Reading List: September 2026

The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman

Fantastic read about the opening months of World War I and how an assassination started a global chain reaction. Tuchman reveals how inflexible alliances dragged their members into war, and how individuals, hellbent on empire-building, rushed into battle, plunging their nations into war and killing millions of people.

Full review here.

Rejection, Tony Tulathimutte

I read an article a few months ago in which the author asked David Sedaris what he was reading. His answer was this book, saying he laughed out loud. I figured if it was good enough for David Sedaris, it’d be good enough for me. So I picked up a copy and I laughed too. A lot.

Rejection is a collection of six short stories, each a satirical meditation on the theme of rejection. In each story, we see how rejection itself doesn’t send people spiraling, but rather the internalization of that rejection. So good.

Stillness is the Key, Ryan Holiday

I would say this was a reread for me, but the first time around was an audiobook, which I don’t really think counts as “reading.” So this was a first-time read. I’m a huge fan of Holiday’s work so it’s no surprise that I loved this book.