The words used to describe the novels that I like best are “literary” and “humor” or “funny” (see Reading, below). Most of the novels that I read are about absurd romantic entanglements.

My problem with them is the sex scenes. The scenes are fine; I like them about as much as the average reader. My concern is that I'm not sure which parts of the scenes are funny or why they’re funny. I realize this is a privilege or humblebrag, like not having a LinkedIn account.

Welcome to July 2026’s Disappearing Moment, an inventory of my experiences. I hope you enjoy it.

Bougie Products

We sleep with extra pillows and pair our sheet sets with simple, soft, white pillowcases. Ours are Red Land Cotton Basic Pillowcases.

Reading

Brett Bonfield with Julia Nawrocki, “3 x 3 x 26: Car Seat Headrest”: Julia is the coolest. I’m grateful that she played along. This article is much more useful and interesting than when I published an earlier version in the April 2026 newsletter.

Miranda July, All Fours (2025) (I Loved It): The real fantasy is Jordi, the narrator’s materteral best friend. I hope you have a Jordi and you are someone's Jordi.

Luke Kennard, Black Bag (2026) (I Loved It): Academic Libertine Dream Girl?!? The world is conspiring in my favor.

Raven Leilani, Luster (2020) (I Loved It): Within “literary fiction, humor”, my favorite sub-genre is “novels, first”. I hope she’ll write another one.

Amisha Patel, “Fighting Cancer Has Given Me New Insights on the Anti-Fascist Challenge We Face” (A Personal Favorite): May your Jordi be so good in so many ways. I hope they live a longer, healthier life.

Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, Crooked (2017) (I Liked It): I like a “well, actually” investigation as much as the next guy. This one is about back pain.

Note: I’ve been listening to audiobooks rather than trying new podcasts. For now, that’s what I need.

Brettsplaining

I was going to create LMPAIFY - Let Me Prompt AI For You (The LMGTFY for 2025). Fortunately, someone else did it first.

Survey

Two months ago, I asked if you taste your food while you're preparing it. Six of you responded that you do, and three of you responded that you don’t.

This month you get to solve an already classic, months-old conundrum. As pump-primed in this issue’s Brettsplaining:

To see the survey and respond to it, you have to subscribe via email and answer it through an email interface.

You Are Spending Too Much Time in Airports If…

• You find yourself providing helpful advice, to your traveling companions and to strangers, about what to do in the TSA line.
• You have memorized the lounge’s WiFi password. And you like hanging out in the lounge enough that you don’t mind if your flight is a couple of hours late, because that means you’re more likely to be upgraded or have a row to yourself.
• You have a routine around your luggage (Bonus Points: you can passionately defend your position on checked vs. carry on).
• You have a preferred bathroom, water bottle filler, and outlet bank. (Bonus Points: You choose the bathrooms at the car rental instead of the terminal because they’re less crowded and have more room for your luggage).
• You ask to be dropped off at Terminal 2, even though you’re flying out of Terminal 3, because you prefer the breakfast you get in Terminal 2 and like to stretch your legs after you eat and before you have to sit on the plane. In the course of this walk, you expect to stop along the way and pay $8 for an item that would be $2 at 7-11. (Bonus Points: You know where your favorite art is located in the airport and work it into your walk to the gate).
• You know exactly how long it takes to get to the curb from (the seat where you always sit on) the plane so your ride is ready and waiting.
• You have a list of airports you wish you could visit.
• You like small, quirky airports more than the big hubs because they are simple and easy. For instance, I cannot wait to visit the airport in Kalispell, MT, because you can leave your vehicle at the curb, unattended and with the engine running (with a gun on the console, naturally), your trunk popped open, and meet passengers at the gate, or go airside for any other reason, like eating at the pizza place or because you want to play a few songs on the community piano.
• You have a pretend advertising campaign for Virgin Airlines in which the hook is that every flight departs from Gate V13.
• You have never missed a flight.

Note: All but a couple of these are “as told to,” not my lived experience. I adore my frequent flier friends.