It's party time!

Nobuddy has (yet) come to the party.  Please join me on Essencia Island by clicking here.

Shall we party on Essencia Island?

How many of us are interested in having a party on Essencia Island at the end of the month?  That's the online "place" we go to devour tons of (cyber) food and laugh with one another and the characters from our book.  Yes, that's right, Jacob will be there, along with Theo and Emma and Rich and Oliver -- and even that prosecutor, if she wants to come.  What was her name, again?  Does anybuddy remember?  Though it may freak Jacob out to see her there, Jess (who was alive during part of the book) could very well show up.  The Island is magical that way.

Another question we should consider -- and the reason I'm asking this question so early in the month:

What must be do to make Essencia Island "friendly" for Jacob?  Is there anything we should NOT bring to the party?  Anything special we should DO beforehand?  I already know we should avoid any food that happens to be orange, like these cheddar cheese cubes.  (Though I don't see a problem with cheese of another color.)

Does everybuddy remember how to reach Essencia Island?  Either click on the name of the island in this post or on the picture of Essencia Island on the sidebar.  Got that?  I wouldn't want you to get lost on your way to the end-of-book party!

Windy City ~ let's tour the Fair!

Marylyn and I arrived at Essencia Island and discovered nobuddy else is here for the party. We've gone to take a tour of the Fair while we're waiting for you. If you take the tour, look for us. I want to ride the Ferris Wheel, for sure. Oops! Which way did she go? Marylyn, wait for me! Oh, look, there's Daniel Burnham!







I hope you Book Buddies plan to party on the island with us, even if you have started reading Jim the Boy. Marylyn brought Chicago-style hot dogs for us to eat.

About the end-of-month party

This just in ... Fiona Sweeney, of Camel Bookmobile fame, says she can't party until later this month. So when the end of May rolls around, we'll party with Anna and Cerise, the ladies of Windfalls, and with Fi and Matani and Neema and Kanika and Scar Boy and the other villagers of Mididima.

I've heard tell that Siti, the leader and load camel, will also be there. It will be up to us to check out the rumor that she is possessed by the spirit of Mr. Abasi's own departed mother.

One word of encouragement, those so inclined may want to bring along any spare paper you have lying around the house. I hear that Scar Bbb... uh, I mean, Taban ... has run out of paper again.

And for others, you may want to contribute to the ACTUAL camel bookmobile operating in Kenya. Here's how to donate to the camel bookmobile.

Extra incentive to attend our next party: Bonnie ... and maybe others? ... will tell you all about the camels sitting grandly in the history of the Book Buddies. Put on your thinking caps, everybuddy, and try to remember all you can about those errant camels, Bactrian and ... hmmm, what was the other kind? ... oh, yeah, Dromedary. Siti (aka, Mr. Abasi's mother) would be a Dromedary. When you plan what food to bring to the party, don't forget something for Siti to nibble.

Please drop by

We're having a party. Please drop by.

Toby (and Ellen), let's keep talking about Tolle. I've set up ... no, wait ... you should read about it here.

Everybuddy, come on over to Essencia Island.

Party with Hanna, Ozren, Raz ... and the others

Come on over to the island, Essencia Island, that is!

The party food is out, and I'm sure we'll get a chance to visit with Hanna and Ozren. Raz should be there, too, along with anybody else in the book you'd like to invite.

Now, could I get you something to drink?

How many will be reading People of the Book?

First, I hope Margreet sees that link, Marg, as it does seem like a good price and a good deal ... with that free shipping. Margreet, I'm copying Marg's comment because you (and others) are more likely to see it in a post:

"Margreet, if you are interested in reading this book, try The Book Depository. They have it in stock for 11 pounds 39 pence (no idea what that converts to) and they have free shipping as well, so I don't know how it will work out for you, but for me it is often cheaper to buy a book from them instead of from a bookstore here. Here's the link: The Book Depository"

Second, maybe we need to be more mindful of what's available before we vote. Should we first find out if a book has been out long enough to be in paperback ... AND in some of the used book stores?

