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
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.
Good evening from the PNW
December 21, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Good evening from the PNW
I’ve used my insomnia well: starting my “10 favorite reads of 2025” list that no one will read.
December 18, 2025 at 8:19 AM
I’ve used my insomnia well: starting my “10 favorite reads of 2025” list that no one will read.
I started rewatching This Is Spinal Tap on Friday night after watching the sequel. I couldn’t even imagine then that I would be finishing it under the current circumstances. Still a perfect movie.
December 15, 2025 at 10:37 PM
I started rewatching This Is Spinal Tap on Friday night after watching the sequel. I couldn’t even imagine then that I would be finishing it under the current circumstances. Still a perfect movie.
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is far better than I expected. It’s a pleasant curio, ready for regular rediscovery.
December 13, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is far better than I expected. It’s a pleasant curio, ready for regular rediscovery.
Do hipsters still wear knit caps?
December 10, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Do hipsters still wear knit caps?
It didn’t turn out the way i would have preferred, but I enjoyed watching my alma mater play my hometown team.
December 6, 2025 at 10:07 PM
It didn’t turn out the way i would have preferred, but I enjoyed watching my alma mater play my hometown team.
Every few months i think about how JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS and ZOOLANDER are nearly the same movie. JOSIE, the better of the two, came out five months earlier, tanked, and was pretty much forgotten.
December 5, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Every few months i think about how JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS and ZOOLANDER are nearly the same movie. JOSIE, the better of the two, came out five months earlier, tanked, and was pretty much forgotten.
As of 22 minutes ago, C-SPAN is available on YouTubeTV. www.youtube.com/watch?v=toMU...
C-SPAN Launches on YouTubeTV
YouTube video by C-SPAN
www.youtube.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:23 PM
As of 22 minutes ago, C-SPAN is available on YouTubeTV. www.youtube.com/watch?v=toMU...
Long shot but anyone out there with access to John Mack Faragher’s Daniel Boone biography who can check the index for “Banta” for me?
November 30, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Long shot but anyone out there with access to John Mack Faragher’s Daniel Boone biography who can check the index for “Banta” for me?