Summer Stories
looking back and moving forward
[I get it now, little ghost. I, too, must fight the Sun and win.]
(You’re reading my monthly roundup post for June 2026. Subscribe to get regular updates on what I’ve been up to the previous month and catch up on my recent uploads.)
Smash Mouth wasn’t lying: the years sure do not stop comin’ (or months, in my case). I have no idea where half a year has gone already. I know the psychology behind the “time speeding up” phenomenon, but it is a strange thing to experience, especially after a couple years of feeling helplessly stuck in place and focused only on survival and burnout recovery. It is a wonderful thing, to be finally moving somewhere, even if the time passes too fast and my reality cannot catch up to my expectations.
I am very tempted to dwell on things that haven’t happened; on all the goals I set for myself and haven’t achieved (yet). June was a particularly chaotic and exhausting month. I spent a lot of it dealing with paperwork and endlessly shifting plans. I got my official disability status – at last, after almost a year of waiting. In theory, it should help with so many things; in reality, it’s just more applications, more waiting, and more disappointment.
I also survived the worst heatwave I’ve ever experienced, and the climate grief might have been worse than the physical effects of the weather. Plus, there are more personal things that didn’t go to plan. It’s an intricate balance, hoping for the best versus trying to protect myself from disappointment.
Nevertheless, I want to shift my attention to the positives. For example, I’m reading more this year than I have been probably since my undergrad days! So far this year, I have read 23 books and 56 long-form articles/essays – not counting books and articles I read for video research. For comparison, I read 25 books total in 2025, so I am on course to double that. Not that there’s anything morally superior about higher reading counts – it is meaningful for me because I love reading, and I always want to be doing more of it.
I have also posted 3 videos (2 of which are long-form video essays) and published 10 substack articles, this one included (3 of which are essays). I’ve written and am querying/submitting 2 short stories and I’ve made some progress on a longer writing project – less progress than I’ve hoped, but progress nonetheless. I am actively working on the most ambitious video essay I’ve ever made and I have so many other projects, ideas, and plans.
So, many things did not go to plan, and I am hardly any closer to gaining an audience, or any sort of paid employment. But hey, progress is progress. And there is plenty to be looking forward to.
(As usual, the media reflections are highlights, not a full list.)
What I’ve posted:
For the first time (I think?) since I started making these monthly updates – nothing. The plan was to post the hiveminds video and a short article in June. As you can see, that didn’t happen. But the video is currently being edited and the article should be out next week.
While you’re waiting, why not check out some of my previous work? For example, in celebration of the disability pride month, you could give my two-parter on the history and possible future of disability a watch!
There’s also my novel, “Up the Entropic Hill”, which I have no idea how to promote. But I am still very proud of it.
What I’ve read:
Books:
Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang
This was my second read by this author – I reviewed “Natural Beauty” in my January roundup – and so far my favourite. It is equal measure perplexing dystopia and a literary portrait of a person slowly eaten alive by envy. Sometimes tragic, sometimes infuriating, and persistently discomforting. I’ve no idea what the writer is working on now, but I will add it to my TBR without even reading the blurb.
The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo
A southern gothic novella with elements of horror and queer romance, and the third Lee Mandelo book I’ve read (the others being “Feed Them Silence” and “Summer Sons”). Again, favourite work of this author I’ve picked up so far. Historical queerness is not common in the kinds of book I read (sci-fi and horror, predominantly), so the vision of trans/queer experience in post-WW1 American South definitely sparked my curiosity. This is also a book for fans of monster love… no, I will not elaborate.
Wife Shaped Bodies by Laura Cranehill
As a big fan of fungal horror, the cover alone was enough to compel me to check this out. And straight from the first chapter, this book blew past all my expectations. I love biology and I love when biological concepts are explored to their full potential in fiction. In “Wife Shaped Bodies”, the fungi are not purely aesthetic: their properties and their philosophy are fully incorporated into the narrative. The prose is also stunning in my opinion. Haunting, pleasantly confusing, visceral and subversive. Half-way through 2026, this book is now a strong contender for my favourite read of the year.
The Extra by Annie Neugebauer
A bite-sized novella that can be read in one evening, and a plot that I can easily imagine as an indie horror movie. It is a hiking story filled with an unsettling, uncanny valley vibe. Very creepypasta in my opinion, very “wouldn’t it be fucked up if this happened?”. On one hand, the vagueness and incompleteness make it stick with you – on the other, it can feel unsatisfying. Still, definitely worth a read.
Articles:
Art for Our Sakes by Zadie Smith
“Instrumentalization” is quickly becoming one of my most consistent interests of recent time. Once you see it in one place, you start noticing it everywhere. Zadie Smith dissects the utility of art, artificial intelligence, and the value of inconvenience. This is a kind of essay you can read purely for the prose, even if you’re not that interested in the topic.
Are Memories Transferable — or Edible? by Claire L. Evans
You’d think this title is tongue-in-cheek – or clickbaity – but no, it literally talks about edible memory. In flatworms. Allegedly. A fascinating exploration of a specific scientific hypothesis (transference of memory) and of the principle of scientific research itself.
