Ben O'Connell
@benjaminoc.bsky.social
Dad, husband, promiscuous reader, former music geek, wannabe movie nerd, Montanan, NE DC Canine Knucklehead Ward co-founder, C-SPAN director of editorial operations
I’ve spent my morning alternating between laying on the couch while reading Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and shoveling snow while listening to the audio adaptation of John Langan’s The Fisherman. Pretty much a perfect snow day, so far.
January 25, 2026 at 4:18 PM
I’ve spent my morning alternating between laying on the couch while reading Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and shoveling snow while listening to the audio adaptation of John Langan’s The Fisherman. Pretty much a perfect snow day, so far.
Now this is a movie
January 25, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Now this is a movie
“He believes in what he sees, and no matter what’s in front of him, he doesn’t see much.”—Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower
January 24, 2026 at 12:35 PM
“He believes in what he sees, and no matter what’s in front of him, he doesn’t see much.”—Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Sower
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s fine. Perfectly serviceable, even.
January 20, 2026 at 1:49 AM
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s fine. Perfectly serviceable, even.
CURFEW (1993) by Phil Rickman: A music mogul’s plans to turn a Welsh border town into a New Age Disneyland reawaken an ancient evil. Rickman occasionally trims enough excess for the reader to enjoy the tight folk horror novel lurking within.
January 19, 2026 at 9:46 AM
CURFEW (1993) by Phil Rickman: A music mogul’s plans to turn a Welsh border town into a New Age Disneyland reawaken an ancient evil. Rickman occasionally trims enough excess for the reader to enjoy the tight folk horror novel lurking within.
It is pink outside in DC right now. My camera isn’t doing it justice.
January 18, 2026 at 10:22 PM
It is pink outside in DC right now. My camera isn’t doing it justice.
I had the house to myself for a couple hours this afternoon and put on Steven Soderbergh’s PRESENCE. What a gutpunch of a movie.
January 18, 2026 at 7:08 PM
I had the house to myself for a couple hours this afternoon and put on Steven Soderbergh’s PRESENCE. What a gutpunch of a movie.
Joseph Hansen’s Fadeout (1970) is a fascinating cultural artifact. Hansen’s protagonist, a gay insurance investigator whose life partner recently died, feels at least two decades ahead of its time. Story-wise, it’s a paler shade of Ross Macdonald.
January 17, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Joseph Hansen’s Fadeout (1970) is a fascinating cultural artifact. Hansen’s protagonist, a gay insurance investigator whose life partner recently died, feels at least two decades ahead of its time. Story-wise, it’s a paler shade of Ross Macdonald.
My book clubs have set most of their reading for the year. Old Friends are sure to add a title or two. I’ve italicized books I’ve already read.
January 16, 2026 at 2:36 PM
My book clubs have set most of their reading for the year. Old Friends are sure to add a title or two. I’ve italicized books I’ve already read.
I enjoyed Bill Janovitz’s biography of The Cars. The absence of contemporary interviews with Benjamin Orr and Ric Ocasek or any interviews with either of Ocasek’s first two wives are noticeable, but Janovitz still manages to give the book convincing depth.
January 16, 2026 at 11:02 AM
I enjoyed Bill Janovitz’s biography of The Cars. The absence of contemporary interviews with Benjamin Orr and Ric Ocasek or any interviews with either of Ocasek’s first two wives are noticeable, but Janovitz still manages to give the book convincing depth.
Reposted by Ben O'Connell
Dictator Novels: A Thread. The rise—and particularly the fall—of autocrats has been a rich source for novelists around the world. So much so that the "dictator novel" is considered a genre in both Latin American and African fiction. Here's a short guide to some of the best.
January 11, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Dictator Novels: A Thread. The rise—and particularly the fall—of autocrats has been a rich source for novelists around the world. So much so that the "dictator novel" is considered a genre in both Latin American and African fiction. Here's a short guide to some of the best.
He understands me. He really understands me.
January 10, 2026 at 12:48 AM
He understands me. He really understands me.
My bookish resolution for 2026: to read at least five books I’ve neither heard nor seen recommended by anyone
January 9, 2026 at 2:30 PM
My bookish resolution for 2026: to read at least five books I’ve neither heard nor seen recommended by anyone
Spy Hunter
Metal Gear
Metroid
Joust
Rampage
Metal Gear
Metroid
Joust
Rampage
Metroid
Joust
River Raid
Dig Dug
R.B.I. Baseball
(I'm old.)
Joust
River Raid
Dig Dug
R.B.I. Baseball
(I'm old.)
