Citizenship | Literature
Select novels, short stories, and nonfiction on contemporary life.
Ben East’s nonfiction debut recounts how JFK’s bold experiment shaped diplomatic careers and influenced modern American diplomacy.
Read, Listen, Watch
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Summer fantasy surf quest In Episode 4 of this is what i do when i should be… we recap skateboard and bike camp, move operations up to the beach, and take a stab at that notorious dragon, Smaug. True to form the conversation allows escape from what we really should be doing, which is reviewing Brian Booker’s…
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Joyless House posted this generous review of Two Pumps for the Body Man. See what else they’re reviewing with a click on the image. “…Two Pumps is a page-turner, baby, and it takes some real balls to satirize the great Christian crusade of our times.” Two Pumps is set in the Royal Kingdom of Saudi…
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Is this really necessary?! I believe in pants. Pants are good, modest clothing. Call them trousers if you like: trousers are just as good as pants. Socks, to prevent blisters. Shoes, black or brown. Keep it simple. A belt to hold up your pants or trousers is a common-sense approach. Black or brown, as with your…
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I wasn’t surprised to learn the DNC would go with President Obama instead of me last night. And in some ways I’m glad they did. It was an awesome speech about our great Republic. Bravo. Had I been given the chance to let my own voice ring out in Philadelphia, this is what I would have…
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Papa, Pirates, & Pork Booty In Episode 3 of “this is what i do when i should be…” we explore Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, not far from Hemingway’s boyhood haunt of Walloon Lake near Petoskey. Other side of Mackinac Bridge in Lake Huron lie Les Chenaux Islands, where we were graciously hosted by Nina Abnee, daughters Louise…
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Welcome to the second installment of “This is what i do when i should be…” This week the author’s family gathers in the kitchen to answer fan mail from Mysuru (Mysore) in India and from both coasts here in the U.S. Mohan describes our podcasting layout while Vikram talks about his diorama of The Indian in the Cupboard. At minute…
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It’s almost twenty years since I first shared my fiction beyond the confines of family or classroom. I found three trusted readers during the months of pre-service training as a Peace Corps Volunteer. What else to do on the dusty plains of Central Malawi beneath the boiling sun, the cloudless sky? I wrote my first novel. I wrote…
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Among other things Guts has been a political story, a Mother’s Day story, a Father’s Day story, and a Fourth of July story. Today it’s a baseball story again. If you’re not watching the MLB All-Stars fireworks tonight—or looking for something to read during the commercial breaks between innings—have a look at Guts. This was my…
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Books & News launches its maiden podcast “This is what i do when i should be…”, 15 minutes of banter about books, writing, and other stuff. This week Ben, Vikram, and Mohan discuss Roald Dahl’s Matilda in anticipation of a trip to the cinema to see The BFG and a future discussion of that book’s…
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The latest from Don DeLillo subjects readers to suffocation in a plotless environment hosting flat characters who live out an endless procession of questions about life, death, and the consequences in between. That is Zero-K. Whether or not the flattened nature of this enterprise is intentional—to emphasize confinement, restriction, joylessness, life as a movement toward death—the result is…
Ben East Books 