september 2026 reads
September was an incredibly busy month for me. There were picture book samples to translate, meetings to interpret, and just the regular motions of everyday life. The end of the month was especially busy though because I spent three days in a completely different city (and prefecture!) for work. It was a rewarding experience though, so I'm glad I had the opportunity to go.
None of this is really directly related to books though. I mean, I suppose it makes it more (personally) impressive that I managed to read so many different things in a sense, but then again, commute and long-distance travel are a great way to get reading time in.
In any case, let's jump right into the books.
Novels, Collections, & Nonfiction
Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel García Márquez (tr. Edith Grossman)
I got this small magical realism novel at a sale at the foreign bookstore in Shinjuku. May not have gotten it if I had noticed it was magical realism, but I ended up liking it anyway (even if I barely understood it). This author also came up in my first book of October, so that was nice. Might read that book too now. The world certainly works in mysterious ways.
Daughters of Smoke and Fire by Ava Homa
This novel existed on my TBR for years before I finally got access to it through the library. It was wonderful and I'm glad it took so long to get to. It's about generational trauma, ethnic tensions, and womanhood in Iran. Very upsetting, but very good and worth the read.
Eve by Cat Bohannon
This is a kind of popular fiction book about the female influences of evolution. It probably would have been better to read this with my eyeballs instead of listening to the audiobook so that I could take advantage of the footnotes and citations, but it was an interesting book. It's a mixture of science and speculation though, so that should be remembered when reading.
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
The final book in The Poppy War trilogy. This book shattered my heart into thousands of tiny pieces. Life will never be the same. The additional story story(?) included in the edition I read made it even worse. Read the whole trilogy and suffer. Just remember that it's not a fantasy school romance... I still can't believe there are people who treat this series that way.
殺人出産 by 村田紗耶香 (Sayaka Murata)
A super strange short story collection from Sayaka Murata. I don't think any of these stories are translated into English, but it would certainly be interesting to see them. The titular story takes place in a further where people who agree to give birth to ten children can murder the person of their choice after they've successfully birthed the tenth child. Sound weird? It is.
Oathbreakers by Matthew Gabriele & David M. Perry
Another nonfiction audiobook listen for the month. This one is about the Franks and how in-fighting between the Carolingians resulted in the collapse of their newly established empire and influenced Europe as we know it today. I don't really know anything about this period, or I didn't, but it was still an interesting read. I picked it up because I read the authors' other book called The Bright Ages, which I definitely recommend.
Manga & Other Comics
The Way of the Househusband by Kousuke Oono V8 (tr. Amanda Haley)
I don't really remember anything that happened in this volume since I read it at the very start of September, but it was surely funny and inoffensive. The volumes in this series normally are. I remain impressed with how well the translation incorporates slang with origins in criminal activity. I don't think I could manage something so clever myself.
And that's a wrap for September! I've already finished an interesting book that I can't wait to talk about in my next reading log and I'm currently reading a Japanese literary classic, so here's hoping it's another positive month of reading. I've been buying a lot of books lately (is it the autumn air?), so I have lots of interesting things to read. I'll see(?) everyone again in November!
As always, happy reading!
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