The fourth monthly summary of what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in 2026 (slightly overdue)!
BOOKS
I read 5 books in April: 4 in print, 0 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:
1. The Cannibal Owl by Aaron Gwyn. (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)
2. Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)
3. The Author Immortal by Frank J. Barbiere, Morgan Beem, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Sasha E. Head (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)
4. The Long Way Home by Elissa Ebersold. (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)
5. Mortal Monarchs: 1,000 Years of Royal Deaths by Suzie Edge. (AUDIOBOOK)
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. “Saint Zero of the Hollows and the Eagle Knight” by V.M. Ayala, in Lightspeed Magazine #191, edited by John Joseph Adams
2. “Dad Died on Discord” by Andrew Dana Hudson
3. “Update on Rules for the Spatiotemporal Use of Campus Spaces” by Andrea Kriz
4. “Empathetic Psychosis” by Justin C. Key
5. “Hell is Empty” by J.R. Dawson
6. “Six-Gun Vixen and the Machinist of Doom Valley” by Ashok K. Banker
7. “Time Management” by P.A. Cornell
8. “A Solitude of Space” by Seanan McGuire, from the Author’s Patreon
9. “Nacre” by E. Catherine Tobler from Three-Lobed Burning Eye #45, edited by Andrew S. Fuller
10. “The Barrens” by Octavia Cade
11. “Once Upon an Invasion” by Amanda Cecelia Long, From Kaleidotrope Spring 2026, edited by Fred Coppersmith
12. “Outbreak” by Michelle H. Porter
13. “Macaroni Art in the Age of Filtration” by Ryan Cole, from the Clarkesworld #235, edited by Neil Clarke
14. “DOG” by Tania Fordwalker
15. “The Final Girl Trap” by A.C. Wise, from Nightmare #163 edited by Wendy N. Wagner
16. “The Spiders You Swallow in Your Sleep” by Wendy Nikel
17. “Cool Beans” by Teel James Glenn, from Cirsova #25 (Winter 2025) edited by P. Alexander
18. “This Is Not Your Extinction Event” by Elena Sichrovksy, from Otherside #1 edited by V.M. Ayala, M.R. Robinson, Ash Vale
19. “Vitrification” by Ishmael Grey
20. “Not Known” by W.H. Chizmar, from Author Chapbook/Patreon
21. “Windows” by Ibrahim Ojedokun, from The Dark #131 edited by Sean Wallace
22. “Dromedary Mary” by Phoenix Alexander
23. “Johnny Otha Has a Problem” by Margaret Dunlap, from The Sunday Morning Transport April 2026, edited by Fran Wilde and Julian Yap
24. “Strawberries” by D.A. Xaolin Spires
So that’s 24 short stories in April. A bit less than “1 per day,” and I don’t think I managed any author birthday short stories at all! (April 30th was the 120th 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 April:
1. Justice League Red #6 (DC, 2026)
2. Strange Tales (2025) #4 (Marvel, 2026)
3. The Eternals 50th Anniversary Special #1 (Marvel, 2026)
4. Batman/Superman: World's Finest #50 (DC, 2026)
5. JSA (2024 series) #18 (DC, 2026)
6. Nightmask #1 (Marvel New Universe, 1986)
7. Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #1 (DC, 1975)
8. Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #2 (DC, 1975)
9. Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #3 (DC, 1975)
10. Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #4 (DC, 1976)
11. Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #5 (DC, 1976)
12. Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #6 (DC, 1976)
13. Targitt #3 (Atlas, 1975)
14. The Sandman #1 (DC, 1974)
15. Sherlock Holmes #1 (DC, 1975)
16. Nova: Centurion #05 (Marvel, 2026)
17. Adventures of Superman: Book of El #7 (DC, 2026)
18. Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera #2 (Image/Skybound, 2026)
19. Deadly Hands of K'Un-Lun #2 (Marvel, 2026)
20. The Flash (2023 series) #31 (DC, 2026)
21. Captain Britain #6 (Marvel, 1985)
22. Stalker #3 (DC, 1975)
23. The Shadow War of Hawkman #1 (DC, 1975)
24. Superboy #200 (DC, 1974)
25. Planet of the Apes #1 (Marvel black & white magazine, 1974)
26. Marvel Preview #16, featuring Lilith and Hodiah Twist (Marvel black and white magazine, 1978)
27. Pick-Up #1 (AWA, 2026)
28. New Titans #33 (DC, 2026)
29. Super Creepshow #1 (Image/Skybound, 2026)
30. Captain America (2025 series) #8 (DC, 2026)
31. Supergirl (2025 series) #12 (DC, 2026)
32. The Fury of Firestorm (2026 series) #1 (DC)
33. Green Lantern Corps (2024 series) #15 (DC, 2026)
34. Action Comics #1097 (DC, 2026)
35. Emperor Aquaman #16 (DC, 2026)
36. The Nice House By The Sea #9 (DC/Vertigo, 2026)
