitting on my dresser, untouched, because... as I was surfing, I also found This is Not a Book by Keri Smith.  I ordered two copies of it and Amanda and I are completing them as a mother/daughter project.  (We'll get to the Smash Books later.)

As the blurb says, each page of This is Not a Book declares something else that it could be.  Some are writing exercises:  "This is a time machine. Describe a time in your life you would like to go back and relive"* or "This is a plot to rule the world.  If I could take over the world, I would make the following changes..."** Some are more active: "This is a factory that makes very small books" (followed by a template to cut out, fold and form into a very small book then fill with whatever content you want), or "This is a Random Adventure.  Go outside, walk until you see something red...." Some are just potentially embarrassing (I haven't done these yet, obviously):  "This is a performance.  Select a piece of writing you really like and read it out loud where others can hear you."

One of the first pages instructs you to develop a disguise for your not-a-book.  So, what began as 2 plain red books (see image above) have now been disguised using stickers, wrapping paper, a napkin, markers, and a C.J. Banks shopping bag - among other things.  I can't post a picture because then it would no longer be a disguise, right?

This is Not a Book is fun, creative and makes you think "outside the box".  Have you stretched your creativity lately?  

*In case you are wondering, I chose for my time machine page to transport me to the summer of 1993.  Mitch and Amanda were 2 and 1; I was a stay-at-home mom; my best friend, Wanda, was still living and was just a mile down the road.  I was needed, life was simple and, though the house we lived in was a dump, I was happy!

**If I ruled the world I would: Remove all "reality" tv shows from the airwaves; disband political parties; outlaw Facebook; and name Tim Gunn Supreme Commander of the World and we would all live more peaceful, gracious lives.

Ms. Smith has also created "Finish This Book" which will definitely be our next project.

Dear Reader,

One dark and stormy night, author Keri Smith found some strange scattered pages abandoned in a park. She collected and assembled them, trying to solve the mystery of this unexpected discovery, and now, she's passing the task on to you, her readers.

I collected and assembled them, trying to solve the mystery of this unexpected discovery, and am now passing the task on to you.

Your mission is to become the new author of this work. You will continue the research and provide the content. In order to complete the task, you will have to undergo some secret intelligence training, which is included in this volume. Since no one knows what lies ahead, please proceed with caution, but know...this book does not exist without you.

Yours truly,

Keri Smith

You Say You Want a Revolution . . .

It is coincidental that the premier of the new ABC show, The Revolution - which, by the way, I vowed never to watch in protest of the cancellation of One Life to Live, but then I caved and watched because it features Tim Gunn - on whom, by the way, I have a serious straight woman/gay man crush - ...  Ok, that sentence got off track so let's start again.

It is coincidental that the premier of the new ABC show, The Revolution, coincided with the beginning of my own personal revolution, in which I overthrow the tyranny of junk food and emotional eating and reveal the thinner, stronger, more stylish me.  At least that's the plan.  And The Revolution has been a huge encouragement - daily diet, exercise and wardrobe tips plus the weekly "hero" who shows their five-month weight-loss/health make-over condensed into five days.

We are now at the one month mark, and doing well.  So basically, this post serves two purposes:  1. To promote The Revolution - it's worth watching if for nothing more than the  fashion tips from Tim - and my new best friend, Nutrisystem.  Nutrisystem is the only "diet" plan I've ever stuck to for more than two days and, so far at least, it's been as easy as a life without lemon cupcakes can be; and 2.  to tell the world (or at least the 4 members who read this blog) that I will do this.  I will learn healthier diet and exercise habits.  I have no dreams of being my pre-marriage/pre-baby skinny self, but I will be a healthy, sustainable size.

Putting this plan "out there" is a little scary - what do I say if I fail? - but it's also a bit empowering (for lack of a better, less cliche word).  Don't worry, this is not about to become a weight-loss blog where I talk about nothing else and give you bite-by-bite playbacks of my day.  I've read a few of those, and they're not my thing.  But I will let you know when Marie Osmond and I are set to shoot our commercial.

Whether it's losing weight, reading more books, or some other goal - have your own Revolution!  Here's our theme song:

Mini Review: A Little Night Magic/Lethal

A Little Night Magic by Lucy March

Olivia Kiskey needs a change. She’s been working at the same Nodaway Falls, New York, waffle house since she was a teenager; not a lot of upward mobility there. She’s been in love with Tobias, the cook, for the last four years; he’s never made a move. Every Saturday night, she gathers with her three best friends—Peach, Millie, and Stacy—and drinks the same margaritas while listening to the same old stories. Intent on shaking things up, she puts her house on the market, buys a one-way ticket to Europe, and announces her plans to her friends . . . but then she meets Davina Granville, a strange and mystical Southern woman who shows Olivia that there is more to her life than she ever dreamed. As Liv’s latent magical powers come to the surface, she discovers that having an interesting life is maybe not all it’s cracked up to be. The dark side of someone else’s magic is taking over good people in town, and changing them into vessels of malevolence. Unwilling to cede her home to darkness, she battles the demons of her familial past and her magical present, with those she loves at her side . . . and in the cross fire. Can the most important things in life—friendship, love, magic, and waffles—get her through the worst that the universe can throw at her?

