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John Dishwasher

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John Dishwasher

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June 2015

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Connoisseur of laundromats. Frequenter of neighborhood parks and Tijuana cafes. Transcriber of eavesdroppings. I make zines. I run. I enjoy live soccer matches, no matter the skill level of the players. My plays, stories, poems and essays have appeared in scores of publications, touching virtually all genres. My wife and I share a Southern California double-wide with three rescued cats, not to mention the patio green with potted basil. There are more ups than downs. Usually.

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John Dishwasher Seems to me storytellers have an infinite number of choices in how to present their narrative. So something has to be guiding how they choose -- maybe…moreSeems to me storytellers have an infinite number of choices in how to present their narrative. So something has to be guiding how they choose -- maybe an idea, a full-blown philosophy, a reaction, a judgment, a point of view. So I look for patterns among all the elements of a story to see what's guiding these choices. My reviews try to explain what that fundamental or philosophical root is. I don't always figure it out, though. (less)
Average rating: 3.39 · 44 ratings · 20 reviews · 3 distinct works
The Would-Be President: An ...

3.26 avg rating — 39 ratings — published 2019
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The Zinester Manifesto: A N...

4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings
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Why We Hurt

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings2 editions
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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

meet me at the Over Here Claremont Zinefest

Saturday, November 1, 2025 at The Benton Art Museum in Claremont, CA. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. I will have copies of The Zinester Manifesto: A Novel of the Underground, along with pre-release copies of Why We Hurt. Also some resistance zines and my street art zine "Street Gallery." Read more of this blog post »
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Published on November 01, 2025 07:11

John Dishwasher’s Recent Updates

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To Each His Own by Leonardo Sciascia
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This portrays the power of cultural mores – including their constraints, the liberties they allow, and the behaviors of their adherents (which bind the extremes together). We see the lengths to which one must go to circumvent such mores, and the dang ...more
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Samarkand by Amin Maalouf
Samarkand
by Amin Maalouf (Goodreads Author)
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One of the constants in this transient world we inhabit is the resilience of the human soul. Maalouf shows this metaphorically through the endurance of the work of Omar Khayyam. We see Khayyam’s Rubaiyyat survive the turmoil of its own time, includin ...more
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Cro-Magnon by Brian M. Fagan
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A glimpse into the struggles and sensibilities of the earliest modern humans.
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In the Distance with You by Carla Guelfenbein
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Essentially we humans are incurably solitary. At the same time, we never stop trying to bridge the gap between our own souls and those of others. This novel meditates on this eternal separation of ours. It is about wanting to be close to someone in t ...more
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The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Our humanly traits are so strongly rooted in us that essentially we cannot reform ourselves in any fundamental way, according to Hawthorne. So, despite our noble aspirations at both the personal and societal level, we rarely bring those aspirations t ...more
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Against the Grain by James C. Scott
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A counter-narrative that reconsiders and rebuts the glories of civilization. I have been officially disabused of my starry-eyed wonder for the likes of ancient Egypt and Sumer. I’m glad I was not a citizen thereof.
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The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen
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We are obsessed with the mysterious and the unknown, especially when it involves the uncanny or the forbidden. Even when told that the results behind full understanding may be dangerous still we seek out the answer. This theme is repeated throughout ...more
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The Fratricides by Nikos Kazantzakis
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Our ideals are always in conflict with reality. Kazantzakis portrays this several ways here, but principally through the contradiction between the ideal of “a compassionate God” and the reality of suffering human beings. These two principles cannot c ...more
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Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin    Wilson
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Art is transformational by connecting us to the real – both artist and audience. It shocks us out of the false. It disturbs the commonplace and routine. It shatters stasis. The process is uncomfortable for all, but also thrilling. The protagonist in ...more
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El compadre Mendoza by Mauricio Magdaleno
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A brief description of the irreducible. There is a primality to not only our actions, but also to our aspirations – A point I’ve not before considered. This story juxtaposes the beauties and horrors of both. Lavish parties, barbaric executions, hopes ...more
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Catching up on Cl...: This topic has been closed to new comments. What's everyone reading right now? 8018 3208 Jun 16, 2021 08:32AM  
“Good fortune makes men blind.”
Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté

Sayaka Murata
“Anyone who devotes their life to fighting society in order to be free must be pretty sincere about suffering.”
Sayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman

Jeremias Gotthelf
“Where there is great pride or great wealth, men soon come to believe that their appetites are their wisdom.”
jeremias gotthelf, Die schwarze Spinne

Alex Haley
“The main thing you got to remember is that everything in the world is a hustle.”
Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
“Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops.”
Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

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NTLTRC will help you find your love of Classcis! Find intrigue, well-developed characters, prose that is complex and beautiful, compelling stories tha ...more
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Welcome to our group! We are a friendly group whose goal is to read through Boxall’s list of 1001 books. Many of us were together as a group over at S ...more
166946 John Dishwasher — 1 member — last activity Apr 08, 2017 11:10AM
A group for readers of John Dishwasher who frequent Goodreads. Latest updates listed below with a brief description and link to the piece's free web ...more
765701 Reading the World — 164 members — last activity Dec 29, 2025 07:47PM
Let's learn about the world. Let's expand our reading horizons and read books for every country in the world. ...more
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With a classic book, you don't need a flux capacitor you don't have to hit 88 mph and you don't even need a DeLorean to go back in time. So why not ...more
1286183 GR Friends Messages and Chatting — 178 members — last activity 11 hours, 25 min ago
With PMs being no longer available, I hope this group will help us with keeping in touch.
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