Category: Book Reviews
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A Literary Prize
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by
The small gods visit us softly. So soft, sometimes, it’s possible we miss their presence altogether. Two weeks passed before I noted the happy trespass of one such deity through my recent gloom. The first inkling appeared last week, good news arriving to my in-box from another writer, a former professor, writing mentor, and current…
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Book Review: Pictures of Houses with Water Damage
The 21 stories show in kaleidoscopic form the life, as lives, of an individual confronting the fallout of unrepentant infidelity, unwanted pregnancy, alcohol dependence, failed marriage; We watch lives wrecked by emotional pain, rendered faithfully through the eyes of a cuckold, a cheatwife, a wounded vet boyfriend, a lonely lurking neighbor…
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Holiday Travel Writing Tip
Most of us in this parallel economy already have some version of BuyBux—cash rewards for paying with credit. MyBux© takes it to a whole new level, consolidating all loyalty programs under one umbrella. And because I’m a novelist, not a productive entrepreneur, the MyBux© loyalty program exists safely within the confines of my unwritten plot.
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Review: If You Turn to Look Back
We’re with him now, vibrant present looking back at blurry past, teased as much from this vital trip as from old photos, journals, and letters. He has three more stops to make.
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What is mine to do?
God Holds You offers a chronicle of hope. As we entered the Pandemic Wilderness in March 2020, progressive Lutheran pastor Sarah Scherschligt began publishing daily reflections about adapting to the new constraints. Written with her congregation in mind, these real-time posts transcend the self and her faith community to form a relatable narrative that is both…
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COVID, or Covfefe?
Covfefe is the sound of an old man choking on his attempt to say “COVID” While forced isolation has us looking for ways to pass the time at home, I look for something meaningful to read and settle on Poe. The meandering path of my literary pursuit began this morning with Book Fight!, a Podcast…
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Facebook vs Google in the Bubble
The Google self and the Facebook self, in other words, are pretty different people. There’s a big difference between “you are what you click” and “you are what you share.” The Filter Bubble by Eli Pariser (2009) looks at how personalization on the Internet transforms the Internet itself, creating a different user experience for everyone. Through…
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Blogging in the Filter Bubble
The new Internet doesn’t just know you’re a dog; it knows your breed and wants to sell you a bowl of premium kibble. Eli Pariser’s 2009 The Filter Bubble is a call to self-reflection on how we represent ourselves—consciously and unconsciously—in the digital age. “You click on a link, which signals an interest in something,…
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Government Abuse of the Filter Bubble
The FBI needs a warrant from a judge to search your laptop. But if you use Yahoo or Gmail or Hotmail for your e-mail, you ‘lose your constitutional protections immediately…’ Ideas worth re-visiting from Eli Pariser’s 2009 The Filter Bubble. This third installment looks at how governments might abuse Internet personalization. “The FBI needs a…
Ben East Books 