The second monthly summary, slightly delayed, of what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in 2026!
BOOKS
I read 10 books in January: 8 in print, 0 in e-book format, and 2 in audio format. They were:
1. Twelve Months (Dresden Files #18) by Jim Butcher. (PRINT - HARDCOVER)
2. Better Dreams, Fallen Seeds, And Other Handfuls of Hope by Ken Scholes (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)
3. The Yards Between Us: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Football by R.K. Russell (AUDIOBOOK)
4. Finding My Way by Malala Yousafzai. (AUDIOBOOK)
5. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)
6. The Decagon House Murders (House Murders #1) by Yukito Ayatsuji (trans. Ho-Ling Wong). (PRINT - SOFTCOVER) (STANZA BOOKS MYSTERY BOOK CLUB FEBRUARY PICK)
7. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. (PRINT - SOFTCOVER) (SPARTA BOOKS BOOK CLUB FEBRUARY PICK)
8. Zane Carrington (Stormgate Press Quick Read #3) by Charles F. Millhouse (PRINT – SOFTCOVER)
9. Nimona by ND Stevenson (PRINT – SOFTCOVER) (STANZA BOOKS GRAPHIC NOVEL BOOK CLUB FEBRUARY PICK)
10. Demon Lover Witch by Mark Harris (PRINT – SOFTCOVER)
STORIES
I have a goal of reading 365 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) once again this year. Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.
1. “Death Echoes Overlapping” by Megan Chee, in Lightspeed Magazine #189, edited by John Joseph Adams
2. “The Worldbuilder” by Phoenix Alexander.
3. “Sensor Ghosts” by Deborah L. Davitt
4. “Warren's Tentacle” by Susan Palwick
5. “Six Sides of a Fairy Tale” by Audrey Zhou
6. “Dream Destinations (From the Lost Traveler's Tour Guide)” by Alexander Weinstein
7. “The Salt and the Cure” by Ruleman Ragas
8. “A Handbook to Spirit-Hunting” by Modupeowula Shelle
9. “Wounds” by Celia Marsh from Sunday Morning Transport February 2026, edited by Fran Wilde and Julian Yap
10. “Realm of the Shorn” by David Bowles
11. “The Definition of a Second” by Carrie Vaughn
12. “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of sky” by P H Lee
13. “Legacies” by Seanan McGuire, from the Author's Patreon
14. “The Portobello Road” by Muriel Spark from All The Stories of Muriel Spark editor unknown
15. “Harley Takes A Wife” by Ken Scholes, from Better Dreams, Fallen Seeds, and Other Handfuls of Hope, edited by Patrick Swenson
16. “Of Anchor Chains and Slow Refrains and Light Long Lost in Darkness” by Ken Scholes
17. “Stuck in Buenos Aires with Bob Dylan On My Mind” by Ken Scholes
18. “Greatest Guns in the Galaxy” by Ken Scholes and Bryan Thomas Schmidt
19. “The Monsters Underneath His Bed” by Ken Scholes
20. “Let Me Hide Myself In Thee” by Ken Scholes
21. “Better Dreams Than These” by Ken Scholes
22. “That When I Waked I Cried to Dream Again” by Ken Scholes
23. “Homeward Dreams and Fallen Seeds and Melody by Moonlight” by Ken Scholes
24. “Business in Great Waters” by Ken Scholes
25. “Evermore I Told The Raven” by Ken Scholes
26. “Unsettled Nature” by Jordan Kurella, from Apex Magazine #154, edited by Lesley Conner
27. “Twelve Facts About the Dermestid Beetle” by Marisca Pichette, from Nightmare Magazine #161, edited by Wendy N. Wagner
28. ” The Ghost in Apartment 5K” by Everdeen Mason
29. “Rest Stop” by Pedro Iriguez
30. “Remember Me in the Meat” by Sarah Pauling, from Clarkesworld #233, edited by Neil Clarke
31. “Chip” by D.A. Xiaolin Spires
32. “The Doorkeepers” by A.T. Greenblatt, from Uncanny Magazine #41, edited by Michael Damian Thomas
33. “The Source of the Spread” by Sam J. Miller, from the Author’s Newsletter
34. “The Skull of Francisco Xalbec” by Alan M. Fisher, from The Deadlands #41, edited by Vajra Chandrasekara
35. “The Uninvited Guest” by Josh Reynolds, from the Author’s Newsletter
36. “Confessions of the Little Seer: An Accidental Ghost Story” by Emily Linstrom, from Kaleidotrope Winter 2025, edited by Fred Coppersmith
37. “Water Softener People” by EC Dorgan
38. “The Trial For Murder” by Charles Dickens, from The Collected Short Stories of Charles Dickens, editor unknown
39. “The Man Who Lost the Sea” by Theodore Sturgeon, from Strange Horizons Website April 2009, editor unknown
