What Did You Read in September 2025?

Crime fiction, theology, and Bruce Springsteen

After last month I decided my best reading plan was to have no plan at all. For September 2025, I had a vague idea of what I wanted to read, two or three titles at most, leaving room for books that came across my path. But before I get to my list, I want to address something I recently read on Substack.

One writer stated that he was tired of seeing all the “Here’s what I read last month” posts that featured so many (10 or more, I believe) books. How could anyone have the time to read that much and still have a job and/or a life?

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Let me respond by saying I don’t write these posts for bragging rights. So why write them? I frequently encounter people who ask me, “What are you reading?” I write these lists for those people and to share them with you, not to brag, but so that (1) you might find something interesting here to read, and (2) you’ll share what you read, whether it’s one book or dozens. I can’t tell you how many recommended books I’ve investigated and placed on my “to read” list from conversations with others and those who comment here.. (If you follow me on Goodreads, you’ll see that I have over 300 books on that list. I had to trim it down a few years ago from 800.)

So in the spirit of sharing (and in the hopes that you will as well), here’s what I read in September 2025:

From the photo FICTION:

Retreat from Oblivion (1939) David Goodis

For the past few years I’ve read at least one David Goodis novel a year, taking my time, knowing that I’ve got to make his bibliography last since it contains only 18 works. (So far I’ve read eight.) I knew that Goodis’s first novel, Retreat from Oblivion, was previously hard (and costly) to find, but thanks to Stark House Press, it’s now easily available. And what can I say? It’s a first novel with several first-novel problems, most of them having to do with mechanics and pacing but also believability. (Plus it’s overly ambitious.) It’s not a crime story, but it is noir-stained with tons of drama, two love triangles (maybe a love hexagon would be more accurate), and World War II. Goodis would grow tremendously as a writer, but while somewhat disappointing, this is a must-read for Goodis fans.

Horse (2022) Geraldine Brooks

Brooks does a masterful job of weaving her story from three major threads: an enslaved horse groomer in 1850 Kentucky, a 1954 New York art gallery owner fixated on a 19th-century equestrian painting, and a Smithsonian scientist who meets a Nigerian art historian in Washington, DC in 2019. Although frequently fascinating, I was disappointed that some of the plot elements were far too predictable. Still, I’ll read pretty much anything Brooks writes.

The City of Unspeakable Fear (1943, English edition 2023) Jean Ray

Curious and odd, The City of Unspeakable Fear is part police procedural and part ghost story, yet much more. The back cover states the novel is “an ambiguous interzone between detective novel, horror fiction, and Anglophile parody,” all of which is accurate. Retired Police Inspector Triggs, much closer to Inspector Clouseau than Hercule Poirot, investigates a series of murders that appear to have their origin in the supernatural, but this is a strange village… Apparently this tale is quite a diversion from Ray’s most famous novel Malpertuis, and it probably won’t be for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Red Death (Easy Rawlins #2, 1991) Walter Mosley

It’s a shame Hollywood didn’t make any more Easy Rawlins movies after Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), a superb noir starring Denzel Washington, but at least we have Walter Mosley’s novels. (Gray Dawn, the 17th book in the series, was released a couple of weeks ago.) The Red Death finds Easy in a tight spot: His undeclared income used to purchase his home has come to the attention of the IRS, and they don’t play. Yet an FBI agent approaches Easy with an intriguing offer. If he takes it, the FBI will make the IRS agent go away, but Rawlins will have to investigate possible Communist activity in his neighborhood, which forces Easy to face the whole death and taxes thing… Good stuff.

From the photo NONFICTION:

Presbyterianism (2025) Sean Michael Lucas

I’m always looking for books that will supplement the New Member Sunday school class I teach each year. Lucas focuses on how the Presbyterian denomination focuses on who God is, who Christ is, and who the Holy Spirit is. Lucas also delves into what makes Presbyterianism tick in that it’s based on the truths of the Bible. These are basics, but Lucas’s explorations of these topics should be useful, and I look forward to incorporating them into future classes. Plus it’s a good book for anyone wanting to know what Presbyterianism is all about. (Like me, Lucas is in the Presbyterian Church in America [PCA].)

The Mystery of Providence (1678) John Flavel

We live in a time in which many people believe that most events in the world happen according to chance. I know it’s unpopular to believe that there is a God who determines these things, yet that is my belief. Christians refer to these as God’s providences, especially when they work out to our advantage. When things happen that we can’t understand or explain, we’re either left with a belief in chance/fate/the universe or God. Either we live in a random universe or we don’t. John Flavel believed the latter. The Mystery of Providence is such a comforting book that I plan to give as a gift to at least two people this Christmas.

Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run (2025) Peter Ames Carlin

The first time I heard Bruce Springsteen I was 12 or 13, listening to a disc jockey saying something like “Pay attention to this guy. One day he’s going to be mentioned in the same breath as the Beatles, Elvis, and Dylan. Here’s Bruce Springsteen’s latest, ‘Born to Run.’” Carlin’s book takes us through the journey from a home dealing with tragedy to superstardom, but specifically how Springsteen struggled with management, his record company, betrayal, bad contracts, and self-doubt. But it’s also a fun adrenaline rush. My hat’s off to Carlin, who writes about music without getting too technical yet tapping into what moves us.

The Cost of Discipleship (1937/1995) Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer’s book opens with a discussion of “cheap grace,” or as he puts it, “Cheap grace is the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace does everything, they say, and so everything can remain as it was before.” You see this in people who claim to be Christians, but their lives aren’t Christlike. They think because they were once baptized or walked down the aisle or prayed a prayer they can live any way they please, which includes unloving acts rather than loving ones, hate instead of love, rashness instead of patience, yelling at people who disagree with you rather than listening, being uncaring rather than caring. No. Costly grace is costly. It cost Christ, and following him requires discipleship. Although Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran and I’m a Presbyterian, we would no doubt disagree in certain areas, yet this is a book that will challenge all believers. If you’re familiar with Bonhoeffer’s story of resisting Hitler, this is essential reading.

Shane (BFI Classics, 1999) Edward Countryman & Evonne von Heussen-Countryman

Research for an upcoming project. Stay tuned.

You know the drill: Let me know what you read in September. Keep on reading!