Finish This Book

I bought this book for my daughter, she picked it out. She is in complete love. I am so lucky to have a teenage daughter that appreciates books the way that her mother and I do. She cannot stop talking about her book and how she wants another one like it.

I bought this book, thinking it was going to be an unfinished story I had to write an ending for. When I got it and read it, however, it turned out to be a boring old instruction manual for making a secret club. No plot, no characters, nothing. I mean, if you want to sell a book based on that premise, fine. But at least title it what it is. A better title would be "The Secret Order of the Lost Forest."

Let me put it this way: If you want to go outside and be among nature with your friends, get this book. If you want to challenge your creative writing skills, don't get this book.

My 11 yr old daughter LOVES this book. I love that not only does she get to read and do something that isn't on her iphone, it keeps her busy and creative. She brings the book to show me after each section is completed. We would buy more of these in the future for sure. Especially as gifts for the pre-teen kiddos. Boys and girls would both enjoy this book I think.

Bought this book for my eleven year old sister, she is always saying that she will be a writer when she grows up... This is exactly what I was hoping it would be and I cannot wait for her to open it on Christmas Morning!!

I bought this book as a gift for my 6th grade nephew. It's a fun book that you can personalize and have fun with. You could give this to a kid and they would be occupied for hours at a time. It's a great alternative to the internet when you want your kid to take a break. It encourages creativity, and it's a lot of fun to work on, and to look at!

keri smith is just plain amazing. got her WTJ and now im exploring more of her work. if you like mystery books and always wanted to be on of those characters this is the book for you! dont think too much and just have fun!!

I picked up a copy of Keri Smith's "This is Not a Book" on a whim, at the grocery store and had so much fun with it, that I decided to check out more of her stuff. I found "Finish this Book" on the store and decided to order it. This book is just plain fun! As I am not a very creative person and I really have no clue how to journal, Keri Smith's books really help me to see how fun it can be. I like that they are very generic yet if you decide to interact with them they become very personal. Also, because they start so generic, they are kid friendly. Each book gives you ideas on how to explore the world around you in such a great way. It really opens your eyes to the plain and boring things you overlook on an everyday basis.

It is summer break for the kids right now so I gave my (11 y/o) daughter a copy of each and she has been entertained with them everyday. She looks forward to writing in them, and it makes her daily treks so much easier to look forward to. Some/a lot of the instruction say "take a walk" or "on your walk," which we both appreciate because it makes getting out of the house and exercising, something to look forward to and enjoy verses something we have dreaded in the past. Plus, these books allows us some great bonding time and allows us to explore our community with fresh eyes!

We have not actually completed any of these books yet, but I suspect that it will be quite rewarding to look back and see how much we have done and watch the progress of our observational skills and writing skills. And it will also be a great book to pass on to future generations, so that they may learn more about us and perhaps be inspired to create their own.

I have decided to order everyone on my family/friends list a copy of her books for Christmas. I will wrap them and not tag them as I just want to give them randomly in hopes that the universe will get the right book to the person that will appreciate it most!

I took a chance looking for a book that would keep interest of 3rd grader and while this book looked as though it was for "up through adulthood", I was pleased to see my granddaughter get right into it after opening and reading all the "fine print" and following instructions. She's a pretty avid reader and I wasn't sure if there would be enough plot, but this book seems to have grabbed her interest and will continue to grow with her.

this book was better for my older child...my 8 yr old. it gives them 'missions' to complete with plans/ideas to help achieve them. it is a little more thought provoking than the other 'journal' books also purchased. my son was challenged.

She is 14 years old and she love the book so very much.
There are all kind of diffrent things she has to do to before turning a page and that is a great thing.
Being Danish she learns a lot of things and language too.
Perfect book...

though not what i expected to buy, this book is fun. It's a fun activity book based around the reader doing a good amount of "detective work". This makes a good gift for tweens who are into the mystery genre.