I love stories with a magical twist, and this one was a lot of fun.  The magical elements tracked a little farther towards the "dark side" than I like, but the kooky cast of characters and the cozy location made up for it.  And there weren't any vampires or zombies, so it's got that going for it.  A fun, entertaining read. 

Lethal by Sandra Brown

When her four year old daughter informs her a sick man is in their yard, Honor Gillette rushes out to help him. But that "sick" man turns out to be Lee Coburn, the man accused of murdering seven people the night before. Dangerous, desperate, and armed, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won't be hurt as long as she does everything he asks. She has no choice but to accept him at his word.

But Honor soon discovers that even those close to her can't be trusted. Coburn claims that her beloved late husband possessed something extremely valuable that places Honor and her daughter in grave danger. Coburn is there to retrieve it -- at any cost. From FBI offices in Washington, D.C., to a rundown shrimp boat in coastal Louisiana, Coburn and Honor run for their lives from the very people sworn to protect them, and unravel a web of corruption and depravity that threatens not only them, but the fabric of our society.

This one falls under the Prolific Author Rule:  No need for a deep review.  It's a solid, well-written romantic/suspense story.  Just what you would expect from Sandra Brown.  

Football Coaches: The Answers

1.  Denzel Washington - Remember the Titans - Herman Boone  
2.  Rick Moranis - Little Giants - Danny O'Shea
3.  James Caan - The Program - Sam Winters
4.  Mac Davis - Possums - Will Clark (I gave you a hint on this one by leaving Mac's first name visible in the pic.  I know it's an obscure movie but I had a huge Mac Davis crush in the 70's.)
5.  Ed Harris - Radio - Coach Jones
6.  Goldie Hawn - Wildcats - Molly McGrath (This one should have been easy, being the only female in the bunch.)
7.  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - The Gridiron Gang - Sean Porter
8.  Matthew McConaughey - We Are Marshall - Jack Lengyel
9.  Billy Bob Thornton - Friday Night Lights - Gary Gaines

A Puzzling Post: The Coaches

I know I said this puzzle would be posted before the Super Bowl, but I got sidetracked with a last-minute trip to Branson, MO.  But, better late than never, hopefully.  Can you name these 9 football movie coaches?

Click to enlarge

Actor:

A.  Goldie Hawn

B.  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

C.  Matthew McConaughey

D.  Billy Bob Thornton

E.  Denzel Washington

F.  Mac Davis

G.  Rick Moranis

H.  Ed Harris

I.  James Caan

Movie: 

a.  Friday Night Lights

b.  We Are Marshall

c.  Remember the Titans

d.  Radio

e.  Little Giants

f.  Gridiron Gang

g. The Program

h.  Possums

i.  Wildcats

Character:

10. Jack Lengyel

11. Will Clark

12.  Herman Boone

13.  Gary Gaines

14.  Sam Winters

15.  Molly McGrath

16.  Sean Porter

17.  Coach Jones

18.  Danny O'Shea

Mamma Mia!

The touring production of the Broadway hit, Mamma Mia! stopped in Manhattan last night.  Amanda and I had seats in the nosebleed section, but fortunately, McCain Auditorium on the K-State campus is small enough that even the second balcony still has a great view.  The show was perfect for mother/daughter bonding time - the music of my high school years made "current" so we both enjoyed.  If you haven't seen the live production, go out of your way to find it!

We had sushi at Umi before the show and coffee at Radina's afterwards.  The only down-side would be that, since the show was only in town for one night, we had to attend on a Monday.  By the time we got our coffee and I made the two hour drive home, it was 1:00 a.m.  So that buzzing sound you hear is probably me, snoring at my desk - but it was worth every drowsy moment!

11/22/63 by Stephen King

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas.  President Kennedy died and the world changed.  What if you could change it back? In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King takes readers on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.

It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away—a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than fifty years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer. Reading the essay is a watershed moment for Jake, his life—like Harry’s, like America’s in 1963—turning on a dime. Not much later his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson, in a different world of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine (where there’s Dunning business to conduct), to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading eventually, of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful, and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.

Dave and I read this book together back in December and I've been avoiding reviewing because it seemed like such a daunting chore.  As huge as the book is, in concept, in scope, and in detail (not to mention physical size) it seemed that I should have opinions to write that are equally huge.  And I probably do, if you have an afternoon to sit over a cup of coffee and chat, but trying to put it all into a few concise paragraphs is beyond me.  

Stephen King's writing, as always, is perfection. The research is impeccable.  The characters are engaging, the plot takes endless twist, and the ending is a surprise, yet just what you would expect from King.  If you are a fan of JFK history, or just mid-century history, as I am, you'll fall right into the setting and want to stay.  If you have no idea of anything that happened between 1958 and 1964, you'll probably still fall in and want to stay.  I came away knowing more than when I started, and wanting to know even more.

Dave and I are both fans of time-travel stories, and read-together books that involve so many "what if's" are the most fun - so we both . . . what?  "Enjoyed" seems too small, "loved" sounds so overused, . . . Well, just read it!