August Wrap-up and September Reading Plans
August’s literary journey, revisiting old favourites and discovering new ones
August was a good month. I had two—yes, TWO!—weekends at home and did plenty of reading. I even finished The Brothers Karamazov, and boy what a book!
Books mentioned:
The Karamazov Brothers — Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Dust and Light — Andrea Barrett
The City and Its Uncertain Walls — Haruki Murakami
The White Guard — Mikhail Bulgakov
Dragon Haven — Robin Hobb
Villager — Tom Cox
The Gulag Archipelago (Abridged) — Alexander Solzhenitsyn
😍Loved
📖 The Karamazov Brothers, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1881
Fiction, Physical Book, (Translator: Ignat Avsey)
I first read The Brothers Karamazov during my junior honours year at the University of St Andrews. Back then, I didn’t enjoy it at all — which makes it fascinating that this time, it’s leapt straight into my list of all-time favourites. How does that happen? Have I really changed that much in thirty years? I suppose I have.
At first, I was taking detailed notes and recording videos at the end of each part, but I stopped after Book 6 in July so I could just immerse myself in the story. I know I’ll revisit it soon, especially since there’s a new translation on the horizon — and I’d love to compare it, as I did with Crime and Punishment.
One of my clearest memories from this reread is sitting in Carnegie Library in Ayr, working through the Grand Inquisitor chapter. I’d taken the campervan over to the mainland for an electrical repair and had the day to kill, so I spent it in the library with my book, taking notes and soaking in the moment. I realised it must have been over thirty years since I last set foot in that library!
What surprised me most was just how readable the book was. I remembered it being dense and heavy, but I suppose that’s not a surprise considering I studied it in depth as a student and then had to present my analysis in front of the entire class. No wonder I struggled to enjoy it! Reading it now, though, I found it compelling, moving, and even entertaining. I had a similar experience with Crime and Punishment — gripping from start to finish.
📖 The City and Its Uncertain Walls, Haruki Murakami, 2008
Fiction, Physical Book, Audiobook (Narrator: Brian Nishii), (Translator: Philip Gabriel)
“By the end, I closed the book with goosebumps, sitting quietly in my living room with the cat, reflecting on life.”
I’ve been a fan of Murakami since I first read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle in 2010. His novels usually leave me feeling reset somehow — like I’ve reconnected to myself and to humanity. But with The City and Its Uncertain Walls, it took about a hundred pages before I felt that familiar shift.
Once the main character arrived in the mountain town to start his new job as head librarian, everything clicked. From that point on, the book gave me everything I love about Murakami: dreamlike storytelling, emotional depth, and a haunting sense of wonder that made the slower beginning completely worth it.
There’s a brilliant scene where the protagonist and his girlfriend discuss magical realism, referencing Gabriel García Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera. It’s made me want to pick up Márquez next!
By the end, I closed the book with goosebumps, sitting quietly in my living room with the cat, reflecting on life. It didn’t hit quite as hard as the first time I finished Kafka on the Shore — standing on Lamlash beach in awe — but it came close.
👍🏻Liked
📖 Dust and Light, Andrea Barrett, 2025
Non-fiction, Physical Book
Someone on Substack recommended this book — if it was you, please remind me!
I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a historical novel for a while, but I’m still firmly in the “reading about writing instead of writing” phase. Andrea Barrett, an acclaimed historical fiction author, published this short book on her writing process.
Barrett draws on examples from Tolstoy and Virginia Woolf, which I appreciated, but the main takeaway is simple: don’t get bogged down in research to the point that it kills your excitement. Ironically, I was guilty of doing exactly that while reading her book.
“I wrote in ignorance, from excitement and interest, and with passion: the most pleasant of all ways to write.”
I didn’t dislike it, but I can’t say it gave me much insight into writing historical fiction — which was my main reason for picking it up. If anything, it gave me another excuse to procrastinate writing altogether!
St Andrews University Essays
The creative highlight of August for me was researching and writing a series of three essays about my time as a student of Russian language and literature at the University of St Andrews in the 90s.
Looking back, I gained a whole new appreciation for what an achievement it was to earn my degree — and not just that, but to graduate with a 2:1 with distinction in spoken Russian. Reflecting on that period and tracing its influence on my current reading life has given me renewed confidence to lead book groups on these classics and deepened my own desire to keep learning and to read more.
September Plans
I’m heading into September feeling inspired and excited.
The Gulag Archipelago (Abridged), Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Dragon Haven, Robin Hobb
The White Guard, Mikhail Bulgakov (Translator: Roger Cockrell)
I’ll be leading a group through this novel in October. Join here.
The Art of the Personal Essay, Philip Lopate
Villager, Tom Cox
On the Shelf:
I’m 200 pages into The Gulag Archipelago and, surprisingly, loving it — which feels strange given the subject. It’s been on my shelf for over thirty years! I plan to follow it with Anne Applebaum’s Gulag and An Island Hell: A Soviet Prison in the Far North, a memoir referenced by Solzhenitsyn, written by a prisoner who escaped from Solovetsky Island.
Comfort Read:
Robin Hobb’s Dragon Haven is the second book in the Rainwild Chronicles, part of The Realm of the Elderlings series — perfect after heavy reading like The Gulag Archipelago.
Upcoming Discussion:
I’ll be reading The White Guard in preparation for leading a group in October — another long-shelved book finally getting its moment. Join here.
Excited to Learn:
The Art of the Personal Essay just arrived and it looks great. After Dust and Light, I have high hopes this one will be genuinely insightful. It was recommended by
New Author to Follow:
I’ve been following Tom Cox for a couple of years now. He inspires me and I enjoy his writing a lot. I bought Villager just after I found his newsletter and I’m looking forward to reading it this month. If you were following him on Substack and are wondering where he’s gone, he’s moved over to Ghost. You can find him here. He’s quirky, fun and irreverent.
And that’s a wrap for August. See you at the end of the month for September’s wrap-up!
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This is a great wrap-up. I’ve added Dust and Light to my reading list. And I hope you enjoy The Art of the Personal Essay!