40. “Really A Sukkah!” by Sholom Aleichem, from Holiday Tales, edited by Aliza Shevrin
41. “The Sisters” by James Joyce, from Dubliners, editor unknown
42. “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison, from Bergen Community College website, editor unknown
43. “Dust to Dust” by Mary Robinette Kowal, from Fireside Magazine, edited by Julia Rios
44. “Jana Dives” by Tsitsi Dangarembga, from Yale Review website, editor unknown
45. “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson, from Button, Button: Uncanny Stories), editor unknown
46. “A Drama in Mexico” by Jules Verne (Trans. W.H.G. Kingston), from Four Short Stories, editor unknown
47. “In Absentia” by Suzan Palumbo, from The Dark #129, edited by Sean Wallace
48. “A Night's Lodging” by Stefan Grabinski (trans. Anthony Sciscione), from Orchard of the Dead and Other Macabre Tales, edited by Anthony Sciscione
49. “The Fortune Teller” by Patricia A. McKillip, from Coyote Road, edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
50. “Hollow in the Hope” by Aimee Ogden, from Beneath Ceaseless Skies #451, edited by Scott H. Andrews
51. “Breakfast” by John Steinbeck, from The Long Valley, editor unknown
52. “The Best in the Country” by Walter Tevis, from The King is Dead: Stories, edited by Kevin Brockmeier
53. “A Meeting in Valadolid” by Anthony Burgess, from The Devil's Mode: Stories editor unknown
54. “Dr. Mid-Nite Thinks Fast” by Charles Reizenstein, from All-Star Comics #6 (1941), editor unknown
55. “Testament of a Forgotten God” by Charles F. Millhouse, from Pulp Reality #1, edited by Charles F. Millhouse
56. “The Barbarian” by Joanna Russ, from The Future is Female, edited by Lisa Yaszek
57. “First Hunt” by Bryan Thomas Schmidt, from Aliens Vs. Predator: Ultimate Prey, edited by Jonathan Maberry & Bryan Thomas Schmidt
58. “Kaddish For The Last Survivor” by Michael A. Burstein, from I Remember The Future: The Award-Nominated Stories of Michael A. Burstein, edited by Jason Sizmore
59. “Lusting For Jenny, Inverted” by Elizabeth George, From Two of the Deadliest, edited by Elizabeth George
60. “The Adventure of the Frightened Baronet” by August Derleth, from The Adventures of Solar Pons, edited by Vincent Starrett
61. “Paper Casualty” by Len Deighton, from Declarations of War, editor unknown
So that’s 61 short stories in February. A bit more than “1 per day,” ha-ha (February 28st was the 59th day of 2026.)
COMIC BOOKS
I’ve begun tracking the individual monthly comic book issues I read and thought it would be fun to include that list in this monthly round-up as well. I’m striving for a comic book per day. I’ve also started doing a “Random Back Issue Comic Books Read/Reread” daily post on my Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky accounts. We’ll see how long that lasts. Here’s the comics I read in January:
1. Edgar Rice Burroughs' Korak Son of Tarzan #3 (Gold Key 1964)
2. The Micronauts #1 (Marvel, 1979)
3. Exquisite Corpses #09 (Image Comics, 2026)
4. Gatchaman: Jinpei: Henshin #1 (Mad Cave, 2026)
5. Captain America #6 (Marvel, 2026)
6. Everything Dead & Dying #5 (Image, 2026)
7. Batman/Superman: World's Finest #47 (DC, 2026)
8. Adventures of Superman: Book of El #5 (DC, 2026)
9. Adventures of Superman: Book of El #6 (DC, 2026)
10. Wiccan: Witch's Road #2 (Marvel, 2026)
11. Action Comics #488 (DC, 1978)
12. T.H.E. Cat #2 (Dell, 1967)
13. Justice League of America #113 (DC, 1974)
14. Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes #1 (Gold Key, 1964)
15. The Undead Iron Fist #3 (Marvel, 2026)
16. The Undead Iron Fist #4 (Marvel, 2026)
17. Superman Unlimited #7 (DC, 2026)
18. Superman Unlimited #8 (DC, 2026)
19. Superman Unlimited #9 (DC, 2026)
20. Showcase #101 (featuring Hawkman) (DC, 1978)
21. Showcase #102 (featuring Hawkman) (DC, 1978)
22. Showcase #103 (featuring Hawkman) (DC, 1978)
23. Green Lantern: Galactic Slam #1 (DC, 2026)
24. Wonder Woman Black and Gold 2026 Special #11 (DC, 2026)
25. Captain Planet and the Planeteers #2 (Dynamite, 2026)
26. Captain Planet and the Planeteers #3 (Dynamite, 2026)
27. Captain Planet and the Planeteers #4 (Dynamite, 2026)
