READING ROUND-UP: June 2026

The fifth monthly summary of what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in 2026!

BOOKS

I read 5 books in June: 3 in print, 1 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:

1.       Devout: Losing My Faith to Find Myself by David Archuleta. (AUDIOBOOK)

2.       Puck Wild (Storm Warning Book 1) by Declan Rhodes (E-BOOK)

3.       Leonard & Larry: Domesticity Isn't Pretty by Tim Barela (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)

4.       X-Men: Elsewhen Vol 1 by John Byrne (PRINT - HARDCOVER)

5.       A World of Curiosities (Inspector Gamage #18) by Louise Penny. (PRINT - SOFTCOVER; Stanza Books Mystery Book Club pick for June)

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.       “Ghost in the Tank” by M.R. Robinson, in Lightspeed Magazine #193, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “Memostasis” by Benjamin Rosenbaum

3.       “The Overview Initiative” by David Marino

4.       “The Sharing of Some Familiar Song” by Adam-Troy Castro

5.       “The Best of Intentions” by Mari Ness

6.       “An Oral History of the Schooner Key Invasion” by Alex Irvine

7.       “I Cut Off A Monster's Arm. AITA?” by Marie Brennan

8.       “Ash-Shura; or, a Book, a Bowl, A Bag of Coins” by Beesan Odeh

9.       “Let Sirens Sing Your Name” by Seanan McGuire, from the Author’s Patreon

10.   “Ponyhenge” by Faith Allingham, From Kaleidotrope Spring 2026, edited by Fred Coppersmith

11.   “The Tipping Point” by S.M. French-Byrne

12.   “We Who Have Been Raised by Tigers” by P.V. Vamsidhar, from Otherside #2 edited by V.M. Ayala, M.R. Robinson, Ash Vale

13.   “In This Corner of the World” by A.E. Weisgerber, from The Deadlands #42, edited by E. Catherine Tobler

14.   “The Dog” by Phoenix Mendoza

15.   “The Glass City” by AnaMaria Curtis, from Uncanny #70, edited by Michael Damian Thomas

16.   “Extracted from an unravelled braid” by Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga

So that’s 16 short stories in June. Way less than “1 per day,” and I don’t think I managed any author birthday short stories at all for like the 3rd month in a row, so that project may be on hiatus! (June 30th was the 181st 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. I’ve italicized those issues. Here’s the comics I read in June:

1.       Marvel Premiere #6 (Satana) (Marvel)

2.       House of Secrets #75 (DC)

3.       Sea Devils #20 (DC)

4.       Rip Hunter, Time Master #29 (DC)

5.       Exquisite Corpses #13 (Image)

6.       JSA (2024) #20 (DC)

7.       Blackhawk #202 (DC)

8.       Blackhawk #207 (DC)

9.       Wiccan & Hulkling: Raid of Ultron #1 (Marvel)

10.   Lost Fantasy #10 (Image)

11.   Justice League Unlimited #19 (DC)

12.   Superman (2024) #38 (DC)

13.   All-Star Squadron #5 (DC)

14.   All-Star Squadron #6 (DC)

15.   The Defenders #100 (Marvel)

16.   Gay Comics #20 (Gay Comics)

17.   Strikeforce: Morituri #1 (Marvel)

18.   Strikeforce: Morituri #8 (Marvel)

19.   Wordsmith #1 (Renegade Press)

20.   Metal Men #40 (DC)

21.   All-Star Squadron #7 (DC)

22.   All-Star Squadron #8 (DC)

23.   All-Star Squadron #9 (DC)

24.   DC Comics Presents Annual #2 (Superman and Superwoman) (DC)

25.   Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2 (Marvel)

