Jes Gordon

I checked this out of the library and read it cover to cover, but most of the time I was thinking: "Why the ___ am I reading this?" I am not in that universe where people spend tens of thousands of dollars on a party. I have mostly thrown parties that are potluck, BYOB kinds of things, where we pick up the clutter and invite a few people over. But I have kids now, and a birthday party coming up, and I thought maybe I could ramp it up a bit. Not this much, but a bit.

That said, even I could find some practical advice here, and the peek into the world of "Events" was fascinating. I get the sense that the author is not my kind of people (waaay to fashionable to talk to me, I'd bet) but she was entertaining. There was a bit too much about drunkenness -- not everyone gets liquored up the moment they walk in the door -- but some of it was useful. The book was a bit weak in the area of food -- the author jokes about not knowing what to do with an oven. Party food is the one thing I do know something about, and there are lots good party-oriented cookbooks out there, and not so many that talk about party planning, theme, decor, entertainment, and other aspects of parties that I'd never given a thought to.

I think this book would be most useful for people planning a really big wedding, or anything else with a long guest list and a lot of advance planning, but for most of this stuff is not relevant to ordinary, low budget get-togethers.… (mais)