28. Captain Planet and the Planeteers #5 (Dynamite, 2026)
29. Captain Planet and the Planeteers #6 (Dynamite, 2026)
30. Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (featuring The Guardians of the Galaxy) (Marvel, 1968)
31. Lost Fantasy #1 (Image, 2026)
32. Lost Fantasy #2 (Image, 2026)
33. Lost Fantasy #3 (Image, 2026)
34. Lost Fantasy #4 (Image, 2026)
35. Lost Fantasy 5 (Image, 2026)
36. Lost Fantasy #6 (Image, 2026)
37. All-Out War #6 (DC, 1980)
38. DC Special #10 (Strange Sports Stories) (DC, 1976)
39. Charlton Classics #8 (featuring Hercules) (Charlton, 1981)
40. ROM #1 (Marvel, 1979)
41. JSA #16 (DC, 2026)
42. Captain Action #1 (DC, 1968)
43. Marvel Team-Up #23 (Human Torch & Iceman) (Marvel, 1974)
44. Tales of Sword & Sorcery: Dagar the Invincible #12 (Gold Key, 1975)
45. Sea Devils #18) (DC, 1966)
46. C.O.R.T. Children of the Round Table #5 (DC, 2026)
47. Supergirl #10 (DC, 2026)
48. Aquaman #14 (DC, 2026)
49. Action Comics #1095 (DC, 2026)
50. Nova: Centurion #4 (Marvel, 2026)
51. Man From Atlantis #1 (Marvel, 1979)
52. DC KO: The Kids Are All Fight (DC, 2026)
53. Superman #34 (DC, 2026)
54. Justice League Unlimited #15 (DC, 2026)
55. Dark Shadows #08 (Gold Key, 1970s)
56. Time Warp #1 (DC, 1979)
57. Showcase #95 (New Doom Patrol) (DC, 1970s)
58. Fright Featuring Son of Dracula #1 (Atlas, 1975)
59. Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (Captain Marvel) (Marvel, 1967)
60. DC Special #12 (Historical Adventures) (DC, 1970s)
61. Zatanna Special #1 (DC, 1987)
62. Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #46 (1973)
63. Marvel Premiere #56 (Dominic Fortune) (Marvel 1980)
64. World’s Finest #210 (DC, 1970s)
65. Captain America #7 (Marvel, 2026)
66. Shogun Warriors #15 (Marvel, 1979)
67. The Warlord #1 (DC, 1976)
So that’s 67 comics, way ahead of the “one per day” goal.
MOVIES
1. And Then There Were None (1945), directed by Rene Clair (DVD)
2. Ten Little Indians (1965), directed by George Pollack (DVD)
Still not even close to the “one per week” I’m aiming for.
TELEVISION
· Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 Eps 4 – 10 (6 episodes)
· The Muppet Show (2026) Sason 1, Ep 1 (1 episode)
That’s 7 episodes of television, still not even close to the “1 per day” I was shooting for.
LIVE THEATER
No live theater in February, sadly. It was a busy work month.
PODCASTS
I’m a fairly recent convert to listening to podcasts, so I thought it would also be fun to list those here in the monthly roundups:
1 Justice Society Presents Episode 23 (JSA in the 90s: Spotlight on Jay Garrick The Flash)
2 Justice Society Presents Episode 24 (Mr. and Mrs. Superman 01)
3 Justice Society Presents Episode 25 (JSA in the 90s: Justice Society of America #6 (Chris Franklin))
4 Justice Society Presents Episode 26 (The Sandman Slept Here 00 (World's Fair Comics #1, Sandman debut))
5 Justice Society Presents Episode 27 (JSA in the 90s: Spotlight on how the Post-Crisis JSA inspired the JLA)
6 Justice Society Presents Episode 28 (JSApril: Dr. Mid-Nite Thinks Fast dramatic reading)
7 Justice Society Presents Episode 29 (The Sandman Slept Here 01 (Sandman Mystery Theatre Issues 1-4))
8 Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 5 (House of Horrors (1946))
9 Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 6 (Night Monster (1942))
10 Warlord Worlds Episode 1 (First Warlord and Sable storyline synopses)
11 World On Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 4 (Squadron issues 4 & 5)
12 World On Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 5 (Listener Feedback)
Summary of Challenges:
366 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 61 read; YTD: 87 of 366 read.
Books Challenge: This month: 10 read; YTD: 21 of 120 read.
Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 4 of 52 read.
Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 0 read/watched.
Movie Challenge: This month: 2 watched; YTD: 4 of 52 watched.
TV Shows Challenge: This month: 7 episodes watched; YTD: 19 of 365 watched.
Live Theater Challenge: This month: 0 show attended; YTD: 1 of 12 attended.
Comic Books Challenge: This month: 67; YTD: 107 of 365 read.