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.