Fave book of a 1st time author

[suzy1124]

" Blood Bones and Butter " a memoir of Gabrielle Hamilton, a wannabee writer, chef/owner of PRUNE in NYC....

she certainly realized her dream w/her first book...

A real page turner!....superb in both style and content....

-- 14 Jun 2013, 10:02 --

Harper Lee, " to kill a mockingbird " ( didn't realize at the time i read it that it was her FIRST and ultimately her ONLY book )

[Craigable]

One of my favorites would be Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces. His situation is unusual in that he killed himself before the book was published. His mother is responsible for the novel's posthumous appearance.

[suzy1124]

One of my favorites would be Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces. His situation is unusual in that he killed himself before the book was published. His mother is responsible for the novel's posthumous appearance.

Absolutely!...one of my all time favorites!

[FNAWrite]

"COnfederacy" certainly had its points, but I was tired of it 3/4 of the way through.

How about "Carrie"?

[suzy1124]

"COnfederacy" certainly had its points, but I was tired of it 3/4 of the way through.

How about "Carrie"?

What about Carrie??????????

IMHO, that would be like comparing a Rolls Royce w/a jalopy............not even close...

[FNAWrite]

"What about Carrie??????????"

This thread is about fave books of first time authors. "Carrie" was Steven King's first published book. That's what about "Carrie".

Oh, I see, you're saying that because you liked the other book better, "Carrie" is no good. Thanks for letting us know. I'm sure that will be a let down for the tens of millions who bought the book.

As I noted, I thought "Confederacy" bogged down and became boring 3/4 of the way through. A Rolls Royce that's run out of gas takes you nowhere.

[Craigable]

I don't have anything to say about Carrie since I've not read it. But I would say to FNAWrite that sales of books (or, more simply put, popularity) is never a useful criteria for judging the quality of writing. If it were then Harlequin romance novels would constitute the pinnacle of American literary achievement.

Personal taste is no better a means of evaluation. The fact, for example, that I don't enjoy opera doesn't mean that opera is bad.

Finally, if you're going to criticize suzy1124 for allegedly not liking Carrie (which actually isn't what she asserted) then your defense of Carrie needs to be something other than "Toole's novel is boring" since saying so is tantamount to doing precisely what you're accusing suzy1124 of doing. It is, naturally, altogether possible to enjoy both books while still maintaining that one is better written that the other.

For my part, since the two books are so dissimilar in content and style, I don't see how a comparison is especially practical or even useful.

[FNAWrite]

"if you're going to criticize suzy1124 for allegedly not liking Carrie (which actually isn't what she asserted)"

I don't think I criticized her for not liking it - I did criticize that she characterized it as a "jalopy" compared to the "Rolls Royce" that she accliamed "Confederacy" to be. (Which does seem to indicate to me that she did not like the book - did you read that as complimentary or do you believe that the "jalopy" characterization means she did not like it and in fact wished to denigrate the book?) I made my criticism in light of her question "What about Carrie" on my suggesting "Carrie" as a fave first time offering which is of course the subject of this thread.

Actually, the fact that people want to read a book is a fair criteria for judging whether a book is a "fave" which are the titles sought here..

Also you attribute to me something I did not say. I did not say that "Conferderacy" is boring. I stated I enjoyed 3/4 of the book before the last quarter did bog down and became boring which is far different from dismissing a book out of hand (or indeed saying that the entire book was boring). Another difference is that "boring" is a substantive criticism, a reason for criticizing a book as opposed to simply condemning for not being the other book you did like or a simple "I didn't like it.".

"I don't see how a comparison is especially practical or even useful." As opposed to all the practical or useful comparisons we find here, i.e., which author you hate the most, which author do you want to drink with, Rowling or Tolkien , what color pen do you write with, etc. I think one would have to dig awful deep at any discussion forum to find practical and useful comparisons.

[suzy1124]

I don't have anything to say about Carrie since I've not read it. But I would say to FNAWrite that sales of books (or, more simply put, popularity) is never a useful criteria for judging the quality of writing. If it were then Harlequin romance novels would constitute the pinnacle of American literary achievement.

Personal taste is no better a means of evaluation. The fact, for example, that I don't enjoy opera doesn't mean that opera is bad.

Finally, if you're going to criticize suzy1124 for allegedly not liking Carrie (which actually isn't what she asserted) then your defense of Carrie needs to be something other than "Toole's novel is boring" since saying so is tantamount to doing precisely what you're accusing suzy1124 of doing. It is, naturally, altogether possible to enjoy both books while still maintaining that one is better written that the other.

For my part, since the two books are so dissimilar in content and style, I don't see how a comparison is especially practical or even useful.

Amen Craigable!.... couldn't have said it better myself...

[ALRyder]

It's kind of sad that this is the longest continuing dialogue I've seen on this site so far. I had thought this site would be more about discussing topics in depth, not just stateing your opinion on the original topic and leaving it at that. Where are all the actual conversations?

Anyway, suzie1124, you had titled this, "fave books of a 1st time author". I take this to mean you want to hear about a book that was good enough to make a reader want more of the same author, or in some cases simply be though provoking. Not the best first time authors to ever write the best literature. If I were to comment on this thread I would say four separate works that got me were:

Flowers For Algernon (I'm pretty sure this was a first book, but I'm not positive)
The Warded Man
Girl, Interrupted
and The Way of the Wolf

I'm not comparing any of these books to eachother. I'm just saying I loved them all for different reasons, and am happy I discovered each of them.

[thsavage2]

Pat Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind is masterful, and it was his first novel to be published. He wrote a lot of it while in college (and it took him a really long time to graduate) but then reworked a lot of it before it got published. It is really just superb, I take pretty much any chance I can to recommend it. And the sequel, Wise Man's Fear, and then we can all wait together for the third and final book with bated breath.

I'd also recommend Steig Larsson's Millennium trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and following). He was a journalist and into sci-fi way before he wrote those, but I think they were his first actual novels. And they are really, really good. Heavy, but really good.

[alex_]

Nancy E. Turner, These is My Words

[sahmoun2778]

The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi. I just finished this book and I was riveted from the first page to the last. I hope she keeps writing.

[MamaBookAddict]

I have a couple. 'The House at the End of Hope Street' by Meena Van Praag and 'Splintered' by A.G. Howard . I probably have more but those are the first 2 that spring to mind

[midgetgem]

Malorie Blackman's 'Noughts and Crosses'. I couldn't put it down, and I was thrilled to realise that it was part of a series and I immediately purchased the others, and read them in no time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of these and they are highly recommended. I wrote a more detailed review of the first book, 'Noughts and Crosses', on my page if anybody is interested in reading this. The reviews for the remaining three books will be up shortly!