Wreck This Journal: To Create Is to Destroy by Keri Smith (2007, Paperback)

After an intense English class at UW which stressed the "death of the author" for the "birth of the reader", Keri Smith's Wreck This Journal seemed like the thing to do. It is a journal, but there are no touchy-feely entries in this. Instead of a couple hundred of lined pages for the reader/writer, each page is filled with a suggestion for what to physically do to the book. By no means do you have to actually have to "Burn this page" or "Throw the book off a building", but it can create some great memories. No longer was any book something I casually opened each night, but I have evenings and even days planned around this book. This book is part of my life. It is amazing.
You may be tempted to keep it in pristine condition, but Keri Smith wrote on her website, www.kerismith.com, that if you do this, you are crazy and should give it away. Now for a few excerpts:

"Warning: During the process of this book you will get dirty. You may find yourself covered in paint, or any other number of foreign substances. you will get wet. You may be asked to do things you question. You may grieve for the perfect state that you found the book in. You may begin to see creative destruction everywhere. You may begin to live more recklessly." Taken from the introduction

Instructions
1. Carry this with you everwhere you go.
2. Follow the instructions on every page.
3. Order is not important.
4. Instructions are open to interpretation.
5. Experiment. (work against your better judgment.)

As you can see, this book isn't about doing some things that the author has suggested, or even about some empathy for the author. It is about you. It is about realizing that destruction isn't always bad. To quote Chuck Palanihuk's "Invisible Monsters", "life is a lot easier when you stop treating yourself like a little fucking treasure." Also destruction is not good in some cases(family, other people's things, your boss), I think people need to stop holding on the so much stuff as if it is what defines them. Have some fun. Buy this book. Wreck This Journal.

keri smith smith creates a journal writing experience unlike any other. straying from the standard blank pages of journals, wreck this journal instead guides the user to, in fact, wreck the journal, in the most creative of ways. a must buy for anyone seeking to start their own journal, but stare at blank pages waiting for something profound to come to mind.

I had never heard of this until I was looking through photos on Flickr.com and came across some photos that someone had taken of their 'Wreck This Journal' journal. It looked like fun so I bought it.

It has been an incredibly fun (maybe even cathartic!) experience for me! I showed my niece and she wants one too, so I've bought one for her and 3 of her friends. I figured it would probably be even more fun if you were able to compare the different ways you each "wreck" the journal. =)

This "journal" offers pages for you to collect pocket lint, scribble wildly with abandon, doodle like you would the back of an envelope while on the telephone, trace your hand, glue in a photo of yourself that you dislike and deface it, use abnormal writing utensils, fill a page when you're angry, a page for you to fill with only four-letter words (not necessarily profanity!), write with the pen in your mouth, write with your non-dominant hand, take it in the shower with you, drag the journal on the ground behind you, pour/spill/drip coffee on a page, draw a page full of circles, write one word over and over and over on a page, collect stickers that come on purchased fruit, an entire page for negative comments, burn a page, rip up a page, put a page in a jeans pocket and throw them in the washing machine, write backwards, use a page as a napkin to document your dinner, and SOOOO MUCH MORE!!!!

This is just so much fun! It actually even helps you to feel a little better by getting some of your feelings out (whether in writing or by beating the crap out of the journal) and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than a therapist!! =)

You really ought to buy it. If, for some reason, you don't like it, you can always give it away to someone who I'm sure will enjoy it immensely. HAVE FUN BEING DESTRUCTIVE!!! =)

That it is something you want to stay perfect (they even say it in the book) but you have to destroy it. It is fun a creative.

We have had SO MUCH fun following the instructions and finding creative ways to use it. I recommend it for anyone though. I'm an artist/scrapbooker and I think it would be fun too! A great way to get you to reach outside the box!