Looking for a way to get kids off the internet? This book is the answer. I gave it to my 13 year old younger sister -who is typically glued to one screen or another- for Christmas and she was engrossed and could not set it down. I'd say its an obvious winner.

Finish This BookBoth my husband and teen daughter asked for this for Christmas. They both have enjoyed completing the activities together and it has provided them a reason to spend time together. My niece has asked for this book for her birthday as she has also enjoyed helping complete the activities with my daughter. This is a wonderful gift for kids and adults. They keep asking for more. Adults and kids love these products

I am 20 years old. When I first read reviews about this book I was super excited. But i personally think this is a book for someone a little older, Probably 12+. I thought it would be alot like Wreak this journal but alot of this book has to do with walking around the neighborhood or being outside alot and since i live in a really unsafe neighborhood and plus it can be as cold as -20 in the day time. this is a good book but somethings area hard to complete. And you have to be semi-creative to really get into this book and like writing and think outside the box.

My 9-year-old daughter loves this book. Allows for inspiration, thought, and mostly is fun. The author also penned Finish this Journal which will be her next undertaking. Good for 9-12 year olds. Great gift.

Out of all of Keri Smith's books, this is my least favourite one. I feel like this book is more of a 'job' than the others are - they are mindless fun as opposed to this one which requires a lot of time & effort. If you are really into detectives and mysteries you might like this but I'd still recommend Wreck This Journal, Mess, This Is Not A Book, How to be an Explorer of the World or the Guerrilla Art Kit over this.

I was a little disappointed to realize that this book was more a scavenger hunt type book than a creative writing book. I was hoping to give it as a Christmas present but will have to come up with an alternative now.

Keri Smith struck my 'Creativity Match' with Wreck This Journal so I took a chance on this. It is also not a book for me. ►This is not a bash of the book.◄

My first impression is this is perfect for 10 year old adventuresome boys who want to join the Boy Scouts. It is about making OUTSIDE discoveries and includes creating your own secret society, secret language w/decoders, club house 'place' and documenting your finds. ^.^

This book is a ton of fun, the only reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars is because it is taking me a long time to do. It REALLY makes you think hard and it just takes a lot of time.

The ideas and thoughts expressed in the book are VERY new and by no means boring. No for kids I would have to say only because it is hard. I guess if you have a really smart kid that knows how to write and write well they would love this. But mostly Id say that high schoolers and up would like this book much more.

Hope this helps.

Bought for my son's 11th birthday and he was seen carrying it around doing the various suggestions for days. I thought I would die watching him do all the things to it (Break the spine! Drip dinner over it! Take it in the shower with you!) And I think that's why he loved it! Great, fun book.

my daughter has been having a LOT of fun working this book, definitely different than anything else out there, it's a 'fun' book, just take it for what it is, know that its going to be 'abused' it's the idea!

When a book is titled "Finish This Book" and the summary states that you'll be given a prompt and then you have free reign...then that's what I expect to be able to do. However, this book is basically just a rehash of all of Keri Smith's other books. Basically it's just filled with pages of objectives telling you what to do. If you like all of her other works than this might be for you but if you're expecting something that's going to get your creative writing flowing then please pass and go "finish another book".

While Googling "hipster gifts" for my brother's birthday I stumbled upon this. He's an English major who loves to write. I didn't realize how much of a commitment this might be, but he didn't seem to mind.

I bought this book with the hopes of a getting a new look on life, start seeing things from an outside perspective and all.

The issue is that they wanted me to find a space outside, make a fort and a secret language, and etc. The little riddles were way too easy, the clues were just plain obvious, and not challenging.

Great if you have kids, not so great as an adult.

This book arrived as promised on time and in great shape. In concept this is a great book if given to the right kid at the right age. My son however didn't like it, maybe he was too old for it. I think someone who enjoys following what the book tells them to do, and doesn't mind using their imagination in being a little silly would do well with this book. My son at 13 was too cool to pretend to be anything. A shame really. I will either pass it on to a friend or Goodwill...

