May Listopia 2026
What I read, watched, listened to
It’s been a rainy, rainy month in New Orleans, which is normal for May. Several of the grand floods since I’ve lived here were in May. My first experience with flood waters was when I walked in almost knee-high water, struggling to hold on to an umbrella in the crazy wind, from my workplace to our apartment which, thankfully, was only two blocks. All I could think of were rats and snakes and who-knows-what else in the swirling gray water. Fortunately, the water didn’t top the threshold to our apartment but it was close. I’d never had such an experience before but certainly have had more since, including one time when my car actually began floating as I tried to drive home in a thunderstorm. This is a little poem I wrote about that experience that was published in the now defunct On the Veranda lit mag in 2017:
When Water Rises
Afternoon errands.
Rain,
falling elephants and lions, thumping
and roaring.
Me, a little mosquito
in a car on Tchoupitoulas Street.
It’s beginning to flood, my foot
on the brakes falling straight to the floorboard
as water rises, the car floating slowly
amidst a cache of litter, planks,
a garbage can, and a blue tricycle.
Out of control, I let the waffling
steering wheel go, lean back with a Hail Mary
on my lips and think about wading
to the nearest bar for a screw-it-all beverage.
Here are some things I read, watched, and listened to while the torrents fell.
Music
I enjoyed reading this article (unlocked) about Bob Dylan who turned 85 on May 24. He appears to be true to himself and his values but doesn’t proselytize to his fans. I like that.
Many people know the story of Mr. Dylan’s transition to electric rock from the fine 2024 film, “A Complete Unknown.” That movie subtly alludes to another reason Mr. Dylan wanted to break away. Pete Seeger and other folk luminaries were dedicated to the Communist Popular Front philosophy. They hoped to see their young protégé carry an anticapitalist message to the youthful masses. Mr. Dylan’s political convictions—against war and for civil rights—were genuine. But he refused to be anyone’s mouthpiece. His scathing 1983 pro-Israel song, “Neighborhood Bully,” remains one of the few overtly political songs in his later catalog.
I recently discovered Subway Takes on YouTube and this one, “There’s no such thing as a favorite Beatle”, with Ethan Hawke had me laughing. Although I get his argument that there’s no such thing, I’m solid that George always was my favorite. Although I think Ringo is killing it in his later years and good for him! You’ll get a kick out of this short take. LINK
I also recently discovered this duo and damn they do make some great music! Their harmonies are gorgeous and their style is compared to the Laurel Canyon Sound meshed with Texas Country. I shared this video with a musician friend who said, “Isn’t it nice to hear real music from real people?” I like this song very much and the video feels very 1980s retro to me. Don’t you think Daisy looks very 80s? Or is that the fashion now? Hmmmm. Follow them on Instagram where they regularly post bits of their songs.
TV
The Delinquent Season (2018 movie) on Prime, starring Cillian Murphy. Two couples with small children, their angst, and what happens when it’s acted upon. Lots of emotional struggling in this film that held my interest to the end. It always amazes me how people can ignore their own culpability in a bad situation and put all the blame on others.
The Count of Monte Cristo (2026 series) on PBS. The classic Alexandre Dumas novel of revenge brought to tv. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the visuals, and the excellent acting. If you like historical or period fiction, you’ll enjoy this series.
Books
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a book that AI recommended when I searched “books similar to The Secret History by Donna Tartt” recently. I haven’t read Silvia’s Mexican Gothic but I’ve certainly heard about it. So The Bewitching is similar to Secret History in that one of the settings is a small New England university in the 1990s and the 1930s but there’s also a rural Mexico setting in the 1900s. The three settings and characters create interwoven threads of witchcraft, folklore, and supernatural occurrences. It’s an engrossing read that I thoroughly enjoyed, even late at night when I got a shiver down my spine while reading. (Shades of hiding under the bed covers as a kid!) No spoilers or long descriptions here - just read it if you like gothic, horror, or “dark academia”, a new-to-me term. So good!
