Top Ten Tuesday: Best Debut Books
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.
I ended up with two lists. The first list is my top ten debut books that I have read in no particluar order. The second list is books I have on my shelf to be read that I bought because of glowing reviews or recommendations.
Top Ten Best Debut Books
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M Miller Jr’s A Canticle for Leibowitz is a true landmark of twentieth-century literature– a chilling and still-provocative look at a post-apocalyptic future.
Even though this was written 50 years ago, it’s still relevant today.
Eden Close by Anita Shreve
Seventeen years after he returns to his hometown and first meets Eden, the beautiful girl next door, a young man uncovers the grisly story of her tortuous relationship with her parents.
This is still my favorite book by Anita Shreve.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway.
This book, which I still have, has the distinction of being the very first ARC I ever received way back in 1979.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself.
Haunting and original, like nothing I’d ever read before.
Neuromancer by William Gibson
The novel that started it all, launching the cyberpunk generation.
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.
Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who’s “saying” the stories.
You Know When The Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon
There is an army of women waiting for their men to return in Fort Hood, Texas. Through a series of loosely interconnected stories, Siobhan Fallon takes readers onto the base, inside the homes, into the marriages and families-intimate places not seen in newspaper articles or politicians’ speeches.
One of the best books I’ve read in a long time.
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The story follows a warren of Berkshire rabbits fleeing the destruction of their home by a land developer.
One of my all time favorties. It’s so much more than just a story about bunnies.
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Sometimes only remembered for the epic motion picture and “Frankly … I don’t give a damn,” Gone with the Wind was initially a compelling and entertaining novel.
Debuts I own but haven’t read.
Any suggestions on which one I should grab first?
- She’s Come Undone Wally Lamb
- Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- Three Junes by Julia Glass
- Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
- Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwartz
- Vinegar Hill by A. Manette Ansay
- Best Friends by Martha Moody
- Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
- The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
Under My Apple Tree 
I’ve heard amazing things about Loving Frank — also it has the Wisconsin thing going on, so I like that 🙂
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I also had Neuromancer on my list. I have read “She’s Come Undone” by Wally Lamb. It seems to be a love it or hate it book. I loved it.
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You have many good titles here, on both lists. I really enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Memory Keeper’s Daughter.
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I also found I had a bunch of debuts I hadn’t read yet. Great list.
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Hmm…I’ve only read four of the books on your list, Leslie. The Kite Runner was probably my favorite; it’s a book that stays with you long after you finish it. It’s beautiful, it’s hard, and I would say it’s a must-read. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is great to curl up with on a snowy afternoon. It’s a good story, and I liked it. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is also a book I consider a must-read, though an entirely different kind of book than The Kite Runner. You’ll laugh and cry, and you’ll probably rage against the way society treats those with autism. It’s very, very well done. I read She’s Come Undone a long time ago, and I remember that I thought it was good, but I don’t recall much more than that.
I love that you have The Hitchhiker’s Guide and Watership Down on your Top Ten Debut Books list. They are two of my perennial favorites as well. Hope you find some more debuts to enjoy!
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Thanks for the recommendations. And Watership Down is one of my all time favorite books; probably should read it again.
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I loved The Joy Luck Club! Eden Close was good, but my favorite Shreve novel is Sea Glass.
I really liked Guernsey; it’s a cute little book but also serious, with talk of the war.
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I’ve tried and failed to read Neuromancer 4 times, but one day I will succeed! The Hitchhiker’s Guide is on my list as well 🙂
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Great variety on your list. It was nice to see a brand new book on there. I really would like to read You Know When the Men are gone. I put Neuromancer on my list as well.
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