I bought this book with the hopes of a getting a new look on life, start seeing things from an outside perspective and all.

The issue is that they wanted me to find a space outside, make a fort and a secret language, and etc. The little riddles were way too easy, the clues were just plain obvious, and not challenging.

Great if you have kids, not so great as an adult.

This book arrived as promised on time and in great shape. In concept this is a great book if given to the right kid at the right age. My son however didn't like it, maybe he was too old for it. I think someone who enjoys following what the book tells them to do, and doesn't mind using their imagination in being a little silly would do well with this book. My son at 13 was too cool to pretend to be anything. A shame really. I will either pass it on to a friend or Goodwill...

I'm a big fan of Keri Smith's other books, Mess: Manual of Accidents and Mistakes and Wreck this Journal. Really I know I shouldn't have purchased this book without at least completing "Mess" but I couldn't help it. I was simply too curious about "The Mystery."

So far a major difference of "F*nish Th*s B**k" is that the assignments are not as open ended as the two books I just mentioned. The book must be finished IN ORDER, which means that since I just got the B**K today I have completed four missions or so. I can tell you guys that so far seems much more "story" based than either Mess or Wreck, and as a co-creator of "Finish" I am discovering its story and hunting down clues as a sleuth. I can only imagine what some of these prompts will be. However, I really can't tell you much more than this without possibly spoiling something and this book is all about the JOURNEY.

Perhaps it is a good thing Mrs. Smith is enforcing the rule that each page must be completed in order-- or give the book to someone else-- because maybe I won't find myself struggling to finish the last ten assignments in it like I am with Mess in particular. Well, more than ten. Mostly the ones with photography prompts or the "get your buddies to join in" prompts.

Why should you buy this book? 1. If you like her other books. 2. If you don't mind acting silly (I'm assuming!) 3. If you do not mind not knowing what is coming up 4. If you are curious and 5. want to stretch yourself a little mentally. Most of Mrs. Smith's books are about thinking outside the box. I'm assuming this book is rather the same in that regard. Don't worry about what art supplies you may need. The list is only about ten items long, much shorter than the suggested supply list in either Wreck or Mess, and uses common items found in most homes.

So if you'll excuse me I have to get my disguise, decoder ring, smoking pipe, and my deerstalker coat because there's a mystery afoot! I only own one of these things, by the way. Possibly two. I wouldn't put it past the author to sneak in a decoder ring somewhere in this book.

In the guise of a journal that someone else started and passed on to you, you, the reader, journaler, artist, are tasked with finishing this book. You're supposed to go through the book one page at a time (no skipping) and do whatever the book tells you. It also tells you that if you can't, or don't want to finish the book you should pass it on to someone else to let them finish it.

Seems like the target age group is young, maybe 8-14yrs. Wasn't what I expected, not like an artistic scrapbook full of inspiration but rather a mystery novel/spy kit. Very focused on being sleuthy and a spy, not artistic and creative.

Once again Ms. Smith has put together a book that can get anyone excited about books, writing and creating. I gave this to my 9-year old son who immediately proclaimed "this book is boring." I said nothing, left it on his table and within 24 hours I noticed he had taken a fervent interest in the book. Cutting the chase, after about a week, he had given up the quest to find some something-or-other in a video game to work on many of the "assignments" in this book. He was outside, in the house, on the Internet doing all kinds of sleuthing, investigating and researching. He wrote plenty about his findings (more than anything he's done in school) and applied a lot of the process to an upcoming class project (Hallelujah!!!! can you hear the bells ringing??). And I noticed he proudly took this book to school to show some of his friends what he's been doing. For an upcoming friend's birthday, he insisted this was what he wanted, and now there's a group of kids who are all over this book, creating their own manuals, guides, etc.

Please, oh please, Ms. Smith, do another one soon!!!

Bought several of this fun book and will be gifting them to members of my book club. My idea is to have our book club ladeis progress thru their copy of "FINISH THIS BOOK", then at the end of each meeting( we meet quarterly) we could read a bit from each one....could be a fun little 'side dish'.

