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T. Benjamin White

@tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social
41 followers 79 following 98 posts

Writer based in Portland, OR. Part of the Texas diaspora. Author of LAND OF DROUGHT AND FLOOD, out August 2026 with Falling Marbles Press. Literary Criticism at compostedbooksreview.substack.com

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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I reviewed the latest novel by Ross Barkan, and also somehow wrote about Classical Education again. compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/winning-fr...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
Winning Friends and Influencing People in Ross Barkan’s COLOSSUS
A belated review
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Lions are a matriarchal species — the lioness leads the pride. So really, this is going to be the most historically accurate Narnia.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
My review of Rachel Cusk's LIFE OF M (also featuring AUDITION by @katiekitamura.bsky.social ): compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/life-imita...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
Life Imitates Art and Art Imitates Life of M
It’s all very confusing.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This news makes me sad. Monty will be missed! Earlier this year, I read "The Prickotty Bush," Monty's first book. It's a truly excellent work of literature. compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/how-to-cul...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
How to Cultivate an Obsession
Reviewing Montague Don’s THE PRICKOTTY BUSH
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
In 1999, a Russian paleontologist wrote a fantasy novel about a peaceful nation that screwed up its agricultural lands and, in its moment of weakness, got destroyed by invaders. It's a cool book, but unfortunately was never published in America, because he called those nations "Mordor" and "Gondor."
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
My hot take on AI is that they never created AI. They created better chatbots through LLMs, called those "AI," then rebranded what we used to call AI as "AGI." If you talked to someone from even like 2015 and asked them to describe AI, they would describe Commander Data, not ChatGPT.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
My novel, about a wizard who tries to get a Democrat elected to statewide office in Texas, is out TODAY! Read a sample here. compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/its-pub-da...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
It's Pub Day for Land of Drought and Flood – Read a Sample Here
In my debut novel, a wizard tries to elect a Democrat to statewide office in Texas
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Reposted by T. Benjamin White
Tuhin Chakrabarty @tuhinchakr.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
👨‍⚖️ TL;DR: AI doesn't need to write high-quality books for non-AI book writers to get hurt. Cheap books at massive volume are enough and they've cut what the average human-written book earns in most genres and pushed human titles down the bestseller ranks. (10/n)
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
It's true. I wrote about more about that and how much I look up to Monty here. compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/how-to-cul...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
How to Cultivate an Obsession
Reviewing Montague Don’s THE PRICKOTTY BUSH
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
My novel (a political thriller / urban fantasy in Texas) can now be preordered in print via Bookshop, so you can support your independent bookstore! bookshop.org/a/126611/979...
bookshop.org
Land of Drought and Flood
Robert Brammer, the liberal-crusader mayor of Austin, has just launched a longshot bid to become governor of Texas. It's a tough fight. His opponent, an evangelical minister turned politician, is far ...
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
This is so sad. His music has always meant a lot to me. I'm glad I finally got to see him perform live last fall. compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/do-you-kno...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
Do you know when you’ve created your life’s work?
And if so, do you carry on?
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
My Texas political novel will be released one week from today. So, of course, I’m using this time to tell you to read an entirely different Texas political novel, which was published 12 years ago and has never received the recognition it deserves. compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/youve-neve...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
You’ve Never Read the Best Political Novel of the 2010s
SCHOOL BOARD by Mike Freedman
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Author copies! The book is out on August 3rd.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
There are many reasons Animorphs hasn't had the cultural impact of Harry Potter (despite being much better). Much of the original readership aged out before it concluded, and the full series is hard to access today (having never been reprinted). compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/animorphs-...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
ANIMORPHS: The Greatest Achievement in Juvenile Fiction Turns Thirty
Or, how K.A. Applegate’s Masterpiece Taught Me to Read
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I've often felt that there should be more novels centered on work, and so I was excited to comes cross the excellent WORK TO DO by @juliewbach.bsky.social . Full review here: compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/a-novel-ab...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
A Novel About the Working Class
Reviewing Jules Wernersbach’s WORK TO DO
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
I’ve been thinking lately about the non-cynical reasons to teach canonical lit. I wrote a bit about it here. open.substack.com/pub/composte...
open.substack.com
What Makes a Book Great?
Reviewing Naomi Kanakia’s WHATS SO GREAT ABOUT THE GREAT BOOKS?
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I've got ARCs available for my political thriller / urban fantasy set in Texas. You could be one of the first to read it! Let me know.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
BETWEEN TWO FIRES, by @buehlmeister.bsky.social, is the most fun I've had with a mythic adventure story in a long time. Full review here: compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/between-tw...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
BETWEEN TWO FIRES is an Insane and Thrilling Mythic Adventure
You will enjoy this book
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Hard to explain without sounding insane, but Toy Story is a very Calvinist franchise.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
