The Books I Read in September 2026

Happy October, my loves!

I really made best use of the September start this year. From starting my own variant of 75 Hard to treating my TBR as though it were a back-to-school reading list, it’s been a fruitful and fulfilling month. Plus, a colleague and I have decided to spend the rest of the year reading the Booker Prize 2026 shortlist. I read six books this month, of varying lengths, genres and success, and have a lot to say about them! Like I’ve mentioned in a few of these bookish wrap-ups, I can really feel my book tastes shifting recently. Books I’d anticipated for a long time no longer meet my expectations, while utterly new-to-me titles are powerful in their effect. It’s all good though, it’s good to change, evolve and shift.

September reads

Beauty Is A Wound by Eka Kurniawan
The Little I Knew by Chiara Valerio
Only Dull People Are Brilliant at Breakfast by Oscar Wilde
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (started in July)
A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck
Words Are My Matter by Ursula K. Le Guin

October hopefuls

Where the Dead Brides Gather by Nuzo Onoh
Black Magic by Marjorie Bowen
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
A Perfect Execution by Tim Binding

In review

Beauty Is A Wound by Eka Kurniawan

Rating: 4 stars

CW: rape, incest, violence, war crimes.

This was my book souvenir from our recent trip to Bali, and it’s one that I’m glad I picked up. My knowledge of Indonesian history and folklore is admittedly small, but that’s exactly why I started this little tradition of buying books-related-to-where-I-travel: to learn. Beauty Is A Wound by Eka Kurniawan is not for everyone and it is not for the faint of heart. A magical realism novel rooted in Indonesian history and folklore, it mystifies and engages the reader through Dewi Ayu’s story. First, the opening line is confounding: “One afternoon on a weekend in March, Dewi Ayu rose from her grave after being dead for twenty-one years.” It’s one of my favourite book openings, and it is this line that provides a through-line throughout the novel.

In Beauty Is A Wound, Kurniawan masterfully entangles Indonesian history within a brutal story that is full of violence and other terrors, yet that remains compelling in a strange way. We meet Dewi, whose background is painted with just enough intrigue that it keeps you paging through the horrors, and she becomes the centre of this multi-generational saga in a fictional beach town in Indonesia. Darkly funny and richly seeped in Indonesian folklore and legends, I enjoyed this book in spite of its dark themes, especially since it moved me to research some of Indonesia’s darker history then return for more. A really clever, brutal, dark story.

The Little I Knew by Chiara Valerio

Rating: 3.25 stars

When a woman named Vittoria dies unexpectedly in her bath in a small seaside town, the locals quietly mourn a person that gently touched each of their lives. But Lea, the local lawyer, wants to investigate further. Who was she? Why had she arrived to their town? This translated fiction overpromises an ‘unforgettable portrait of a small town and the women who live there’, all hallmarks of a book I’d typically love. But, between fragmented dialogue, a lack of an established person to get behind, and a disconnected feeling amongst the main players, I found this book to feel a little hollow and hard to get into. Things improve around halfway in, and I do love the fact that we meet a huge range of women. Ultimately, a fairly forgettable book from my month.

Only Dull People Are Brilliant at Breakfast by Oscar Wilde

Rating: 5 stars

I’m a firm believer that books find you when you need them most and this compilation of witticisms and other thoughts from Oscar Wilde was the dry, sarcastic and smart read that I needed. This little black book collects Wilde’s most-known quotes, and is perfect for keeping beside you (I’ve added mine to my notebook ecosystem) for a little literary inspiration.

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Ignat Avsey (started in July)

Rating: 4 stars

Finishing The Brothers Karamazov felt like a fever dream: 1000 pages of the most intricately built world where family saga meets murder mystery. But there’s so much more to it than that. The Brothers Karamazov was my first Dostoevsky and I’m already fully sold on why this is a classic. We meet the three Karamazov brothers – Ivan, Dmitry and Alyosha – and much of the novel is spent exploring their characters. Each brother is beautifully brought to life and the scope of religious symbolism is great: I never felt as though Dostoevsky were trying too hard to be didactic with his story, it simply flowed. When the brothers’ father is murdered, they’re each involved at some level and we follow an intense look at huge topics like guilt, human nature, rationalism, brotherhood, love, mental health. I also appreciated the translator’s notes throughout and their explanation of the Russian Orthodox Church and legal system. Amidst the seriousness of the plot, there were many funny moments. Do I think this doorstep could’ve been an email? Potentially.

A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck

Rating: 3 stars

I don’t have much to say about this novella: it was short and thought-provoking, but ultimately a fairly pedestrian take on the existential novel. We meet Soren Johansson, a devout Mormon who has always believed he’ll be reunited with his loved ones after death. Then, he dies, finding himself in a Hell that he can hardly understand.

The concept of A Short Stay in Hell comes from a Borges story about a library containing an infinite number of books. In this, Soren must find the book that contains the story of his life in order to escape Hell. While I found this concept engaging (and will certainly be picking the original up!), the novella falls short in that I never felt particularly drawn to Soren. We don’t get enough of him. It was a predictable, pedestrian story.

Words Are My Matter by Ursula K. Le Guin

Rating: 5 stars

Back-to-school season was the perfect nudge to delve into a little more non-fiction from Le Guin. Words Are My Matter is a collection of essays, book reviews, talks and general musings, and it is a fab one at that. I particularly adore Le Guin’s fiction for its ability to combine great literary prowess with entertainment with her feminism with her environmentalist stance with her sociology, etc. etc. I am the biggest Le Guin fangirl! This collection is beautifully put-together and would be a great introduction to what Le Guin as an author and writer is all about. I completely loved it.