26.   Gay Comics #21 (Gay Comics)

27.   Team America #1 (Marvel)

28.   Mage: The Hero Defined #1 (Image)

29.   All-Star Squadron #10 (DC)

30.   All-Star Squadron #11 (DC)

31.   All-Star Squadron #12 (DC)

32.   All-Star Squadron #13 (DC)

33.   Swamp Thing '89 #1 (DC)

34.   Gatchaman: Red Impulse #2 (Mad Cave)

35.   Gatchaman #18 (Mad Cave)

36.   The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #4 (DC/Vertigo)

37.   The Flash (2023) #33 (DC)

38.   Ironjaw #3 (Atlas)

39.   Ironjaw #4 (Atlas)

40.   Justice Society of America (1991) #4 (DC)

41.   Marvel Two-In-One #95 (The Thing & The Living Mummy) (Marvel)

42.   Toka #6 (Dell)

43.   Logan's Run #2 (Marvel)

44.   Justice League of America #207 (DC)

45.   All-Star Squadron #14 (DC)

46.   Justice League of America #208 (DC)

47.   All-Star Squadron #15 (DC)

48.   Justice League of America #209 (DC)

49.   Marvel Premiere #39 (The Torpedo) (Marvel)

50.   Marvel Premiere #40 (The Torpedo) (Marvel)

51.   Action Comics #1099 (DC)

52.   Deadly Hands of K'un-Lun #5 (Marvel)

53.   Americomics #1 The Shade, The Slayer, & Captain Freedom) (AC Comics)

54.   Batwoman (2026) #4 (DC)

55.   Supergirl (2025) #14 (DC)

56.   Sorcerer Supreme #7 (Marvel)

57.   The Shade Special #1 (AC Comics)

So that’s 57 comics, way ahead of the “one per day” goal, but fewer new comics and more back issues than last month.

MOVIES

I watched ZERO movies in June. This is getting to be a habit I need to break.

TELEVISION

·       Doctor Who Classic S08 Eps 11 – 25 (Pertwee Season 2) (15 Episodes)

·       The 49th Annual Tony Awards (1 episode)

LIVE THEATER

1.       The Balusters (comedy, Manhattan Theatre Club/Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, NYC)

2.       La Cage Aux Folles (musical, New York City Center, 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         The Doctor's Beard Episode 65 (Terror of the Autons)

2         The Doctor's Beard Episode 66 (The Mind of Evil)

3         The Doctor's Beard Episode 67 (The Claws of Axos)

4         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 13 (Murders in the Zoo (1933))

5         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 14 (The Mummy's Hand (1940))

6         The Doctor’s Beard Episode 68 (Colony in Space)

7         The Doctor's Beard Episode 69 (The Daemons)

8         The Doctor's Beard Episode 70 (Patrick Troughton Retrospective)

9         World On Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 6 (Squadron Issues 6 & 7)

10     World On Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 7 (Squadron Issues 8 & 9)

11     Dropping Names ... and other things Episode 1  (Guest: LeVar Burton)

12     World On Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 8 (Squadron Issues 10 & 11)

13     World On Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 9 (Squadron Issues 12 & 13)

14     Justice Society Presents Episode 48 (Justice Society of America 1991 Issue 4)

Summary of Challenges:

Books Challenge: This month: 5 read; YTD: 44 of 120 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 16 read; YTD: 205 of 366 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 2 read; YTD: 8 of 52 read.

Movie Challenge: This month: 0 watched; YTD: 6 of 52 watched.

TV Shows Challenge: This month: 16 episodes watched; YTD: 84 of 365 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month: 2 shows attended; YTD: 10 of 12 attended.

Comic Books Challenge: This month: 57; YTD: 401 of 365 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 0 read/watched.

READING ROUND-UP: MAY 2026

The fifth monthly summary of what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in 2026!

BOOKS

I read 5 books in May: 3 in print, 1 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:

1.       Riverworld Odyssey edited by Michael Croteau. (Advance Reader Copy, E-BOOK) PREORDER HERE

2.       Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1) by Matt Dinniman (AUDIOBOOK)

3.       The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald  by John U. Bacon (PRINT - HARDCOVER) (SPARTA BOOKS BOOK CLUB MAY PICK)

4.       King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby (PRINT - SOFTCOVER) (STANZA BOOKS MYSTERY BOOK CLUB MAY PICK)

5.       Superman: Miracle Monday by Elliot S. Maggin. (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.       “The Knacker Man” by Scott Dalrymple, in Lightspeed Magazine #192, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “The Star Where We Meet” by Sam W. Pisciotta

