Books I read in May 2026

Total: 12 books

-- A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman;
-- The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis;
-- The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich;
-- Rotten Tommy by David Sodergren;
-- The Toughest Indian in the World by Sherman Alexie;
-- Tracks by Louise Erdrich;
-- Conclave by Robert Harris (reread);
-- Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews;
-- Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich;
-- The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture by Grace Perry;
-- Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything by Alyson Stoner;
-- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.

Short Stories: 2

-- The Gay Old Dog by Edna Ferber;
-- Brothers by Sherwood Anderson. 

( Thoughts )

Short stories:

Both of these are early 20th Century Chicago stories with similar vibes -- loneliness, unfulfilled romance, death. Both exquisite. Ferber's story is packed full of wry humor, whereas Anderson's story takes a more lyrical, poetic approach. It's got his signature plain, monosyllabic style but makes brilliant use of repetition and looping, so that it feels like a song. Despite this, I'd probably recommend Ferber's story over Anderson's. For sure, she's less well-known, and I think her story is overall just easier to melt into. It follows an old man-about-town named Jo who seems to have it all--booming WWI-era business in saddles and halters, tons of money and fine things. But it weaves back through his early years, when the business was failing and he was taking care of his younger sisters, and details his failed romance with a young woman. The ending is a fantastic little punch. He reunites by chance with the woman he loved. They both happen to be at a parade for soldiers going off to WWI, the same war Jo is profiting from. She's furious, and crying for her son--her son, not Jo's--but Jo sees him in the crowd, recognizes him, and forgets the boy isn't his. 

Film Diary May 2026

May 09: Death to Smoochy
May 10: Primate
May 23: Motocrossed!
May 27: The Birdcage

I also watched Conclave multiple times but didn't mark the dates, probably somewhere between Primate and Motocrossed!

Thoughts: 

Adored "Death to Smoochy," one of my new faves. I'm such a simp for Danny Devito films, and this one was right up my alley. Objectively I can see that it's too long, but I don't care, and I have no other criticisms. The dark sense of humor was perfect for me, loved Robin Williams as Rainbow Ralph. Rich is a huge Ed Norton fan, so it also appealed to him, since Norton plays Smoochy.

Primate was decent but flawed, and the flaws are mostly personal gripes that won't apply to everyone who sees it. First of all, I used to be completely obsessed with ape language experiments, so I was a little miffed at this movie for its "the chimp only attacks because of rabies" plotline; I guess I expected more of a commentary about the abuses common in these programs, more of a real-world consequences vibe. The other gripe I had was that I found the main character totally insufferable XD And dumb! But I can forgive "dumb" in a horror movie. I found all the other characters much more likable, generally decent people, so it was painful to watch them all die while the main character limped on. It was notable, imo, that the main character was white, and all (or most?) of the side characters who died were people of color. That's a racist faux pas you don't see as often in movies these days, so it was a bit startling. 

Side note, do y'all remember that ultra-racist KKK character from the Final Destination movies? The one with the race track? He's from my city. Our claim to fame. 

Motocrossed!: This Disney Channel Original Movie keeps getting mentioned in gay essay collections I've read, and every time, I'm like, "UGH, I WANT TO WATCH THAT!" It's a loose Twelfth Night retelling. Andi and her twin brother Andy (I know) are both talented motocross riders, but their dad will only let the male Andy race. When Andy breaks his leg just before the start of the season, Dad goes on an international hunt for a new rider, while Andi chops her hair and takes her brother's spot, incognito. I like it far better than other genderswap movies like She's the Man and Just One of the Guys. Andi's switch is way more convincing than She's the Man, imo, and the acting and humor all struck me as more competent/skilled. Overall, honestly, this was like shockingly good for a DCOM. (I had a moment of envy when I told my mom about it and she knew the entire plot. GIRL how were YOU watching this 2001 cable-TV movie when we didnt have cable in 2001? And I never saw it?? But it was a good bonding moment. Mom loves genderswap sports movies.)

The Birdcage: Streamed this with Yani. I think this was my first rewatch as an adult; I was obsessed with the movie as a kid. It hits better now, believe it or not, and of course there were tons of jokes I get now that I didn't get at age 9 or so. The last time I tried to rewatch it as an adult, I was in my early 20s, so I was smack-dab in the middle of that ultra woke stage a lot of Millennials went through, and I couldn't enjoy the film; I was too busy disapproving of casting choices and "stereotypes" that the Internet told me to be mad at.