September 2026 Books and Reading Notes

September was a good month both for reading and acquisitions. The acquisitions were helped by three events – a book launch for two new titles from the Grand River Poetry Collective, the 2026 Kultura Celebration put on by the Kultura Education Center, and the grand re-opening of local indie bookstore Books and Mortar.

The first three books in the reading list are books I read while returning from Orlando, Florida to home. Stormy weather in Orlando caused a delay in the first leg of my flight, so I missed my connection in Charlotte and spent the night in the airport, where there was nothing to do except read.

Acquisitions

Books acquired in September 2026.
Books acquired in September 2026.
  1. Lamont Arrington, The My Heart Blues: Love and Blues Poems (Grand River Poetry Press) [2026.09.10] – Purchased from the publisher at the launch event for this book.
  2. GF Korreck, The Pope’s Astronomer (Grand River Poetry Press) [2026.09.10] – Purchased from the publisher at the launch event for this book.
  3. Nellie DeVries, Japanese Garden: Four Seasons of Poems (Wipf and Stock Publishers) [2026.09.10] – Purchased at the Grand River Poetry Press book launch event.
  4. William “Endlesswill” Davis, Jr., Searching for the Write Words: A Haiku and Word Search Experience [2026.09.12] – Purchased from the author at the 2026 Kultura celebration.
  5. William “Endlesswill” Davis, Jr., Lost Poems [2026.09.12] – Purchased from the author at the 2026 Kultura celebration.
  6. William “Endlesswill” Davis, Jr., QWERTY: A Vintage Typewriter Coloring Book [2026.09.12] – Purchased from the author at the 2026 Kultura celebration.
  7. R. F. Kuang, Taipei Story [2026.09.19] – Purchased from Books & Mortar at their grand re-opening celebration.
  8. Salvage #16 [2026.09.24]
  9. Louise Glück, Poems 1962 – 2012 [2026.09.24] – Purchased from Schuler Books.
  10. Diane Seuss, Frank: Sonnets (Graywolf Press) [2026.09.24] – Purchased from Schuler Books.
  11. China Miéville, The Rouse [2026.09.26] – Purchased from Books & Mortar.

Reading List

Books

Books read in September 2026.
Books read in September 2026.
  1. Terry Pratchett, Interesting Times [2026.09.05]
  2. John Scalzi, The Kaiju Preservation Society [2026.09.05]
  3. John Scalzi, Starter Villain [2026.09.07]
  4. Donella H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems [2026.09.22]
  5. William “Endlesswill” Davis, Jr., Searching for the Write Words [2026.09.23]
  6. Nellie DeVries, Japanese Garden: Four Seasons of Poems [2026.09.23]
  7. Umberto Eco, How to Travel With a Salmon & Other Essays [2026.09.24]
  8. Lamont Arrington, The My Heart Blues: Love and Blues Poems [2026.09.30]

Short Prose

  1. Kameron Hurley, “Hungry Like the Boar” [2026.09.07]
  2. Kameron Hurley, “The Tintabulation” [2026.09.07]

July 2026 Books and Reading Notes

July was a pretty good month for acquiring books, but not so great for reading them. As has been pointed out by people more eloquent than myself, collecting and reading are two separate pursuits, and the best we can hope for is that the rate of both stays roughly in sync.

Acquisitions

Books I acquired in July 2026
Books I acquired in July 2026
  1. Arthur Sze, Noh Anothai, Wendy Call, Oyku Tekten, Kola Tubosun (editors), Best Literary Translations 2026 (Deep Vellum) [2026.07.01]
  2. Donella H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems [2026.07.01]
  3. Henry Farrell, Abraham Newman, Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy [2026.07.01]
  4. John Ralston Saul, Voltaire’s Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West [2026.07.01]
  5. Colleen Alles, Luminescence in Season (Meadowlark Press) [2026.07.09]
  6. Eric Greinke, One Candle [2026.07.09]
  7. Ivan Turgenev (Avril Pyman, translator), Fathers and Children [2026.07.10]
  8. Hugh Howey, Wool [2026.07.27]
  9. Jorge Luis Borges, Poems of the Night [2026.07.27]

Reading

Books I read in July 2026
Books I read in July 2026

Books

  1. Catherine Liu, Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional Managerial Class [2026.07.02]
  2. Laura Robson, Human Capital [2026.07.12]
  3. Matt Dinniman, Dungeon Crawler Carl [2026.07.21]
  4. Robert Jackson Bennett, City of Stairs [2026.07.30]

Short Prose

  1. Kameron Hurley, “Bone Fete” (Patreon post) [2026.07.02]
  2. Tobias Buckell, “The Elephant’s Song” (Patreon post) [2026.07.02]