Page (paper) from an earlier meaning "to create a row of vines that form a rectangle." The Latin word "pagina" derives from the verb "pangere," which means to stake out boundaries when planting vineyards. In a book, the side of a leaf one reads first is called the recto page, and the back side of that leaf is called the verso page. In a spread, one reads the verso page first and then reads the recto page of the next leaf. In English-language books, the recto page is on the right and the verso page is on the left. By modern convention,
This is Not a Book assignment shows the reader something that "This is Not a Book" could be. Page 42 of "This is Not a Book" is missing. This has caused many readers to speculate what has happened to it. Speculation regarding the missing page is largely random. The assignment "random occurrence" is an homage to Marcel Duchamp, "window" is an homage to Yoko Ono, "chance operation" is an homage to John Cage, "conundrum" and "top secret document" are an homage to Oulipo, "bureaucracy" is an homage to José Saramago and "voyage" is an homage to Bas Jan Ader. This is Not a Book This