Books I Read In September 2020 | Reading Wrap-Up

For me, September flew by in a haze of online classes, some interesting webinars, and wrapping up freelance work. Mentally, I was all over the place. Excited one second and confused and anxious about my future the next. There is too much uncertainty and too little space to think these days. At least we can always count on books to be our constant, right?

Despite the 13 books you see below, I didn’t get much proper reading done in September because it was a very hectic month. At the moment, listening to audiobooks on Storytel has become my go-to to enjoy books. Besides that, I have a long reading list for college and I’m focusing on that.

Here are the books I read in September!

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman – 4/5

I was not expecting this book to be so good and to talk about so many things. If you are or have ever been obsessed with a boy band (like One Direction or BTS), you might want to pick up this book. It offers an interesting perspective to the fan-artist relationship and what it means to throw yourself into a celebrity fandom. It showed the good side which is having someone with whom you can fangirl over common interests, and it also showed the bad side which is the awkwardness of meeting your online friend for the first time and wondering if you actually know them at all.

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron – 3.5/5

Honestly, I don’t have a lot to say about this book because I read it very quickly for a book club discussion (my own fault, i know). Nevertheless, I loved the concept. The way the author used the Cinderella fairytale to depict an extremely patriarchal society was genius. The romance was really cute. However, the book dragged at some points. The ending was a mess of one event after another.

I read four short stories that are a part of my Modern Indian Writing in English Translation paper.

The Shroud by Munshi Premchand – 4 – about the caste system and poverty in India

Rebati by Fakir Mohan Senapati – 5/5 – the caste and class system in India, treatment of the girl child and the denial of education to her

Lihaaf (The Quilt) by Ismat Chughtai – 5/5 – an LGBTQ+ story written in Urdu in 1942!

A Season of No Return by Gurdial Singh – 4/5 – a family dynamic where the grandmother is not at peace in the city with her son and his wife, and yearns for her village

I read these two short stories for my Women’s Writing paper.

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman – 5/5 – This story might give you chills. It is a gothic, semi-autobiographical story that talks about a woman’s receding mental health and the inability of her husband and other physicians to give her the proper treatment.

Bliss by Katherine Mansfield 4.5/5 – This story talks about a myriad of things. This is also about a young married woman who isn’t exactly at bliss. Her husband is really just a ‘pal’ and she is quite attracted to her female acquaintance.

Secrets of Six-Figure Women by Barbara Stanny – 4.5/5

I am really glad I read this book. This book taught me to not dream small when it comes to money. Women are hardly ever encouraged or supported if they say they want to get rich. Why is that? Money equals to financial independence and according to me, it is something everyone should aspire for, especially women.

Us by Curtis Wiklund – 3/5

A cute comic that was a quick one-time read.

Top Secret by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy – 4/5

This was fairly enjoyable and m/m romance. The two main characters are frat brothers who don’t like each other. They start talking on a hook-up app anonymously and later find out each other’s identities.