easy town books – by Charlie Alice Raya

Presently most of the easy town books website is offline since some major changes, updates and extensions are underway.

Everything will be back online after the publication of book 2/2, travelling, on 7/8 August 2021, depending on where in the world you are.

In the run-up to the launch of book 2/2, the easy town books website will come back online step by step, starting on August, 4/5, depending on where in the world you are.

4/5 August 2021

pages to be published: about the series, about the author

publishing times around the world:

4 August
20:03 (Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires)
19:03 (New York)
16:03 (San Francisco)

5 August
9:03 (Sydney)
7:03 (Beijing)
2:03 (Middle East, Bucharest, Moscow)
1:03 (Cape Town, Berlin)
0:03 (London)

5 August 2021

to be published: the origins of the Easy Town idea, the original story, Q & A, legal pages, privacy contact page, general contact page

publishing times:
21:03 (Sydney)
19:03 (Beijing)
14:03 (Middle East, Bucharest, Moscow)
13:03 (Cape Town, Berlin)
12:03 (London)
8:03 (Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires)
7:03 (New York)
4:03 (San Francisco)

5/6 August 2021

to be published: updated content, about book 1, extract – the letter, preview book 1, illustration of Tom’s estate, key quotes about the town experiment, introduction to the sex talk, extract – how the sex talk came about, overview sex talk content, the main teams, the main characters, shopping cart, pay directly form, statement images

publishing times:
5 August
20:03 (Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires)
19:03 (New York)
16:03 (San Francisco)

6 August
9:03 (Sydney)
7:03 (Beijing)
2:03 (Middle East, Bucharest, Moscow)
1:03 (Cape Town, Berlin)
0:03 (London)

6 August 2021

to be published: 21 photo series with photographs from 2007-2021. Each series is newly curated and includes photographs which have never been shown before.
61 photographs will be available as limited Hahnemühle Fine Art Prints, for the first time publicly.

new pages: overview of the photo series, 21 photo series pages, overview of the limited editions, 61 individual pages for the limited editions, the catalogue for the limited editions (pdf-download), Q & A limited editions, contact form photography, How to support the easy town projects

6/7 August 2021

to be published: updated extracts collections including: The Hub, dot.international, The beauty of modern slavery, stories within the story, digesting. All extracts collections pages have additional and sometimes extended extracts

7 August 2021

to be published: writing the series, behind the scenes, preview book 2/1, preview book 2/2, What I didn’t expect to write about, illustration: the airliner, new extracts: How travelling came about, new extracts collections: 42 towns and counting + free download of town idea graphics, pepper books, overview of all extract collections, about book 3, illustrations: the London Compound, The Gods Garden

AND

COMING ON 7/8 August 2021

book 2/2, travelling, and we still need to talk about sex

The story starts at three past nine on the eighth of August, Sydney time,
and therefore the book will be published at that time.

Publishing time at the locations of the story

Sydney

8 August 2021, 9:03

Beijing / Kunming

8 August 2021, 7:03

Otaon, Middle East

8 August 2021, 2:03

Bucharest

8 August 2021, 2:03

Moscow

8 August 2021, 2:03

Cape Town

8 August 2021, 1:03

Berlin

8 August 2021, 1:03

London

8 August 2021, 0:03

Rio de Janeiro

7 August 2021, 20:03

Buenos Aires

7 August 2021, 20:03

New York

7 August 2021, 19:03

San Francisco

7 August 2021, 16:03

book 2/2, travelling

and we still need to talk about sex

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, prejudice and unwittingly the issue of sex.

Alice isn’t happy. Most of her closest allies are in London to set up the new base for the Easy Town Project. She, on the other hand, is on this diplomatic mission. And diplomacy just isn’t her thing. Lucky for her, she encounters some people who don’t require diplomacy. Some are allies, some villains and some might turn out to be the one or the other.

Again and again, the travelling team think they have seen it all by now. But each country adds something new and unexpected to their journey.

This second part of the journey takes the travelling team to China, Otaon in the Middle East, Romania, Russia and Berlin.

I called Devery earlier. Great listener, a huge bag of experience, and a sober mind (contrary to my present me mind). He managed to get me out of that self-pity pit. Said it’s always better to create something extraordinary than to waste your life in a safe bubble.

book 2/2, travelling, Berlin

Prince Salar explained that the watcher was a reminder that humans will only progress if and when they strive to understand what it is they are doing, and when they ask themselves why they are doing it.

book 2/2, travelling, Otaon

Jazz wasn’t a Berliner. So she didn’t know that there was nothing to smirk about fifty or eighty year olds with green or pink hair. It’s just how the world is meant to be: colourful.

book 2/2, travelling, Berlin

easy town book series

book 1, beginning

Alice Adler sets out to convince Tom Holbon to build a town experiment.
The aim of the experiment is to rethink — well, everything.

