To do list: Book and stuff

I’ll be perfectly honest, I didn’t like this assignment because if felt like a laundry list of things to do much like that ‘silly homework’ that was given out on the first day of class back in elementary school.

Go to a library, bookstore, or your own book collection and look through the books. Please do not read any. Just pay attention to what catches your eye.

·       What is it that stands out to you?

·       Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Manga

·       Why?

·       It has a very expressive and colorful face on the spine, mixed with being closer to my actual self when observing my bookcase

Choose a red book and open it to page 6. Close your eyes and put your finger on the page somewhere.

·       What did you find?

·       I landed on the word ‘beneath’ in the midst of the introduction.

·       If your finger landed on a paragraph, how many times does the letter P show up in that paragraph?

·       One, surprisingly.

·       If it landed on a picture, how many straight lines are in the picture?

·       N/A

·       If it landed on white space, what is the white space surrounding?

·       N/A

·       Can you imagine the white space as a sea and the other parts (words, pictures, etc.) as islands floating in white water or space?

·       With great effort, yes.

Using your other senses, explain what the paper feels like.

·       Is it slick or rough?

·       I always thought this book’s paper and the rest of the series was coarse compared to most other’s

·       What does the cover feel like?

·       Smooth plastic

·       Can you feel the ink of the words if you close your eyes?

·       Part of me thinks I can, the other part thinks it’s the texture of the paper

·       Do different colors feel different with your eyes closed?

·       Can’t say they do.

·       What else can you discover about the paper?

·       It’s rather wrinkled where there’s text

·       What about the cover?

·       Many creases have formed in it’s old age and many readings. Mostly from where I hold it when I read.

Without destroying the book, unless you own it and want to, see if you can figure out how the book was constructed.

·       Is it stitched?

·       Nope

·       Is it glued?

·       Yes

·       Is there any cloth on this book or is it all paper?

·       It has several ‘plugs’ of fabric in the spine going horizontally, like rings in a binder.

·       Is it a hardback or paperback?

·       Paperback

·       Does it have signatures? (Hint: you may need to look up what signatures are in the context of making books…)

·       Nope

·       If it has signatures, how many pages are in each and how many signatures are there in the whole book?

·       N/A

·       If it does not, look at the glue on the ends of the spine and discribe what you see.

·       Two very thin lines between the pages and the outer cover, I’d guess they’re what holds the binding fibers together rather than holding the book itself.

Flip through the pages and look at the end papers.

·       Is there any writing in the book, other than the printing?

·       Yes

·       If so, what does it say?

·       Other books in the series, where it was printed, and that apparently without a cover when purchased the book is considered stolen.

·       Why is it there?

·       Legal, where the work has been, advertise for the rest of the series

·       Who wrote it?

·       Can’t say for sure.

·       If you do not know, then imagine who might have written it.

·       Most likely the author did not put it there, but the team of people and editors that see it before it ships

·       If there is no writing in the book then how does it make you feel to know you are the first person (possibly) to think about it?

·       N/A

Examine the book more.

·       Are there any stains on the book?

·       No

·       Are there any fingerprints?

·       Nyet

·       What do they look like?

·       N/A

·       How might they have happened?

·       If I ended up missing them, I’d wager they’d be there from whatever snack food I was eating while I read it.

Look at the pages of the book.

·       What is the color of the pages? I bet they are not really white.

·       Off-white coupled with the beginning of yellowing.

·       How would you describe the color? Is it warm or cold? Bright or dull, etc.

·       Very dull, like being in an place where everything’s tinted by a weird colored light bulb.

·       What other visual things can you explore with the book?

·       There’s a greyscale add at the back of the book. Oddly enough when viewed with my indiGLOW  alarm clock, my brain seems to fill in the color for it.

Think about the history of this book.

·       Can you see any other evidence that someone else has handled this book?

·       Many creases in the middle of the front

·       What are the edges of the pages like? Describe them.

·       The edges are still ‘sharp’ but curve inwards towards the top

·       Can you imagine what someone else might have been thinking as they read this book?

·       Had they not read the series, I’d imagine confusion, if they had, probably that the main character is  quite the badass

·       Do you think anyone else has used this book like you are right now instead of reading it?

·       Doubt it.

Flip through the pages quickly.

·       Can you hear the sound? If so, describe it.

·       I’m reminded of the softer flap of a flipbook or a well worn Animorphs book.

·       If not, what is your experience like?

·       N/A

·       Can you feel the breeze?

·       Yes

·       Can you move something with the wind generated from the book?

·       With some effort I could blow receipts around.

·       Could you use this book to win a game you created using the book's wind power?

·       If the goal was to have minimal impact on the game field, like NOT moving a house of cards,  perhaps.

Drop the book on the floor.

·       What did you experience?

·       The interesting experience of not knowing where and how the book was going to land.

·       Did you sense the vibrations the book made?

·       Yup

·       Did you feel it in your feet?

·       Actually, I hit my foot. >.<

·       Take your shoes off. Now drop the book. Was there any difference?

·       I felt the vibration in the floor, rather than my foot

Hold the book between your hands with one hand on each cover and the book closed. Close your eyes.

·       Is the book cold? Hold it like that for at least one minute.

·       The book is neutral

·       Now feel the cover. Can you feel the temperature change from where your hands were to where they were not?

·       Yes, never really noticed it before.

·       Have you ever been aware of this before when you were holding a book to read it?

·       Nope

·       If your heat transfers in this situation and you noticed it because I asked you to, why do you think you have never noticed it before?

·       N/A

·       If you have noticed the temperature of a book you were holding before, describe why you noticed it.

·       N/A

Smell the book.

·       What does the smell make you think of?

·       Many other books from the series it’s in

·       If you can't think of anything, describe the smells you can sense. (Interesting fact: Did you know that I have friends [many librarians, actually] who choose their books partly based on how they smell? Honestly.)

·       N/A

I do not recommend tasting the book for health and safety issues… :-)

Now, finally, read the first page. If it is just pictures, read the story of the pictures. 

·       What is the title of this book?

·       BIONICLE Adventures #10: Time Trap

·       Based on the first page, explain why you think the book was titled that.

·       Can’t really say, but as the chapter is titled ‘Introduction’ I’d wager I’d be explained rather soon.

Reflect back on this entire exericise.

·       What is your experience like with the book now that you have experienced it differently?

·       It will likely be added to the many shreds of memories I associate with particular parts of a book, like where I was when I read certain chapters and so forth.

·       Do you still find books to be boring, assuming you did in the first place?

·       I never found the books I owned to be ‘boring’ exactly

·       What, if anything has changed for you in regards to books?

·       I feel like I should have taken this book out to dinner first. :\

Now think about this class.

·       How did I "fishbowl" this assignment?

·       By giving a laundry list of things to do with a somewhat specific book.

·       What do you think the point is of this exercise?

·       Seeing how ‘out-of-the-box” we could get with many constraints as opposed to few.

·       What can you take from this exercise that might help you with future projects?

·       Eloquent and unique wording can be as much a freedom as being able to do anything