Skylark by Paula McLain - This book encompasses two timelines: 1660s Alouette is the daughter of a master fabric dyer but whose own ambitions, as a woman of the times, brings down hell on her and 1930s Kristoff who is a doctor caught in the Nazi occupation of Paris where he endeavors to help his Jewish friends. The two stories alternate and with the end of each chapter, I groaned because I didn’t want to leave that story…..until I began the next thrilling chapter in the other story. This book is so damn good and especially now with the alarming antisemitism growing in our country and others. The Nazi thread is a strong reminder of the targeting, hate, and extermination that the Jewish people have endured. Alouette’s thread is a strong reminder of the inequality and misogyny women have endured. Read this book!!
Litmags
Self-Portrait with Death by Scott Garson in Matchbook is one of those rare stories that leaves you speechless. Truly, there are no words, only the feels. It’s exquisitely told.
When a car takes the corner and doesn’t pass, lights coming up right behind me, I don’t turn. I don’t pause or deliberate. I run. I drop the wagon handle and make for the nearest back yard.
Two years later, another kid with a Sunday route will disappear. In our city, we’ll learn this kid’s name. If I don’t have the thought, It could have been me, that’s because I have never not had it.
To the Food Truck Cook on the Upper West Side by Ronit Plank in Tiny Beautiful Things by River Teeth Journal is gloriously beautiful and made me wish I was there.
Carts of bagels, carts of hot dogs, carts of coffee. And blessed late-night chicken and rice, sausage and onions filling the air around us, beckoning my son hours after we ate.
Endurance Sport by JR Walsh in 50-Word Stories was selected for Story of the Week and well deserved. It’s 50 words! Click over and read this little gem!
Little Sting by Cate McGowan in Gulf Stream Magazine will tickle your imagination with wild imagery and wow you with the resourcefulness of characters caught in an apocalyptic situation while mall shopping. I’m hard-pressed to read an apocalypse driven story or book that passes my (probably too) critical eye but this one does, brilliantly. It also has a touch of humor that’s skillfully inserted at just the right times.
We waited until around three most mornings to sneak into the food court and raid the back rooms: frozen pretzels from Auntie Anne’s, dented cans from Sbarro, rice-and-sauce packets from the teriyaki place, warm bottles from vending lockups that somebody pried open. For a while, the family restroom still gave us water if we held the handle just right. After that, we filled buckets from a maintenance sink in the service hall.
Grounded by Jo Saleska in The Citron Review is an alt rendering of Adam and Eve in The Garden with a woman-centric twist. It’s just great!
Adam cannot help but laugh. He laughs and laughs. He laughs until his ribs ache. He has never in his whole existence heard anything so funny. You cannot have the moon! Do you know nothing of this place, woman? Eve does not laugh. Adam can feel her body turn stony beside his.
Death Seat by Sheree Shatsky in her Substack, Shared Madness, is a down-home gem that had me smiling and nodding to the very last word. Sheree is an online writer-friend who became one after I discovered her excellent stories in my litmag reading. I think readers who like southern grit lit will enjoy this story and others that Sheree shares in her Substack.
The actress is one of Juanita’s favorite film stars—second only to Ann Margaret—and she has been caught up in the particulars of Jayne’s death, fixated on the pure circumstance that placed her in the front seat of the ’66 Buick Electra. Since the accident hit the news, Juanita has spent hours speculating that Jayne’s decision to sit between the driver and her fellow passenger rendered the actress somehow out of control of her own fate.
And a blast from the past……because some stories will grow more amazing every time you read them. 👇👇👇
Sunday Morning Girl by Gabriela Gonzales in Lost Balloon, January 2020, has a lyrical rhythm and flow that pulls you along on a smooth yet exciting ride in love’s unpredictable waters. This is one of my all-time favorites.
a Sunday morning girl watches you while you speak, memorizes the shapes your mouth makes, smiles she smiles she smiles at the way you move. a Sunday morning girl is learning to love you and learning that you are human and understanding and not understanding them at the same time. mouth on the rim of your old mug, sipping black tea, no honey, tastes sweet.
I’ve been on a long wait list at my local library for Elizabeth Strout’s The Things We Never Say. I was notified they just got 16 additional copies and one is mine! And I’ve been watching The Other Bennett Sister on Britbox that continues into June. So good! And I will definitely be listening to more from Marfa.
Wonder what else I’ll be reading, watching, and listening to in June.
Thank so much for the mention, Charlotte. :)
Great recs, again—thank you Charlotte!