3.       “The Stars Look Away From the Vessel” by dave ring

4.       “The Test of Time” by Kristin Kathryn Rusch

5.       “Sarah's Laugh” by Melissa A Watkins

6.       “The Aerialist” by Yoon Ha Lee

7.       “Ten Unsent Letters to the Dark Lord” by Ada Hoffman

8.       “The Last Season of Your Life” by Christopher Barzak

9.       “Eden Sank to Grief” by Seanan McGuire, from the Author’s Patreon

10.   “River of Eternity” by Philip Jose Farmer from Riverworld Odyssey, edited by Michael Croteau

11.   “Day of the Great Shout” by Philip Jose Farmer

12.   “Riverworld” by Philip Jose Farmer

13.   “Riverworld War” by Philip Jose Farmer

14.   “Crossing the Dark River” by Philip Jose Farmer

15.   “A Hole in Hell” by Dane Helstrom (Philip Jose Farmer)

16.   “Up The Bright River” by Philip Jose Farmer

17.   “Coda” by Philip Jose Farmer

18.   “Emeralds to Emeralds, Dust to Dust” by Seanan McGuire, from Oz Reimagined edited by John Joseph Adams & Douglas Cohen

19.   “The Final Safest Place” by Wendy N. Wagner, from Three-Lobed Burning Eye #47, edited by Andrew S. Fuller

20.   “Out to Sea” by Dom D. Borg, From Kaleidotrope Spring 2026, edited by Fred Coppersmith

21.   “Hollow Cast” by Sarah Grey, from Nightmare #164 edited by Wendy N. Wagner

22.   “A Magic Kingdom” by Bruce McAllister

So that’s 22 short stories in May. A bit less than “1 per day,” and I don’t think I managed any author birthday short stories at all! (May 31st was the 151st 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 May:

1.       Marvel Presents #6 featuring The Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel, 1976)

2.       Black Lightning #4 (DC, 1977)

3.       Superman In the Computers That Saved Metropolis (DC, 1980)

4.       Planet of the Apes #16 (Marvel black & white magazine, 1976)

5.       Rip Hunter Time Master #19 (DC, 1964)

6.       Rip Hunter Time Master #26 (DC, 1965)

7.       Bizarre Adventures #30 featuring Paradox, Silhouette, Hero (Marvel black & white magazine, 1982)

8.       Adventures of Superman: Book of El #8 (DC, 2026)

9.       Captain America (2025) #10 (Marvel, 2026)

10.   JSA (2024) #19 (DC, 2026)

11.   Looney Tunes #216 (Dell, 1959)

12.   Showcase ’93 #9 (DC, 1993)

13.   Wiccan: Witches Road #5 (Marvel, 2026)

14.   Showcase #46 (DC, 1963)

15.   Zatanna (2026) #1 (DC, 2026)

16.   World's Finest #154 (DC, 1965)

17.   World's Finest #157(DC, 1966)

18.   Swamp Thing '89 #1 (DC, 2026)

19.   The Flash (1960s series) #236 (DC, 1975)

20.   Brain Boy #6 (Dell, 1963)

21.   Justice League Intergalactic Special #1 (DC, 2026)

22.   Gatchaman: Red Impulse #1 (Mad Cave, 2026)

23.   Deadly Hands of K'un-Lun #3 (Marvel, 2026)

24.   Tales of the Green Lantern Corps: Guy Gardner #1 (DC, 2026)

25.   Marvel Team-Up #120 (Marvel, 1982)

26.   New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Special #1 (DC, 1983)

27.   Tarzan Family #60 (DC, 1975)

28.   Superman Family #173 (DC, 1975

29.   Captain America (2025) #11 (Marvel, 2026)

30.   Supergirl (2025) #13 (DC, 2026)

31.   The Fury of Firestorm (2026) #2 (DC, 2026)

32.   Action Comics #1098 (DC, 2026)

33.   Emperor Aquaman #17 (DC, 2026)

34.   The Thing on the Doorstep #4 (Image, 2026)

35.   Green Lantern Corps (2024) #16 (DC, 2026)

36.   Nectar #1 (Vault Comics, 2026)

37.   Super-Team Family #1 (DC, 1975)

38.   Batman Family #1 (DC, 1975)

39.   Morgana Pendragon #2 (Queen of Mercia LLC, 2026)

40.   Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 (DC, 2026)

