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, team work, attacks 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 rethink what it is we are doing to ourselves, to our fellow humans and to our planet – in a way that always leaves room for playfulness, humour and the odd adventure.
No matter who you are: a nurse, architect, business manager, craftsperson, doctor, admin person, scientist, programmer, homeless person, town planner, entrepreneur, ecologist, journalist, billionaire, landscape architect, artist, politician, activist, film maker, photographer, philosopher, designer, adventurer, in short a human, you will find ample inspirations, thoughts and questions of interest to you.
‘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
The easy town books
The easy town story is split into 12 books. Some books come in several parts. So far book 1, beginning, book 2, travelling and the first two parts of book 3, shaping have been published.
Presently all books are available on this website since I boycott big tech. I apologise for the inconvenience, but the easy town story really is about rethinking everything and that includes how we do business and how we deal with each other.
You can continue to scroll down to see the first books or you jump to the overview page for all books and take a tour through the entire story >
book 1, beginning
book 1, beginning
and 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
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
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. Parts 1 & 2 are available and part 3 is likely to come out in April.
‘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
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
About the author
Someone once said to me that she had never met a person who encompassed so many contradictions. I think the remark was partly about me being very strong and occasionally disappointing her because I am also a human who carries quite a few scares.
I like the thought of contradictions, of acknowledging all we can be and all we are. Which reminds me of a quote from book 3/2, shaping:
‘Unfortunately,’ she added, ‘my past is quite a downer. But what helps me is to remind myself to be all I am — and nothing I am not.’
Rose smiled a little. ‘To be alive, kicking and dancing, and laughing.’
© Charlie Alice Raya, book 3, shaping
Unfortunately, I didn’t ask her what she meant. I was very young back then. Very young. That makes me chuckle. I never think in terms of getting older, but I always look back and shake my head about how terribly young I was in my twenties, thirties, forties. I felt so grown up, especially in my twenties. How little I knew. At least, I had already read Socrates, the Apology, and knew something about what I don’t know. But still, I was so young. And yet, I am not a bit old now. A bit wiser, maybe. But mostly, I am just me, age doesn’t feature. But there is a sense of extension. The child in me is wide awake and so is the adventurer, though he is ageless and yes, he is male. Then there is the wise old woman. I don’t think she has fully materialised, but her seeds are in me.
I have to laugh. The above sounds so mythic, but I’m not at all a spiritual person and I don’t believe in gods. Mind you, they might exist, but they clearly have no interest in humanity. As for the universe, I sometimes wonder whether it plays a game with me, the universe or fate – but if either do, then I’d like a word in private. I sometimes joke: if fate has anything to do with my life, then fate is a bastard.
Mind you, I am stubborn enough, and I have all those contradictions which enrich my world. I will keep going.
Maybe, I shouldn’t write these texts in the evenings, I can never get quite serious at this time of the night.
You see, I have a playful, life-loving soul, a curious, rarely resting mind and a body that says I’ve been sitting too long, today.
And then there is my dedication to explore how we can do better, for ourselves, for our fellow humans and for our planet.
You can find out more about me here about the author page >
Have a great evening, morning, day, wherever you are.
Charlie Alice Raya, 24 March 2025
‘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
Overviews
The easy town story is the source of many ideas, projects, questions, thoughts and by now there are 14 websites for the various ideas online, there is more in planning and still more, waiting to be considered.
I built the Charlie Alice Raya website as the Hub for all ideas, books, offers, challenges and more: charlie-alice-raya.org
There you can also find an overview of all 14 websites plus all social media channels which are now active to get the ideas, visions and inspirations out there out there.
Which isn’t to say that there are good reasons to stay on this website where you can dive into the easy town books and find a lot of background information, plus some of my photographic work.
universe
When I returned in autumn 2024 after a long period of recovery, I brought some new projects and books. The end of all wars is one of those, and the first book of that series was published on 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
book 3/1, shaping
The first day alone is packed with encounters of all colours and 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, shaping
Buy the complete book 3, shaping. Receive the first two parts of book 3, shaping, now, and pre-order book 3/3 in one go.
Go all in books 1-3
Buy all published easy town books: book 1, beginning, book 2, travelling and book 3, shaping, parts 1&2 and pre-order the third parts of book 3, which will be published in spring 2025.
Get in touch
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