How to read a book

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? The color stands out the most.
• Why? It is a high contrast from other books 

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 found page 6 was gone. 
• If your finger landed on a paragraph, how many times does the letter P show up in that paragraph?
• If it landed on a picture, how many straight lines are in the picture?
• If it landed on white space, what is the white space surrounding?
• Can you imagine the white space as a sea and the other parts (words, pictures, etc.) as islands floating in white water or space?

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

• Is it slick or rough? It is slick and thick
• What does the cover feel like? It feels like glossy construction paper
• Can you feel the ink of the words if you close your eyes? Shapes and letters are slightly raised
• Do different colors feel different with your eyes closed? No
• What else can you discover about the paper? some of it was meant to be torn out
• What about the cover? The cover is glossy on the back is the poster board feel to it.

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? NO
• Is it glued? Yes and the pages can all be torn out like a notebook
• Is there any cloth on this book or is it all paper? It is all paper
• Is it a hardback or paperback? papperback
• Does it have signatures? (Hint: you may need to look up what signatures are in the context of making books…) no
• If it has signatures, how many pages are in each and how many signatures are there in the whole book?
• If it does not, look at the glue on the ends of the spine and discribe what you see. It looks worn and blackened.

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? There are lines and crosses
• Why is it there? They are apart of games and activities.
• Who wrote it? A child
• If you do not know, then imagine who might have written it.
• 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?

Examine the book more.

• Are there any stains on the book? Yes like BBQ sauce
• Are there any fingerprints? Little ones
• What do they look like? A little kid was eating ribs and playing with the book
• How might they have happened? a child was eating dinner and playing with the book

Look at the pages of the book.

• What is the color of the pages? I bet they are not really white. The pages are green and blue and lined.
• How would you describe the color? Is it warm or cold? Bright or dull, etc. The colors are all bright playful and inviting.
• What other visual things can you explore with the book? There are a lot of games so there are actual activities.

Think about the history of this book.

• Can you see any other evidence that someone else has handled this book? Some of the games have been played
• What are the edges of the pages like? Describe them. They look worn and frayed like the book was carried  around
• Can you imagine what someone else might have been thinking as they read this book? Yes, Lets play!
• Do you think anyone else has used this book like you are right now instead of reading it? No considering the age group this book is meant for is quite young.

Flip through the pages quickly.

• Can you hear the sound? If so, describe it. It sounds like a miniature helicopter.
• If not, what is your experience like?
• Can you feel the breeze? A small one because the pages are so large.
• Can you move something with the wind generated from the book? I could move a balled up straw wrapper.
• Could you use this book to win a game you created using the book's wind power? Yes it would be a race with the straw wrapper to cross a finish line.

Drop the book on the floor.

• What did you experience? A fear it would hit my toes.
• Did you sense the vibrations the book made? Yes they were small
• Did you feel it in your feet? There was a small tingle.
• Take your shoes off. Now drop the book. Was there any difference? the wind rushed against my toes I was still afraid my toes were in danger.

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 was not cold.
• Now feel the cover. Can you feel the temperature change from where your hands were to where they were not? Yes its colder where my hands were.
• Have you ever been aware of this before when you were holding a book to read it? Not so much
• 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?
• If you have noticed the temperature of a book you were holding before, describe why you noticed it.

Smell the book.

• What does the smell make you think of? BBQ
• 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.)

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? Dora the Explorer Preschool Adventure
• Based on the first page, explain why you think the book was titled that. Because theres a huge picture of Dora

Reflect back on this entire exericise.

• What is your experience like with the book now that you have experienced it differently? I feel a lot closer to this book having developed a strong memory for this book. Now when I see it it wont be some random kids play thing.
• Do you still find books to be boring, assuming you did in the first place? Never thought they were.
• What, if anything has changed for you in regards to books? Im definitely going to start looking for signs from previous owners a lot more just for kicks.

Now think about this class.

• How did I "fishbowl" this assignment? You made us use a red book, and you gave us tasks with the book. Also you gave us questions to answer. 
• What do you think the point is of this exercise? To get away from taking everything for what it is and try observing the uncommon uses for things because thats where discoveries lie.
• What can you take from this exercise that might help you with future projects? That there will always be new ways to expand on the way things are viewed.