41.   The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #1 (Marvel, 1983)

42.   Spider-Woman #2 (Marvel, 1978)

43.   Dracula Lives! Annual #1 (Marvel black & white magazine, 1975)

44.   Planet of the Vampires #2 (Atlas, 1975)

45.   The Hardy Boys #2 (Gold Key, 1970)

46.   Batwoman (2026) #3 (DC, 2026)

47.   Superman Unlimited #13 (DC, 2026)

48.   Odin #1 (Image, 2026)

49.   Deadly Hands of K'Un-Lun #4 (Marvel, 2026)

50.   Batman/Superman: World's Finest #51 (DC, 2026)

51.   Marvel Classics Comics #1 (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde) (Marvel, 1976)

52.   Imperial Guardians #3 (Marvel, 2026)

53.   Super Creepshow #3 (Image, 2026)

54.   Seven Wives #1 (IDW, 2026)

55.   Sorcerer Supreme #6 (Marvel, 2026)

56.   Superboy #103 (DC, 1963)

57.   Nectar #2 (Vault Comics, 2026)

58.   Nectar #3 (Vault Comics, 2026)

59.   Monster Hunters #15 (Charlton, 1975)

60.   Blood of Dracula #1 (Apple Comics, 1987)

61.   Excommunicated #1 (Vault Comics, 2026)

62.   Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp #6 (Whitman, 1971)

63.   DC Super-Stars #9 (The Man Behind the Gun) (DC. 1976)

64.   All-Star Squadron Preview (originally published in Justice League of America 193, insert removed) (DC, 1981)

65.   All-Star Squadron #1 (DC, 1981)

66.   All-Star Squadron #2 (DC, 1981)

67.   All-Star Squadron #3 (DC, 1981)

68.   All-Star Squadron #4 (DC, 1981)

69.   Ironjaw #1 (Atlas, 1975)

So that’s 69 comics, way ahead of the “one per day” goal.

MOVIES

I watched ZERO movies in May.

TELEVISION

·       Doctor Who Classic S07 Eps 12 – 25 (Pertwee Season 1) (13 Episodes)

·       Doctor Who Classic S08 Eps 01 – 10 (Pertwee Season 1) (10 Episodes)

·       Good Omens S03 Ep 01 (1 episode)

That’s 24 episodes of television, much closer to the “1 per day” I was shooting for.

LIVE THEATER

1.       TRU (drama, Church of the Redeemer, NYC)

2.       Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York City) (musical, Longacre Theatre, NYC) (REVIEW HERE)

3.       The Lost Boys (musical, The Palace Theatre, NYC) (REVIEW HERE)

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 46 (Interview with Matt Wagner and James K. Snyder III)

2         Justice Society Presents Episode 47 (The Sandman Slept Here 06 (Sandman Mystery Theatre Annual #1 and Adventure Comics #47))

3         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 11 (Dracula's Daughter 1936)

4         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 12 (The Werewolf of London 1936)

5         The Doctor's Beard Episode 60 (“Spearhead From Space”)

6         The Doctor's Beard Episode 61 (“Doctor Who and the Silurians”)

7         The Doctor's Beard Episode 62 (“Ambassadors of Death”)

8         The Doctor's Beard Episode 63 (“Inferno”)

9         The Doctor’s Beard Episode 64 (Patreon Exclusive #48)

10     FW Team-Up Episode 82 (Marvel Two-In-One #33, The Thing and Modred the Mystic)

Summary of Challenges:

Books Challenge: This month: 5 read; YTD: 39 of 120 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 22 read; YTD: 189 of 366 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 0 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: 22 episodes watched; YTD: 66 of 365 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month: 3 shows attended; YTD: 8 of 12 attended.

Comic Books Challenge: This month: 69; YTD: 344 of 365 read.