What Can a Cell Remember? by Claire L. Evans
Second article by the same author in one roundup? It’s more likely than you think! This piece is connected with the one recommended above, and though it has less of a ridiculous premise, it is still a captivating read. In my upcoming video, I will be talking about the origins of cognition and consciousness in the brain, and how complexity emerges from collectives of individuals. Learning that other human cells can act similarly to neurons just made me more curious about the topic.
What I’ve watched:
Movies and TV shows:
“Great British Bake Off” S15
I read and watch and otherwise engage with a lot of dark and heavy topics, and sometimes, I just need a palate cleanser. Bake Off is a reliable go-to option. Season 15 surprised me with how high the baseline for the contestants has gotten. I feel like Hollywood Handshakes were being served non-stop from episode one. It also made me long for a proper kitchen with an oven… oh well, one day I will get back into baking.
“Bridgerton” S4
I am not usually a romance person, especially romance that is not mixed with another genre. However, anything that Shonda Rhimes comes up with seems to have a special power to compel me. Yes, I still watch Grey’s Anatomy – as a soap opera, it continues to deliver exactly what I want it to. This season was not my favourite, but it was still enjoyable. I feel like the resolution was a bit of a cop-out, but romance necessitates a happy ending and I guess the writers felt like they couldn’t deliver a HEA in any other way. I appreciate the fact that at least a dash of class struggle is being sprinkled into the wish-fulfillment.
“Spider-Noir”
I haven’t finished the show as of writing this (2 episodes left in the season) but I can already recommend “Spider-Noir”, especially to people who, like me, have not watched anything Marvel-adjacent since “Spiderverse”. This show, well… it is a maximally tropey hard-boiled detective story with a bit of superhero mythos mixed in. And it is just fun. Nothing special about it, really, but Nicolas Cage is a fantastic actor, the plot is not bad, and the dialogue is, on occasion, genuinely funny. From what I’ve seen online, this was a very expensive project to make, especially for a kind of a niche idea, so I doubt there will be a second season. But I am glad that something at least a little weird has gotten a stamp of approval in the Marvel-verse.
Video essays:
A video exploring one of my favourite things ever – the fuzziness of biology and categorization in general. I’ve no idea how I never knew this before, but only by watching this I have learned that Kinsey (of the Kinsey scale of sexuality) was an entomologist specializing in parasitoid wasps. You could just do anything in academia of that time, huh.
AO3 tagging system, my beloved. A lovely exploration of curated folksonomies, the AO3 mythos, and the inherent power struggle of systematizing things.
Somehow, Amilie Doree consistently turns Japanese nsfw visual novels into engaging and thoughtful discussions – in this case, of proto-incel ideology, men’s mental health, and restorative justice. Well worth a watch even if you have no interest or background knowledge of the titles she talks about.
Strong contender for just, The Video Essay ever. And I’m not saying that because I got to voice some lines for it – it is simply That Good. A sprawling and deeply fascinating analysis of the ways food (especially meat) is entangled with culture, politics, social justice, and just society in general. This is one of those video essays where you get like a couple hours into it and think “how did we get from the initial topic to this??”, but it all makes sense and connects in a very satisfying way. Leftist Cooks consistently make me so excited for this medium – this is art that could only happen on YouTube.
What I’ve played:
A short, chill puzzle game about a frog making his way across the forest and back to his pond. The writing is surprisingly adult (nothing nsfw, just mature and serious at times) and the art style is charming. The ending was a bit too cheesy for me but I still enjoyed the journey.
A very brief (under 30 minutes) lovecraftian underwater horror narrative with minimal gameplay and minimal explanation of, well, anything, really. I expected a bit more out of it, but given the limited scope, it succeeds at creating an unsettling atmosphere and posing intriguing questions. It is free to play and exists as a part of a collection of similar titles. Definitely something to check out if you enjoy making theories with other players on Steam forums.
Thank Goodness You’re Here (replay)
Well, I didn’t replay it as much as I just watched my friend play it (while I was hiding in his air-conditioned apartment during the heatwave). But this game is basically an interactive animated movie, so the experience was pretty similar. “Thank Goodness You’re Here” is very strange, very English, and very funny. It is also pretty gross at times. If you want to play it, honestly, just go into it blind, no context. This game got a whole bunch of award nominations for a reason.
What I’ve worked on:
So many things! Apart from the video and the article I’ve mentioned, I was also working on the bureaucracy video. I’ve recorded one more interview and got some more research and reading done. I wrote and submitted another short story, and it might be my favourite fiction piece I’ve written so far this year. Submissions take a long, long time, so I’ve no idea when you will be able to read it – but I will be updating as usual.
I’m also considering a few things I could do in the future. One is a mixed media short story project that might require me to learn some html. Another is a novella that would also play with the medium a bit, and feature two stories running in parallel. And I am thinking of creating an audiobook for “Up the Entropic Hill”… definitely no promises there as I’ve just started researching the process, but it is something I would enjoy. So, stay tuned for that as well, I guess.
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You’ve reached the end of the monthly roundup. Thank you so much for reading and subscribing! Let me know what you think about anything in this post and I will be back next month with another installment.