iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Chris Steller @chrissteller.bsky.social · 16h

They’re a 10 but they pronounce “ancien régime” with a t

Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Vicente Luis Mora’s CENTROEUROPA (trans. Rahul Bery) may be the strangest book I’ve read this year. After a Viennese emigre—deceased wife in tow—lays claim to a Prussian farm, local officials continually put off deciding what to do with frozen corpses of soldiers buried throughout the land.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Maylis de Kerangal’s EASTBOUND (trans. Jessica Moore) is the most claustrophobia-inducing novel I’ve read since Kōbō Abe’s WOMAN IN THE DUNES.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Made a couple P&P (Politics & Prose for those outside the DMV) stops today.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Sometimes I think I should delete my Bluesky account, because what’s the point of listening to one hand clapping. And then…

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Proof that CGI is a scourge upon filmmaking.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

A book and a beer on the back patio—life is pretty good sometimes.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Some personal news: 25 years (and 7 months) at C-SPAN

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

It’s a thrill reading the work of a writer taking a big swing. And when it connects—boy howdy. Daniel Kraus’s ANGEL DOWN could have been another horror story set amidst the brutalities of war—and a very good one—but his stylistic choices give it a vitality that makes it something else entirely.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I can’t recall when I last had time to sit on the patio and read. What a delightful afternoon.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Troubles is extraordinary. Farrell’s next two books, The Siege of Krishnapur and Singapore Grip, are also wonderful. I’ve read them all at least three times.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Bummed to find that the Berryville Old Book Shop has closed. I rarely found anything, but I always enjoyed browsing for the few minutes I could take the smell of cat piss.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I have hundreds of unread books, so I need to know: what is the best novel I’ve never heard of?

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

A pleasant surprise awaited me at Third Rail Records & Books this afternoon

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I rarely leave the Arlington Central Library’s little shop without across a gem. In this case, it’s a recent biography of the early 20th century radical Elizabeth Gurley Flynn.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Radio Wolinsky released a fascinating archival interview with Gene Wolfe from 1982 this week. He goes deep into how he developed the arcane vocabulary he employs in his works. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/k...

podcasts.apple.com

Probabilities Archive: Gene Wolfe (1931-2019), Science Fiction Grandmaster, 1982

Podcast Episode · KPFA - Radio Wolinsky · August 30 · 59m

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Howard Fishman’s remarkable TO ANYONE WHO EVER ASKS is as much a chronicle of the author’s fascination with songwriter Connie Converse as it is of Converse’s life. The former proves infectious.

Book cover of HOWARD FISHMAN’s
TO ANYONE WHO EVER ASKS
THE LIFE, MUSIC, AND MYSTERY OF CONNIE CONVERSE

It shows Connie sitting on a couch, lighting a cigarette

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Joel @itsjoels.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The five Simpsons lines I’ve uttered most: "Embiggens is a perfectly cromulent word." “You don’t make friends with salad.” “40 seconds? But I want it now!” “See my vest, see my vest, made from real gorilla chest.” “That’s German for ‘the Bart, the.’”

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Thomas Mann neglects few currents of early 20th century intellectual history in THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN. Philosophy, politics, science, religion—the list goes on. It is a work of extraordinary ambition and density that somehow remains a joy to read.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Our coverage of the National Book Festival has kicked off on C-SPAN2.

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Neglected Books @neglectedbooks.com · 21/08/2026

In 1999, the LA Times asked 36 writers, from Susan Sontag to Elmore Leonard, to share their neglected classics of the century, books they loved but which failed to find the readers they deserved. You can read their responses here: neglectedbooks.com/?...

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Jason Cohen @cohenesque.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Silkworm get their Montana homecoming on Tuesday. I talked to Tim Midyett about the reunion, Steve Albini, and whether their favorite high school teacher might be at the show. thepulp.org/the-return-o...

Photo of Silkworm, Tim Midyett (swept back dirty blonde hair, purple oxford shirt, sunglasses hanging under collar), Joel RL Phelps (glass, close-cropped hair, black oxford shirt buttoned to the top), Andrew Cohen (shaved head, blue outdoor jacket), Jeff Pannal (glasses, long hair and goatee, all-black clothes, holding drum sticks)

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE was mildly entertaining despite the terrible CGI and some bizarre casting choices. Still, beat the hell outta DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Theodore Roszak’s FLICKER is one of my two favorite secret histories of film, and this piece nails its appeal.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

And one last lovely evening (this season) for a ballgame.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

K. C. Constantine shifts his focus from anthropology to psychology in JOEY’S CASE. While his novels had increasingly explored class and race in a struggling Rust Belt town, JOEY’S CASE goes deep into self-examination and questions of conscience. Good book, as usual from the reliable Constantine.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Lovely afternoon for the ballpark

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

One of my dogs had torn a ligament last time I watched something limp like this.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Every interview I read or heard with John Crowley was equally unassuming and brilliant. One of my few regrets is never having taken a class with him. Also: LITTLE, BIG is one of the greatest 20th century fantasies.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

I’ve already read Sylvia Townsend Warner’s LOLLY WILLOWES, but I’m tempted to pick up this Book of the Month Club hardcover reprint.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Over the last two weeks, I have slept in five cities—two of them twice on noncontiguous nights. I’m ready for a full week of sleeping at home before leaving once again.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

It’s only natural to stop by Half Price Books when in Dallas.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Our long weekend in New Orleans was too short, so I took a brief mental trip back with Yuri Herrera’s SEASON OF THE SWAMP. Even if it didn’t quite live up to Herrera’s TEN PLANETS, it was an enjoyable diversion.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Stopped by Faulkner House and Crescent City Books in New Orleans and picked up a couple gems this afternoon.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

What are the must-visit bookstores in New Orleans?

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Damn, girl, are you a mirror, because ,rorrim a uoy era ,lrig,nmaD esuaceb

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

A light rain and mountain views welcome me home to Montana

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

omg guys you’ll never guess what just happened

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I beg you all to please understand that “underrated” is not a synonym for “little known.”

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Farran Smith Nehme 🇱🇧 @selfstyledsiren.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

In the early 1990s I had to bust my ass to get copies of J.G. Farrell's novels in the U.S., doing it purely on word on mouth. They were so worth it. So glad to see NYRB putting them out.

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

All for different reasons: - J.G. Farrell's TROUBLES & THE SIEGE OF KRISHNAPUR - MOBY-DICK - PIRANESI - Phil Tinline's GHOSTS OF IRON MOUNTAIN - Deborah Cohen's LAST CALL AT THE HOTEL IMPERIAL - Bohumil Hrabal's TOO LOUD A SOLITUDE - K.C. Constantine's THE MAN WHO LIKED SLOW TOMATOES

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

I’m rereading (heavy skimming) Caroline Fraser’s excellent PRAIRIE FIRES: THE AMERICAN DREAMS OF LAURA INGALLS WILDER for a book club and just got to the Peshtigo wildfire. Extraordinary it happened at the same time as The Great Chicago Fire and had 4x-8x the casualties, yet it’s nearly forgotten.

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Denali @denali.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Husband just came in to tell me that since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln every American president has been alive at the same time as Herbert Hoover.

Bill and Ted in the parking lot of the circle K in full Whoa

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Ben O'Connell @benjaminoc.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Well, this one was a heartbreaker.

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Chris Steller @chrissteller.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Someone just sent me this photo from Chicago, unbelieveable

Album cover photo of the Marina apartments in Chicago for Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot CD

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