Which way? That way? Honestly?

Last week I put the beginning of my surrealist journey in your hands....catch up here if you missed it.

Into the random page generator (read bowl of bits of paper with numbers on) goes: 2, 100, 154.

 Sorry Tangled Lou and Paul, unfortunately there is no page 42 in the book...but I think you knew that Lou ;-)

And the winner is (I was never that great at holding the suspense) 100, picked by Tim Green on Twitter. Talented comic artist and also in need of your votes in a competition see here!

So, Page 100...

Flip forward 5 pages...gives me....

This is a Virtual Reality

1. Make a list of your personality traits

2. Take those traits and exaggerate or embellish them. Create a character (or avatar) with these traits as superpowers.

3. Create several superhero accessories  Examples: Her excellent organisational skills make her fully prepared for every potential crisis. He repels enemies with his love of garlic. She has a great ability to find things in messy spaces. He is a timing expert.

I don't think I could have picked a harder challenge to start my surrealist journey by myself, so thanks for this Tim. Not so challenging in terms of defacing books, yet probably the hardest task in the book for me. I have to find positives in my personality!!

Wish me luck ;-)

And seeing as it is still Tuesday there must be a tune....excuse for a little Stereophonics anyone??

What are your superhero traits? And do you have a cape??

This is not a book.....yet it is a book

Surrealism

Noun

A 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind. One of my favourites Surreal Adjective Having the qualities of surrealism; bizarre: "a surreal mix of fact and fantasy". (haha, that's me!) How it all began It was a normal working day, I have no idea which one, recently I think...I have slept since then! "Hey Sleepy, have you seen this? Keri Smith, she's done these books and you'll love them!" (I am paraphrasing, I reiterate I have slept since this conversation took place.) There on amazon (we occasionally use it as a search tool and I in no way encourage you to buy from them, use independent where possible or at least proper book people if not *stepping down off my soapbox*) was a list of books. But these titles were like cat nip to me: Wreck this journal Finish this book How to be an explorer of the world The guerrilla art kit For a full list see Kerri's Page When I got home I did a little tinternet searching and found her blog, which is equally intriguing but kind of left it at that. There was no chance of these books being in the library, and with 'wreck this journal' as a title it didn't take a genius to work out why. So I'd look into getting them at some point. A week or so passed and I found myself in a bookshop and after mulling around for some considerable time, having picked up something for everyone but myself, I saw it. A name I recognised but wasn't sure why. A title that was winking at me and tickling at my brain, whispering 'you know you want to read me....pick me up, go on what harm could it do?' Little did I know that this little book and its cute title would shake my little booky world! Cracking the cover Instead of a generic introduction Kerri starts with 'Notes to the reader/user' after a note about the book there are three things to remember  1. Trust in your imagination. It is the source of all true journeys 2. Things are not always what they seem 3. Anything can happen  Are you hooked yet? I was! It took me all of a day to read from cover to cover. Now I say read....each page is a task to be completed. But what she is suggesting is.....surreal. Cut out this page, draw on this page, stick this page.....It's just not what a book should be, but then it is called 'This is not a book' This book is dragging me kicking and screaming on a surrealist path; each task is seeking to release the creative potential of my unconscious mind! I am determined that, no matter how wrong it feels to rip out pages or deface a book, I will complete ALL the tasks in the book...and then move onto the next book, and the next (yes that was a hint to anyone who may feel like buying me a present). I think my mind could use some creative unlocking!! Where to start? I have no idea! I really don't want to cop-out and pick any easy task that doesn't challenge me. However I equally don't trust myself to do that so I have chosen this page to start with, but I am handing the reigns over to you. Yeah, yeah...cop-out, I know! All you have to do is choose a number between 1 and 221, post it in the comments and I promise to carry out the task this leads me to. If I get more than one response I will put them all in a hat and pick at random. Lets set a deadline of Sunday 12pm (GMT) and what ever the task I will report back on my progress next week. A little gem to end on ;-)