The first test is to hold the book above one’s head for as long as possible.

Test #1

The following pages present a black-and-white view of the sea – a “Nature Emulator” to dive into when you want to take a break. A note suggests adding some imagery to the scene.

I clip from a magazine Ray Bradbury’s face and glue it on the water, citing his short story “The Fog Horn”:

«…and then, from the surface of the cold sea came a head, a large head!»
–Ray Bradbury, “The Fog Horn” (1951)

Test #2

The next test is very strange. On the left side of the page I read:

This is a challenge. Part I: make this page as big as possible.

It does not suggest how to do it. I search on the Internet an image of a galaxy and I take a picture of the page on a cosmic background.

Test #3a

The right side page offers the complementary challenge:

This is a challenge. Part 2: make this page as small as possible.

This time I am looking for a picture of an ant: I’ll make it as if it was interested in reading the book.

Test #3b

Then there is a “disturbing” page:

Do several things on this page to make it annoying (e.g., make it sticky, write an insult, etc.).

A badly cut magazine with Italy’s former Prime Minister and a few pieces of tape here and there will get the job done.

Test #4

There are more than one hundred activities proposed by the Canadian artist Keri Smith in her This is not a book, an experiential book that bookstores mistakenly put in the children’s section.

At every page, Keri reinterprets the relationship between the book and the reader, providing continuous occasions for surprise, engaging her with often nonsensical and surreal challenges. The book title itself – reminiscent of Magritte’s pipe – says somehow the truth: what she offers is not an ordinary book; the proposed experiences tickle lateral thinking and never have a single solution. Keri invites the reader to become an author, to collaborate with her in creating a unique piece, challenging seriality and providing a space where – through more and more original contraintes – to unleash creativity in the most bizarre ways.

It was Ferdinando Buscema who introduced me to the work of Keri Smith, giving me a copy of This is not a book, and to connect with her to share a preview of our book Amaze.

Today Keri replied, sending us an “experiential” blurb, totally in line with her style:

All of us are on the search for a book that could possibly unveil the mysteries of life. Reading the book “Amaze” feels like opening a window into these mysteries, and I could feel my heart beating faster as I turned the pages. This book is in itself a kind of “Magic Box” filled with important secrets of not only of magicians but also those in our society who are able to invoke wonder through the use of both ancient and modern technologies. To the initiated reader this book will represent infinite possibility. (If you don’t feel your heart beat a bit faster while reading this, put the book down right now. If you do then proceed to the checkout immediately. You have a mission to complete.)

And she has also a terrific website!