Pages: approx. 499 pages
Format: ePub

book 2/1, travelling

includes
Happy Flying, San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, South Africa, Flight to Sydney, Australia

Pages: approx. 464 pages
Format: ePub

book 2/2, travelling

includes
Flight to Beijing, China, Otaon, Romania, Flight to Moscow, Russia, Berlin, London

Pages: approx. 737 pages
Format: ePub

book 2/1, travelling, chapters 1-5

book 2, travelling will also be available in single chapters

(1) United States

The journey kicks off to a bumpy start: Alice slips up, something is brewing within the travelling team, the meeting with a property mogul leaves Alice in a bad mood, and eventually Alice and Tom take a decision which is greeted with a stonewall from the travelling team.

Pages: 88 pages

(2) Rio de Janeiro

Twice in Rio, Alice has to confront dark memories. In one case, retelling a nightmare earns her some respect. In the other case, Devery is glad that no one else is listening to their conversation. Not that he disagrees, but some of Alice’s thoughts are rather dark.

Pages: 69 pages

(3) Buenos Aires

At first, the travelling team get something of a breather ‘just talking, sharing ideas, pondering small and big questions.’ Then a tragedy gives them a punch in the stomach, Alice struggles with some news, others scheme to sabotage the project, and Jack receives a heavy blow.

Pages: 64 pages

(4) South Africa

The stay in Injaberg is marked by clashes, Alice’s jumble of thoughts on colonialism and racism, an unexpected mediator, and news that divide the travelling team. In the aftermath of an attempted coup within the travelling team, some struggle to find their footing again.

Pages: 144 pages

(5) Australia

Jack recaps the first days in Sydney, concluding that things are looking up. The next day, he fights with a jelly cocoon, witnesses zoo talks at breakfast, Brexit talks at lunch, and a town excursion afterwards. His day ends with a lonely beer. The following day has to be better.

Pages: 99 pages

book 2/2, travelling, chapters 6-10

book 2, travelling will also be available in single chapters

(6) China

For Alice the visit in China starts with two secrets. One secret helps her to keep an open mind during some meetings. The other might help her to understand herself better. Meanwhile, the project’s adversaries come up with new plans, but it’s the assassins who get too close.

Pages: 155 pages

(7) Otaon

Otaon is a most remarkable chapter on the travelling team’s journey. It’s a feast with fairy tales, humour and wisdom, an unexpected adventure, a celebration of human ingenuity, an acknowledgement of human faults, a journey magic and a little tragic but overall uplifting.

Pages: 164 pages

(8) Romania

Despite some drawbacks, Alice has a great time in Romania. Not everyone is happy about that, but when Alice and Bertok develop a new idea, almost everyone is enthused, and Alice spends a sleepless night to ponder a crucial question. Meanwhile, Jack is troubled in Italy.

Pages: 92 pages

(9) Russia

Filip and Natasha invite Alice to an exclusive ball. Thanks to the sex talk, Alice has a lot of fun. But then things start to go downhill, and after a warning, the travelling team goes into hiding. Disguised, Alice travels to meet the one person who might know what the heck is going on.

Pages: 179 pages

(10) Berlin

When Alice arrives in Berlin, she feels strange. Five months ago, she left with the idea for a town experiment, and now she returns as the head of the town project. It’s time to wrap up her old life. After two very different goodbyes, the launch of the new Hub takes centre stage.

Pages: 147 pages

photo series, title images for book 1-12 and more, easy town books, by Charlie Alice Raya

About the series

The overall story of the series 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. And the main characters, well, they go through a lot.

Over the seven years of the story, many questions are asks, and ideas are brought to life. There are joys and pains, challenges and struggles, wins and losses, disappointments and surprises, fights and adventures. And love, well, it does its many things, and sometimes magic enters the story too.
In all of this, the desire to explore, to understand, to question, to rethink, to test ideas is at the core of the overall story.

While the series tells the story of a town and of the characters involved in creating, building and running it, the stories also include a thought experiment.
In this thought experiment, the town serves as the playground, a playground where any question can be asked, and where any idea can be tested.

Book 1

Book 1, beginning is the first book of the Easy Town Series, and it’s an introduction into the Easy Town idea.

Alice Adler, a Berliner, sets out to convince Tom Holbon, the richest man on the planet, to build a town experiment. The aim of the experiment is to rethink — well, everything.

Book 2

Book 2, travelling covers the time between compiling the first draft for the town experiment (book 1) and the planning stage (book 3).

While the main teams set up the new base in London, Alice and the travelling team visit ten countries to build an international network for the project.

Book 3

Book 3, shaping covers the planning stage of the project.

Alice arrives in London after two month of travelling around the world. She is thrilled by the new project’s base, and she is happy to see all her team members again. Except that there are a lot of new faces and a lot less time for the old friends.
When the international teams arrive, they bring truckloads of additional inspirations and irritations.

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.

book 1, beginning