OT3: Biblio-Mat Fanatic Party

It was a beautiful evening of laid back book and curiosity discussion paired with random cocktails. Many many random cocktails. Much thanks to everyone who made it out. Wish I had taken some more photos but my hands were constantly full of books and the aforementioned drinks. Nonetheless, the lovely Jolie Featherstone captured the night as the unofficial photographer:

The parents of the machine.

Handed a book and a drink before I even got my coat off.

The evening traffic worked out well with attendees coming in

and out in a steady stream, which gave us room to move around.

Like an offering to the random book gods, the 53 books (52+the one I made) were laid out in front of the Biblio-Mat for all to flip through and critique. 

Front and center
(actually more like towards the back in the corner)

The original idea was to serve tequila all night, but then Stephen brought up the idea of Biblio-Mat Cocktails – You drop a $2 donation and received a completely random cocktail. Jesse spent all of Saturday boning up on mixology to ensure no two cocktails were alike!
 

The wizard behind the curtain. Literally.

Had to take a shot at the machine of course.
Think I may have received the best book of the night.

Craig Small, the creator of the Biblio-Mat, hauled in a projector and displayed the blueprints, schematics, logistical animations, and other various behind the scenes looks at how the machine came to be from gestation of the idea to the actual building of the Biblio-Mat.

Beyond being read, books serve many purposes.

Late night picture show.

At the end of the night, Stephen and Craig surprised me with one of the most amazing gifts I’ve ever received – a plaque commemorating the blog project… made from the piece of metal cut out of the Biblio-Mat’s book slot. Yes, I now own a piece of the Biblio-Mat. Truly humbled by this.

Creator, proprietor, and guy who just likes to read.

A gorgeous work of art. Incredibly honoured.

Still stunned by this.

So the big announcement of the night regarding the future of the blog was that it will now be opened up for submissions. Read the details here.

Used so much it had to be refilled halfway through the night.
Submit your book!

A wonderful night with a wonderful creation.