I have never left a review before but I feel compelled to because I think this book is mischaracterized as a book suitable for kids. Based on the glowing reviews, I bought this book for my 10 year old niece. When it arrived, I read through it and was alarmed by several of the pages. A lot about secrets of the reader, going away to secret spots, going off alone to the woods, etc. We are a family of lawyers and law enforcement so that certainly may color my perspective but I think any reasonable person would agree that kids at the ages recommended for this book are vulnerable. This is certainly not the message I want to be sending or reinforcing to them, or to a child of any age, for that matter. the store said I could return it but the prepaid shipping label they sent didn't cover the cost of sending it back so it would have cost me another $9 to return it. Just as a warning to those reading the reviews.

I got this for my daughter for her 11th Birthday. She is absolutely loving it, as are all of her friends who have all requested it. I think I will buy a few more for gifts. It is a great book and really inspires the imagination.

Another great book by Ms. Smith. Teaching independent thinking and creativity should be fun. This book teaches its' readers to ask questions about existing ideas while embracing individuality and self-knowledge. What a grand alternative to an ipod or video game (which both cater to addictive personalities and big problems). This book, along with Destroy this Journal, will take your kids from passive observation of a screen to an engaging and lifelong journey into thinking and questioning existing, destructive ideas implemented by adults.

I loved wreck this journal, but finish thus book was not what I expected. It would be ok otherwise, but it encourages you to finish each mission before young on to the next, a lot of them involve cutting out shapes that are on the right hand page. If you do that, you can't read the next mission! Not what I expected at all.

I got this for my daughter for her 11th Birthday. She is absolutely loving it, as are all of her friends who have all requested it. I think I will buy a few more for gifts. It is a great book and really inspires the imagination.

My business partner and I (both branding & creative consultants) became super fans of Keri Smith when we cracked open her book, Explorer of the World, while on a business trip to Atlanta. So when we came across Smith's Finish This Book while on another branding adventure in Lawrence, Kansas we knew we had to pick it up. We didn't quite realize the creative adventure this book would take us on as we road-tripped back home. My 11-year-old self would have flipped out over how cool Finish This Book is - okay who am I kidding, the creative professional I am today also flipped out (and learned a lot) over Smith's newest book.

Here's how it goes - on a dark and stormy night (the way all good stories begin) Keri Smith stumbles upon scattered pages from an abandoned instruction manual in a park. And now she is counting on you, the reader, to help her solve this mystery. Finish This Book is broken up into four interactive sections including Secret Intelligence Training, Documenting and Observing Methods, Artifact Examination Techniques and finally The Instruction Manual. You are instructed to complete an exercise on each page - it is up to you to populate Finish This Book with the necessary content in order for it to be a book at all.

What Keri Smith does with Finish This Book is give you permission (and resources) to be a creative problem solver while finding your own unique voice and creative authority. She facilitates a creative process that takes something huge - like writing a book - and breaks it down into small but powerful exercises. Smith holds you accountable and empowers you with the responsibility of making choices and putting them down on paper - so when you do get to the end you're not back-pedaling or doubting yourself. And when you turn the last page you've not only finished the book - you have become a creator in the process. Through a series of logical steps you have found your voice and you have written a story.

I can't tell you much more without spoiling the book. So I beg you - go out and buy it for yourself - or your creative department. And if you don't have the time (or courage) to finish it please - pass it on to a brave and curious 11-year-old you might know.

I would recommend this book to creative people who enjoy thinking, taking life at a strolling pace, and most importantly, ENJOY WRITING.

While I am sure this book is extremely fun to complete, it was not what I was hoping for. The book description promises that the reader/author will have the task of "solv[ing] the mystery of this unexpected discovery," but there isn't really a non-abstract, solvable mystery in this book. It is actually a collection of activities the book suggests the reader complete including doodling trees and observing an animal. This book is a well-organized collection of seemingly random "adventures" and is essentially a journal or diary but with instructions on every page telling you how to fill it out.

