Chapter 3, The Great Gatsby Summary

Nick describes the elaborate, extensive preparations made for the parties held seemingly every weekend at Gatsby's house - crates of fruit to be squeezed into juice, full orchestras, tents, caterers, and large amounts of alcohol. Narration switches into present tense as Nick recounts the usual order of events at those parties, and then back to past tense as he describes events of the first time he attended one, having received a personal invitation (unlike, he says, most people who simply just show up). Jordan Baker is also a guest, casually bored and, like Nick, looking for Gatsby in the midst of hearing rumors and stories about who he is and what he does. At one point, while they're searching the house, they encounter a drunken guest amazed that the books in the library are all real.

Later...