Christmas chapter, cast call
‘Why did you have to come?’
‘You are my friend. Tonight is about friends.’
‘Really? The way I remember it, it’s all about a baby. Poor thing. And a big tree. Beats me who made up a tree for a baby.’
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 3/2, shaping, Christmas chapter
This is an invitation to actors and producers to join me for the production of an audiobook or the realisation of live reading(s) of the Christmas chapter of book 3/2, shaping.
You can find out more about the characters and the story locations here >
Charlie Alice Raya, 27 October 2024
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 3/2, shaping, Christmas chapter
Age. There were people who said: ‘The older you get the more you vanish into nothingness. No one sees you any more. You cease to exist even before you die.’ But that wasn’t true.
We always see people with spirit, regardless their age. The only reason we don’t see the older human is because someone or something or they themselves broke them. Once you un-break them, they will be seen again, and it will be a feast. They will shine, because spirits shine, always and everywhere — no matter the age. It was time to stop talking each other down. It was time to shine.
Roger grimaced. He was an old grump and often enough suspicious of shining. In fact, his shine was of the grumpy sort. And maybe it wasn’t all about shining, maybe it was also about caring, about seeing others. If you see, you are more likely to be seen.
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 3/2, shaping, Christmas chapter
News
book 3/1, shaping
‘Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our livestream on this mild September morning. Today is the first day of the second phase of our town project.’
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 3/1, shaping, arrivals & shaping
This is the beginning of book 3/1, arrivals & shaping, which is presently in its final editing stage and will be published on 28 November 2024.
Presently, this website gets a few new bits and pieces. I’ll let you know when everything is done.
Have fun with diving into the easy town stories,
Charlie Alice Raya, 24 October 2024
easy town books
rethinking – well, everything
The easy town story
The overall story of the easy town books is simple: a town experiment is planned in several stages, the town is built, the town gets into trouble, and some of the main characters mess things up.
But eventually, the town emerges as an intriguing model on all counts: society, economy, environment and governance.
The single stories are more complex and include everything from digging deep into the big questions of our time to adventures, love stories, conflicts, traumata, and a lot more.
Maybe more importantly, this story illustrates ideas which might be worth testing in the real world for a real future.
What to expect?
An exploration into what is and what could be, filled with questions, ideas, visions and proposals.
The books are an invitation for everyone to join the exploration to rethink what it is we are doing to ourselves, to our fellow humans and to our planet – in a constructive way that has always room for playfulness, humour and the odd adventure.
If you are a nurse, an architect, a business manager, a craftsperson, a doctor, an admin person, a scientist, a programmer, an employee, a homeless person, a town planner, an entrepreneur, an ecologist, a journalist, a billionaire, a landscape architect, an artist, a freelancer, a politician, a philosopher, a designer, an adventurer, you will find ample inspirations, thoughts and questions which can aid you in your work.
‘What I’d like to propose is to build a town from scratch and run it as an experiment. In the experiment, we would treat every aspect of life as a variable, as something we can put to the test, as something we can adjust until it makes more sense than our present systems. We would question every theory we know. We would question how we do business, how patients are treated, how the town is composed in terms of people, businesses, educational and cultural offers, or its layout. And we would try to find out whether we can’t do better if we use our imagination, and hang our complacency in the closet.’
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 1, beginning
easy town books
book 1, beginning
book 1, beginning
or drafting a town experiment
by Charlie Alice Raya
Alice Adler, a Berliner, sets out to convince the US billionaire Tom Holbon to build a town experiment. The aim of the experiment is to rethink — well, everything.
‘I hope he’s curious enough to take a walk with me through the ideas. And I hope he’s sensible enough to mull over the ideas before taking any decisions.’
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 1, beginning
easy town books
book 2, travelling
book 2,
travelling
and we (still) need to talk about sex
by Charlie Alice Raya
Travelling around the world, Alice and her team build an international network for the Easy Town Project.
Travelling with them are the past, personal demons and unwittingly the issue of sex.
‘How is Alice?’ Anthony asked when he and Jazz went for a break in the morning, coffee cups and wrapped sandwiches in their hands.
‘I think she’ll be okay. She’s not afraid to talk, or to analyse what happened. That’s good. Though, she has more things to untangle from her past than I expected.’
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 2/1, travelling, San Francisco
easy town books
book 3, shaping
Charlie Alice Raya
book 3, shaping
The first day alone is packed with encounters of all vibes, allowing the reader to dive straight into the heart of the town project and also into the hearts of some of the main characters.
Book 3 will be published in three parts. The first part book 3/1 is due on 28 November 2024.
‘True power — if you think about God — true power is in creation, not in destruction, oppression or tyranny. A true and powerful leader will create not destroy.’
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 3, shaping
easy town books
book 4, building
Charlie Alice Raya
book 4, building
Tom is angry. Everyone acts as if building the town is a certainty even though so far they only have half a deal. Just a few days ago, he told Alice: ‘Don’t you know that you haven’t won yet? The town will never be built unless the government agrees, or unless you forego the experiment.’
‘I know.’
‘You know how people tend to say: “But who will pay for all this?” I thought about it, and I came to the conclusion that from now on my response will be: “So long as you find the money for subsidies, state receptions, the entertainment industry, the military, or for bribes for political and economical gain, and for all the other kinds of ambiguous expenses, I will not think about this question again.” And I might add: “Probable fun fact: if we build our town and do a good job with our experiments, then many government expenses won’t be necessary any more.”’
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 4/1, building
‘At its core the Easy Town experiment is about being curious, about trying out visions, about exploring and playing around with ideas, testing the limits of the possible, daring to try out the unconventional, questioning the inevitable, allowing for complexity.’
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 1, beginning
More news
including from the other Charlie Alice Raya projects
Back
I’ve been off since May 2023, but now I’m back and bring news. For starters there are additional projects & websites to discover.
For an overview of all projects & offers visit the new website: charlie-alice-raya.org
Which isn’t to say that there are good reasons to stay on this website where you can dive into the easy town books.
universe
The end of all wars is a new project and the first book of that series was published on 28 September 2024.
Find out more on the website the-end-of-all-wars.net
breastless
breastless is another new project and deals with overwork, cancer, gender and other trifles.
Find out more on the website: breastless.net
Get in touch
Get in touch via this form or write directly to contact@easy-town-books.com
Emails will be answered within 72 hours whenever possible.
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