FFTNFR Volume IX - Yep, It's That Time Again

It's only been 7 months since Volume VIII.  I know it seems like it was only yesterday.  But here's the thing - I've read too many good books since VIII to keep waiting.  So here we go with 14 more!

1.    Redemption Road, John Hart.  This is John's 5th book and his 1st one in 5 years.  Imagine a teenage boy waiting with a gun to kill a cop being released from prison; a detective trying to recover from a brutal murder that she was a part of; and, oh yes, a serial killer.

2.    A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman.  You probably already know about this book.  It's Swedish, and it's gotten a ton of press.  I liked it more and more as it went along.  At the end, I was singing its praises. Oh, yeah, it's about a 59-year old guy who lost his wife a couple of years earlier and wants to kill himself.  But he can't because his neighbors keep showing up.  Loved all of the quirky characters.

3.    Cometh the Hour, Jeffrey Archer.  All I need to say is that it's #6. One more to go - October 25.  I'm already depressed!

4.    The Ones Who Matter Most, Rachael Herron.  This book is NOT on the list because Rachael was our RBC author for August.  This is just a darn good book.  It gives us a unique way to look at family.

5.    The Black Widow, Daniel Silva.  #16 in the Gabriel Allon series.  And as I said in my review, each one of his books is as good as the one before, if not better.  He is a true master of his craft.  When I started blogging and meeting local authors 6 years ago, I had to give up a lot of my series...but not this one!

6.    Mulberry, Paulette Boudreaux.  This is a story about a black family in rural Mississippi in the 1960's.  See where this is going?  Nope, you're wrong.  It's actually about the 11-year old who has to take care of her 3 younger brothers when her mother has to spend months at a hospital with the new baby; and when the father is incapable of watching over his family.

7.    The Choices We Make, Karma Brown.  I really liked Karma's 1st book, Come Away with Me.  But this one I liked even more.  It's all about a woman who simply can't get pregnant.  Her best friend since 5th grade, who already has 2 children, volunteers to act as a surrogate, but with her own eggs and the father's sperm.  Interesting premise, yes?

8.    Looking for Me, Beth Hoffman.  I've already got Beth's other book, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, in Volume V.  This one belongs there too.  A furniture store owner, with a missing brother, follows a lead about his possible reappearance in her Kentucky hometown.

9.    Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys.  This is one of the very few YAs that I have on any of my lists.  At the end of WWII, when Germany knows that it has lost the war, many of its citizens head for the ports to leave the country.  The story is told in the voices of 4 teenagers.  This is truly a great way to teach history to teenagers.

10.  The Nest.  Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney.  It's all about 4 adult siblings and the fate of a longstanding inheritance.

11.   Homecoming, Yaa Gyasi.  An epic story of 2 half-sisters in 18th century Ghana and their generations that follow.  The story ends in the present.

12.   The Life We Bury, Allen Eskens.  A college student with a paper to write, a brother with special needs, and an interview with a convicted murderer dying in a rest home.

13.   The Wright Brothers, David McCullough.  Do I need to tell you what this one is about?  The surprise is that I actually made an emotional connection to the brothers.  I did not expect that.  It was really interesting to see what happened in the years following the famous 1903 flight.

14.  Splinters of Light, Rachael Herron.  I just finished this a few days ago.  And it was absolutely fantastic.  It puts us in the head of a mid-40s-year old who has learned (early in the book) that she has EOAD (Early Onset Alzheimers Disease).  She has a 16-year old daughter and a twin sister, and the 3 of them all get their own moments to give voice to their roiling emotions.

That does it.  14 more books that brings the total to (drum roll, please) - 110!  That should hold me/us for a while...won't it?