I'm retired and had to buy In Lucia's Eyes (paperback) and People of the Book (newly published and only in hardback). I hope I enjoy POB, but I have only tonight finally finished ILE, which I'll probably trade at a used book store. I had to make myself read it, and taking so long to complete has made me over a week late getting the final questions posted. I'm sorry, and I promise to get to the questions (including some from me, rather than those vague online ones) as soon as possible. I feel that I have to buy the books, whether I can afford them or not, because all of you depend on me for questions. I would be ever so grateful if some of you would go ahead and post comments as Margreet did recently about ILE in A Great Imperfection. Thanks, Margreet.

And I should have done this at the beginning of the weekend: It's party time on the island! Lucia and Giacomo (by either of their names) have promised to party with us there, so you will have a chance to ask them questions. I'll mosey on over there with some of the simple food I'm bringing this month, and I hope you'll provide a thing or two as well ... because I declare this party extends 'til the end of February! We have an extra day this month, so enjoy it.

Time to party!

There's a meme going around that asks, If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?

Nah, that's too tame. We Book Buddies will "bring to life" all the characters of all the books we have read so far:

Feb 2008 ~ In Lucia's Eyes (ILE) ~ by Arthur Japin
Jan 2008 ~ Pictures of Hollis Woods (PHW) ~ by Patricia Reilly Giff
Dec 2007 ~ Cold Comfort Farm (CCF) ~ by Stella Gibbons
Nov 2007 ~ The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (BSP) ~ by John Boyne
Oct 2007 ~ The Other Side of the Bridge (OSB) ~ by Mary Lawson

Oops! Lucia will have to wait for the next party. She's February, and we don't really know her yet.

So invitations have gone out to Hollis and Josie and Beatrice ... and the mustard lady, too ... to Steven and the Old Man and Izzy and the baby Christina.

And I've invited Flora and Charles ... Aunt Ada Doom and the Starkadder boys ... let's see, Seth and Meriam and Mrs. Beetle ... Rennett and Mr. Mybug and Amos and Judith and Urk and, oh, you know, all of THEM ... and I wouldn't be surprised if Adam doesn't bring Graceless, Aimless, Feckless and Pointless (the farm cows), but surely he wouldn't bring Big Business (the bull), would he?

Bruno and Shmuel will be there, too, along with Gretel and the Commandant and Bruno's mother and grandmother (did they have names?) ... and there may be several nameless people wearing striped pajamas, though they remained nameless in the book. Do you think the Lieutenant and any other soldiers would be interested?

Jake and Arthur Dunn are coming, as are Laura and Ian and Dr. Christopherson (Ian's father, that is) ... Ian's mother may be hanging around the edges of the party, if she shows up at all ... Pete will be there, and so will Cathy.

Have I forgotten anybody? Oh, yes, everyBUDDY is expected to show up with a marvelous party dish (or two) to share. Since all our food and drinks will be virtual, no calories are involved and we don't need designated drivers.

DATE: the rest of January.
TIME: around the clock, allowing for everybuddy's time zones
WHERE: Essencia Island ... you can start putting out chairs and tables and dreaming up excellent little areas to chat with the characters ... and each other.
WHAT: our first party ever, since moving the whole kit and caboodle "over here" to this blog after Oprah dumped us.

No RSVP needed, but please bring photos ... if you know how to post them. So that nobuddy gets lost in the "comments" sections, I omitted those. Go thou and POST your conversations, buddies! It's PARTY time! Don't forget to bring food. Now go! Click on Essencia Island and just go on over to the island.
__________

Oops! I forgot one tiny little matter ... the "official" invitations. Expect your invitation (to be a contributor to the Essencia Island blog) to arrive in your email box in the next few minutes. If you accidentally throw yours away, just let me know and I will send it out again. These pesky electronic blogs are funny that way, wanting to know you have "permission" to attend the party. Oh, well, here goes!