I wrote a novel! Very excited to share this. open.substack.com/pub/composte...
open.substack.com
My Debut Novel is Available for Pre-Order Now
Land of Drought and Flood – Coming this August!
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
I started reading Angel Down, and I think I would be more interested in it without the “one long sentence” conceit. More importantly, though, I would be much more interested if it was actually written as one long sentence. Throwing “and” at the beginning of each paragraph doesn’t count!
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
On a whim, I picked up Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman and — this book is fantastic.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Someone should write a romance novel about a girl who is popular on Bluesky (but secretly subscribes to a lot of Substacks) and a guy who runs a popular Substack (but has an alt Bluesky account where he constantly doom scrolls). Modern day Capulets and Montagues. You could sell this.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Animorphs, by @kaaauthor.bsky.social , has turned thirty. I believe it's the greatest accomplishment in juvenile fiction, telling a story that's unambiguously for kids while treating its audience and subject honestly. I wrote more about this here. open.substack.com/pub/composte...
open.substack.com
ANIMORPHS: The Greatest Achievement in Juvenile Fiction Turns Thirty
Or, how K.A. Applegate’s Masterpiece Taught Me to Read
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
I momentarily forgot about their embarrassing “pivot to AI” thing and bought some new Allbirds. You know what, though? Pretty good shoes. Those guys should consider being a shoe company.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Remember a few years ago when everyone was talking about how apparently Steinbeck wrote a werewolf detective novel? Well, I went to Austin to figure out what exactly that was all about. open.substack.com/pub/composte...
open.substack.com
I Read the Steinbeck Werewolf Book So You Don’t Have To
Reviewing John “Peter Pym” Steinbeck’s MURDER AT FULL MOON
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
My phone contacts list is filled with entries like “Emily Babysitter” and “Jacob Handyman.” I believe I’m not alone in this. Society has really come full circle on last names.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
About halfway through Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op stories, I thought "this is some weird police propaganda. Why am I reading it?" But I kept reading, and it turned out to be far more interesting than that. You should read it too. compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/this-class...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
This Classic Mystery Author Made Murder Honest
Dashiell Hammett’s CONTINENTAL OP, RED HARVEST, and THE MALTESE FALCON
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
I think I'm out (of any discussion about Classical Education) and they pull me right back in! open.substack.com/pub/composte...
open.substack.com
What Makes a Book Great?
Reviewing Naomi Kanakia’s WHATS SO GREAT ABOUT THE GREAT BOOKS?
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
In one of these Animorphs books, published in ‘97 or ‘98, the kids briefly consider going to the ER, and the girls swoon at the joke/comment that maybe they would run into Noah Wyle. Evergreen content!
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
I can’t quite explain it, but this quote has youth pastor energy.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
This weird novella by @snugglybooks.bsky.social is one of the best things I read last year. compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/i-cant-sto...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
I Can't Stop Thinking About this Weird Novella
You should read THE CONFESSION OF A FALSE SOUL by Ilarie Voronca
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
I wrote about THE PRICKOTTY BUSH, a story of obsession and madness by the host of @gardenersworldmag.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/composte...
open.substack.com
How to Cultivate an Obsession
Reviewing Montague Don’s THE PRICKOTTY BUSH
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Oh my god. Ryan Coogler is making an ANIMORPHS tv show. This is holy grail level media for me.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Stephen, if you're reading this -- cast yourself as Tom Bombadil.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
This is what they should have done in the first place (instead of Rings of Power and Hunt for Gollum and whatever), though the frame story is probably unnecessary. I hope it's good and that they follow it up with "The Scouring of the Shire."
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Obama is using social media to tease some cryptic upcoming announcement. I can only surmise he is joining the cast of FIREFLY.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Donald Glover is voicing Yoshi. Joel HcHale is hosting a weird game show or two. Gillian Jacobs films one scene of THE BEAR per year. Those guys will really do anything to avoid filming that COMMUNITY movie.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Some time ago I read this surrealist novella, and I have not been able to get it out of my head. compostedbooksreview.substack.com/p/i-cant-sto...
compostedbooksreview.substack.com
I Can't Stop Thinking About this Weird Novella
You should read THE CONFESSION OF A FALSE SOUL by Ilarie Voronca
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
I’m halfway through @joukovsky.bsky.social ‘s Medium Rare, and it is very good!
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Wow! I was not expecting this. Good job Talarico, and Godspeed.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Those weirdos who post pictures of old building with captions like “why can’t we build beautiful things anymore?” should fly into Portland sometime.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
At first glance, TOY STORY 5 seems to fit with my theory, that the overarching meaning of the franchise is “God is dead.”
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
I wrote about how I taught OF MICE AND MEN by mostly not teaching about it, instead letting the book itself do the heavy lifting. open.substack.com/pub/composte...
open.substack.com
If You Want to Understand Literature, Don't Think About it Too Hard
Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie, / O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Hello! In a previous social media life, I wrote a lot about education, in particular a former life as a Classical Educator and, later, an advocate for progressive education as a member of @humanrestorationproject.org.
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T. Benjamin White @tbenjaminwhite.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
I have introduced my kid to Animorphs. Gotta make sure he turns out the right kind of weird.
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