Books are small universes—affordable and easily carried, filled with mind-expanding possibilities. Through their pages, I explore new experiences and worlds, meet unforgettable characters, and deepen my understanding of…everything.
These are the books I read in September 2025, listed chronologically, and graded by recommendation (highly recommend, recommend, and do not recommend).
Notes to John
Oooohh boy, do I have some mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it’s a privilege to read Didion’s writings, especially something so…personal.
Which brings me to my other hand. The foreword said this collection of letters (written to her husband, John, hence the title) was found in her “papers” by her “siblings’ children.”
Oh, so they weren’t set aside to go in, I dunno, her Official Collection? And do you mean her nieces or nephews? What a strange way to say that.
My suggestion is to check out this haunting anthology of therapy session notes from the library, but don’t buy it, recommend.
The Heat of the Day
Have you ever heard of Elizabeth Bowen? I hadn’t, and when stumbling upon her in The Mitford Letters, I needed to know more.
So I’m starting with her books.
This novel features Stella, living the typical WWII single woman life in London (war work during the day, cocktails and bombs at night). One night she’s drawing her black-out curtains, when this friendzoned dude shows up.
Harrison wants to be more than friends, he’s prepared to blackmail his way into boyfriend status, and if her actual lover is thrown under the bus, all the better.
What should Stella do? She finds Harrison as odious as the accusation he’s lobbing at her boyfriend. The outcome is decidingly British; highly recommend.
The Haves and the Have-Yachts
Feel like getting enraged? Then you should read this book. Just kidding, you should read it no matter what.
This is a scathing indictment, not of “the rich,” but the “super super rich,” a very small percentage of the global population who are LITERALLY DESTROYING THE WORLD.
Stay informed or be manipulated by Culture Wars, highly recommend.
Poems of Parenting
What a lovely little gem of a book! These poems by Loren Brantz are (genuinely) funny, heartwarming, and insightful; highly recommend.
The Little Girls
In the vein of The Group and Now and Then, four women reunite in mid-life after sharing a between-the-wars English boarding school adolescence.
The Little Girls explores the myriad ways we change, and the interesting ways we stay the same, while often making me laugh out loud; highly recommend.
Brave New World, Revisited
Did you know Huxley wrote a “sequel” to Brave New World? Me neither. And it’s terrifying! Revisited was published in the ‘60’s, giving plenty of time for the author to observe continuing trends.
I found this work especially interesting, as Huxley is discussing things that didn’t quite have a name then, but do now (like “Big Business”); highly recommend.
Island
Huxley’s last novel features Pala, an isolated Pacific island where an ideal society (no crime or social injustice, happy and productive citizenry, etc) has flourished for 120 years.
But the new Raja wants to change all that, through modernization and (just incidentally, guys!) oil drilling. Will the citizenry resist?
An interesting, but ultimately heavy-handed premise, recommend.
On The Margins
I was on a Huxley kick, see? This collection of essays was a disappointing one. Well written, but dated; do not recommend.
The Memory Collectors (not pictured)
In the near-future, time travel exists. But there are conditions: you can only spend sixty minutes in your past, the trip will have no effect on your present and future reality, you can’t pick a specific time/place, and it’s insanely expensive.
Would you still do it?
Four characters, all with lives that changed on the same date, find themselves stuck in the past, a few days before the aforementioned momentous day.
But why, if they can’t change anything? Maybe it’s not about changing what happened, but how they deal; recommend.
Conclusion
In the quiet company of these August reads, I found stories and echoes of the human experience: resilience in the face of despair, the enduring power of connection, and the timeless wisdom woven into words.
I hope my September 2025 bite size book reviews open up new literary adventures for you. What literary landscapes are you currently exploring? I’d love to hear!
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Happy reading!
Love,