37. Doomsday +1 #1 (Charlton, 1975)
38. Bizarro Year One #1 (DC, 2026)
39. Batman (2025 series) #8 (DC, 2026)
40. The Thing on the Doorstep #1 (Image, 2026)
41. The Thing on the Doorstep #2 (Image, 2026)
42. Lost Fantasy #8 (Image, 2026)
43. Imperial Guardians #1 (Marvel, 2026)
44. Blackhawk #220 (DC, 1966)
45. Blackhawk #221 (DC, 1966)
46. Astonishing Tales #24 featuring IT! The Living Colossus (Marvel, 1974)
47. Dark Shadows #17 (Gold Key, 1972)
48. Classics Illustrated #67 (The Scottish Chiefs) (Gilberton, 1950)
49. Justice League of America (1960 series) #56 (DC, 1967)
50. Superman (2023 series) #36 (DC, 2026)
51. DC/Marvel: Superman/Spider-Man #1 (DC, 2026)
52. Sorcerer Supreme #2 (Marvel, 2026)
53. Sorcerer Supreme #3 (Marvel, 2026)
54. Sorcerer Supreme #4 (Marvel, 2026)
55. New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1 (DC/Milestone, 2026)
56. Green Lantern (2023 series) #31 (DC, 2026)
57. Green Lantern (2023 series) #32 (DC, 2026)
58. Green Lantern (2023 series) #33 (DC, 2026)
59. Justice Society of America (1991 series) #3 (DC, 1991)
60. Werewolf #2 (Dell, 1967)
61. Giant-Size Avengers #1 (Marvel, 1974)
62. Frankenstein #3 (Dell, 1966)
63. Wynd: The Power of the Blood #8 (BOOM!, 2026)
64. Imperial Guardians #2 (Marvel, 2026)
65. Exquisite Corpses #12 (Image, 2026)
66. The Other/Half #2 (Ignition Press, 2026)
67. Captain America (2025) #9 (Marvel, 2026)
68. The Flash (1960s series) #173 (DC, 1967)
69. Sorcerer Supreme #5 (Marvel, 2026)
70. Justice League Unlimited #18 (DC, 2026)
71. Superman Unlimited #12 (DC, 2026)
72. Gatchaman #17 (Mad Cave, 2026)
73. Batwoman (2026 series) #2 (DC, 2026)
74. Steel The Indestructible Man #2 (DC, 1978)
75. Steel The Indestructible Man #3 (DC, 1978)
76. Steel The Indestructible Man #4 (DC, 1978)
77. Steel The Indestructible Man #5 (DC, 1978)
78. Marvel/DC: Spider-Man/Superman #1 (Marvel, 2026)
79. Lost Fantasy #9 (Image, 2026)
80. Fireborn #1 (Image, 2026)
81. Marvel Two-In-One #11 featuring The Thing & The Golem (Marvel, 1975)
82. The Peril of the Brutal Dark: an Ezra Cain Mystery #3 (DC/Vertigo, 2026)
83. Universal Monsters: The Phantom of the Opera #3 (Image/Skybound, 2026)
84. Superman (2023 series) #37 (DC, 2026)
85. The Thing on the Doorstep #3 (Image, 2026)
86. Marvel Spotlight #5, featuring Dragon Lord (Marvel, 1980)
87. Green Lantern (2023 series) #34 (DC, 2026)
88. The Flash (2023 series) #32 (DC, 2026)
89. Super Creepshow #2 (Image/Skybound, 2026)
90. What If Dark: Tomb of Dracula #1 (Marvel, 2025)
91. Iceman Omega #1 (Marvel, 2025)
92. Challengers of the Unknown #81 (DC, 1977)
93. Battle of the Planets #6 (Western Publishing, 1980)
94. Justice League of America (1960s series) #47 (DC, 1966)
95. Mission: Impossible #2 (Dell, 1967)
So that’s 95 comics, way ahead of the “one per day” goal.
MOVIES
I watched ZERO movies in April.
TELEVISION
· Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special Eps 1 – 2 (2 episodes)
· Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair S01 Eps 1 – 4 (4 episodes)
· Doctor Who Classic S07 Eps 1 – 11 (Pertwee Season 1) (11 Episodes)
That’s 17 episodes of television, still not even close to the “1 per day” I was shooting for.
LIVE THEATER
1. CHESS (musical, Imperial Theatre, NYC)
2. Titus Andronicus (Red Bull Theatre, NYC)
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 44 (The Sandman Slept Here 05 (Sandman Mystery Theatre Issues 17-20))
2 Justice Society Presents Episode 45 (JSA in the 90s: Justice Society of America #3 ('91))
3 Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 7 (Frankenstein 1931)
4 Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 8 (Captive Wild Woman 1943)
5 Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 9 (House of Dracula 1945)
6 Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 10 (The Raven 1935)
Summary of Challenges:
Books Challenge: This month: 5 read; YTD: 34 of 120 read.
366 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 24 read; YTD: 139 of 366 read.
Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 6 of 52 read.
Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 0 read/watched.
Movie Challenge: This month: 0 watched; YTD: 6 of 52 watched.
TV Shows Challenge: This month: 17 episodes watched; YTD: 42 of 365 watched.
Live Theater Challenge: This month: 2 shows attended; YTD: 5 of 12 attended.
Comic Books Challenge: This month: 95; YTD: 275 of 365 read.