What’s your favorite video game that’s at least 27 years old (so 1999 or earlier)? Let’s get a list of classics going.
January 5, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Spy Hunter
Metal Gear
Metroid
Joust
Rampage
Metal Gear
Metroid
Joust
Rampage
In Olga Ravn’s The Wax Child (trans. Martin Aitken), a doll formed of beeswax passes through the possession of a small group of women, eventually bearing witness to their witchcraft trials. Ravn’s blend of Scandinavian folklore and history is strange and unsettling. Wonderful novel.
January 4, 2026 at 10:32 PM
In Olga Ravn’s The Wax Child (trans. Martin Aitken), a doll formed of beeswax passes through the possession of a small group of women, eventually bearing witness to their witchcraft trials. Ravn’s blend of Scandinavian folklore and history is strange and unsettling. Wonderful novel.
I don’t know what I expected of reading Muriel Spark, but it wasn’t something as dark and funny as Loitering With Intent. Good way to kick off my 2026 reading.
January 4, 2026 at 1:50 PM
I don’t know what I expected of reading Muriel Spark, but it wasn’t something as dark and funny as Loitering With Intent. Good way to kick off my 2026 reading.
Good morning from the appropriately named Blue Ridge Mountains
January 2, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Good morning from the appropriately named Blue Ridge Mountains
Driving through eastern Tennessee this afternoon, I remembered that I had ancestors there in the 19th century. Turned out one of my 3x great-grandfathers graves was 5 minutes off the highway, so we made a brief diversion. He died of typhoid while serving in the U. S. Army during the Civil War.
January 2, 2026 at 1:19 AM
Driving through eastern Tennessee this afternoon, I remembered that I had ancestors there in the 19th century. Turned out one of my 3x great-grandfathers graves was 5 minutes off the highway, so we made a brief diversion. He died of typhoid while serving in the U. S. Army during the Civil War.
I finished reading my last book of 2025 yesterday. Here are some of my favorites:
December 31, 2025 at 2:19 PM
I finished reading my last book of 2025 yesterday. Here are some of my favorites:
I’d like to read a less stupid version of the book I just finished.
December 31, 2025 at 2:26 AM
I’d like to read a less stupid version of the book I just finished.
I’ve only recently discovered Leo & Diane Dillon’s lovely artwork for the Ace Science Fiction Specials line from the ‘60s and ‘70s.
December 23, 2025 at 7:32 PM
I’ve only recently discovered Leo & Diane Dillon’s lovely artwork for the Ace Science Fiction Specials line from the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Reposted by Ben O'Connell
For @rollingstone.com, I wrote about the making of the myth of sheriff Buford Pusser, and how recent revelations that he was likely responsible for the 1967 murder of his wife, Pauline, undercuts that myth -- and begs for a new narrative about intimate partner violence and family trauma.
He Was a Legendary Sheriff Who Inspired a Movie. Did He Also Murder His Wife?
When Buford Pusser’s wife was killed, his grief turned into the movie ‘Walking Tall.’ But a new report from investigators suggests it was all a lie.
www.rollingstone.com
December 23, 2025 at 2:59 PM
For @rollingstone.com, I wrote about the making of the myth of sheriff Buford Pusser, and how recent revelations that he was likely responsible for the 1967 murder of his wife, Pauline, undercuts that myth -- and begs for a new narrative about intimate partner violence and family trauma.
Cathedral of the Drowned (2025), the second novella in Nathan Ballingrud’s dark and surreal science-fantasy Lunar Gothic Trilogy, is a work of stunning imagination. Ballingrud remains one of the few writers whose works I find consistently thrilling.
December 23, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Cathedral of the Drowned (2025), the second novella in Nathan Ballingrud’s dark and surreal science-fantasy Lunar Gothic Trilogy, is a work of stunning imagination. Ballingrud remains one of the few writers whose works I find consistently thrilling.
The clouds have broken just long enough to see the outline of Mount Ranier.
December 22, 2025 at 7:34 PM
The clouds have broken just long enough to see the outline of Mount Ranier.
Chief Mario Balzic teaches an idealistic new mayor about police work and the justice system in K. C. Constantine’s Always a Body to Trade. The Rocksburg novels continue to be the best crime series I’ve stumbled on in a decade.
December 22, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Chief Mario Balzic teaches an idealistic new mayor about police work and the justice system in K. C. Constantine’s Always a Body to Trade. The Rocksburg novels continue to be the best crime series I’ve stumbled on in a decade.