Examples of activities:
- "Create your own small imaginary world out of whatever you have lying around. Place it in a natural setting."
- "Read a book at your secret headquarters. Share a passage from the book. Rewrite it here."
- "Spend some time watching the sky. Document it in some way."

I believe that this book is a great creative outlet for people who naturally jot down their thoughts and write for fun. It would also make a good group book that you can pass among friends or complete with family. I was just disappointed because I was expecting some sort of puzzle.

I'm sorry, I thought this book would be real interesting but it does not appeal to me. It seems like it would appeal to a very young sleuth at heart but I was really bored. I'm sure whom to pass it on, too. I think you have a really good idea and that is awesome. I'm more of a reader, reader and I thought I should give something new a chance. I did. So, kudos to me! ;-)

This book was a huge waste of money. Go to your local book store and flip through it. It's truly written for young children, unlike the rest of Keri's books. I never thought it would be this infantile based on her usual demographic. Every activity is beyond stupid and painfully childish. I'm turning 20 this year and I don't think 11 year old me would be interested. I think this book was written for 5-9 year olds. There's barely any writing and most activities involve going outside hunting for rocks or trees. If the idea of creating a "secret headquarters" for your "secret club" sounds up your alley, good luck. This book is nothing like the description. I thought this would be finishing a mystery. I thought I'd be filling in bits of a story because you only get some of it. NO! It's just a children's activity book for bored days. I wanted to love it. I keep going back to it, but every time I keep shaking my head at how dumb it is. Honest, it's so bad. I wasted money on this. I would never give it to a friend. It's so bad I wouldn't force it on anyone.

Almost all the positive reviews are from parents or grandparents who gave this to their children. I wish I had flipped through it first. Had high hopes.

Dull. Dull. Dull. My review of this book is unfortunately more interesting. Got this as a birthday present for someone, they cracked it open in my presence, but have not looked at it since. I took a peek at this book, it really is a disappointing purchase.

these books are great because you can sit down and work on it for a while or if you see something neat you can just stick it in here. It's cool to take it on travels and by the time you're done with it it's pretty awesome

This is one of my favorite activity books. I think it's equal to the quality of Wreck this Journal or The Doing Book The world is is a fun and interesting place that should be interacted with and some books are very good at inspiring and prompting people to do so and this is one of them. This book is simple with activities and interactions that will have you looking at things differently all around you. Some of the prompts are interesting and thoughtful. It's an excellent book that ultimately will inspire you to engage you in doing fun and interactive things with the world around you.

I enjoyed this very much, the activities are engaging and you'll want to give it to your friends.This is the quality of "activity books" that I usually enjoy, "Wreck this journal" or "The Book of Doing." To me, these Activity books are masterpieces of engagement observation and activity.

Once again Ms. Smith has put together a book that can get anyone excited about books, writing and creating. I gave this to my 9-year old son who immediately proclaimed "this book is boring." I said nothing, left it on his table and within 24 hours I noticed he had taken a fervent interest in the book. Cutting the chase, after about a week, he had given up the quest to find some something-or-other in a video game to work on many of the "assignments" in this book. He was outside, in the house, on the Internet doing all kinds of sleuthing, investigating and researching. He wrote plenty about his findings (more than anything he's done in school) and applied a lot of the process to an upcoming class project (Hallelujah!!!! can you hear the bells ringing??). And I noticed he proudly took this book to school to show some of his friends what he's been doing. For an upcoming friend's birthday, he insisted this was what he wanted, and now there's a group of kids who are all over this book, creating their own manuals, guides, etc.

Please, oh please, Ms. Smith, do another one soon!!!

Really fun journal for older kids and young teens. The quality of the journal wasn't the best. Very thin paper. Probably a cheap knock off of the real version. But the tasks are fun and keeps a kid entertained for a while.