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.