Joanie-

While I have hundreds of lists of great books, I don't have a specific list of 1st books by contemporary authors.

May I ask, what exactly you find appealing or insightful by reading their first book? It's an interesting approach.

Peter
(The guy who runs Flashlight Worthy)

Jonathan Lethem (one of my favorite contemporary author) had a wonderful first book -- Gun, With Occasional Music. It's best described as science-fiction-dystopian-detective-noir.

I love to find out the links as well. I fell in love with David Wroblewski's first novel, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Since the read, I have looked out for great first novels. It's an adventure, if you know what I mean. :o) Currently I'm reading a novel Somewhere carnal over 40 winks. A good friend of mine recommended it. He is very picky when it comes to books. The novel is a Wow (so far)! I will let you know if I stumble upon any websites with first books by contemporary authors.

Naomi Novik has a fantastic Historical fiction meets fantasy series. The first book in the series is His Majesty's Dragon and it won her the Compton Crook Award for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy novel by a first time author in 2007. And was nominated for a Hugo award in 2007 for Best Novel.

I highly recommend.

Thanks so much! I'm happy to take great first time authors recommendations one book at a time! No specific link so far....just creating a collection as I go.
Sure appreciate your idea!

My hubbie just published his first book,Lincoln's Hand. It's a mystery and is published by Echelon Press.It is available on kindle, ebooks and amazon.com. In fact, all the Echelon Press authors are fantastic and I am having a great time wading through all the new books and new authors. It is too bad more people don't know about these smaller publishers. www.lincolnshand.com

I love reading first novels, and I filed my books that way for years. Here's a list of ones that I really enjoyed. Hope this helps.

Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
Lost in Translation - Nicole Mones
Swimming Sweet Arrow - Maureen Gibbon
The Soloist - Mark Salzman
Lives of the Monster Dogs - Kirsten Bakis
The Mermaids Singing - Lisa Carey
The Blue Place - Nicola Griffith
The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney
32 Candles - Ernessa Carter
Searching for Tina Turner - Jacqueline Luckett
Hollyhood - Valerie Joyner
Please, Please, Please - Renee Swindle
The Professor's Daughter - Emily Raboteau
Saturn's Return to New York - Sara Gran
The Density of Souls - Christopher Rice
The Cigarette Girl - Carol Wolper
Keeper of the House - Rebecca Godwin
Citizen Vince - Jess Walter
Breathing Water - T. Greenwood
Bling - Erica Kennedy
Platinum - Aliya King
Still Missing - Chevy Stevens
Please Don't Come Back From the Moon - Dean Bakopoulos
The White Bone - Barbara Gowdy
Coffee and Kung Fu - Karen Brichoux
Caucasia - Danzy Senna
Kiss the Sky - Farai Chideya
Gods in Alabama - Joshilyn Jackson
Velocity - Kirstin McCloy
The Tribes of Palos Verdes - Joy Nicholson
City of Masks - Daniel Hecht
Like The Red Panda - Andrea Siegel
Freshwater Road - Denise Nicholas
The Clearing - Tim Gautreaux
Almost Innocent - Sheila Bosworth
Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery - John Gregory Brown
Free Food for Millionaires - Min Jin Lee
You're Not You - Michelle Widgen
Purple Hibiscus - Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi
Passport Diaries - Tamara Gregory
Layover - Lisa Zeidner
Love in Mid Air -
Early From the Dance - David Payne
The Ticket Out - Helen Knode
Plain Brown Wrapper - Karen G. Bates
Going to Bend - Diane Hammond
More Like Wrestling - Danyel Smith
The Distance From The Heart of Things - Ashley Warlick
Apprentice to the Flower Poet Z - Debra Ginsburg
Going Down - Jennifer Belle
Leaving Atlanta - Tayari Jones
Solo Variations - Cassandra Garbus
Sweet Ruin - Cathy Hanuer
And Sometimes Why - Rebecca Johnson
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything - Janelle Brown
Love or Something Like It - Deidre Shaw

And let's not forget "Deep Creek" by Dana Hand!

One of my co-worker's published his first novel last year and it is really good :
Paradox and Rebirth by Ron Prasad.

If you are into memoirs, I just read one by a first time author named Randi G. Fine. The book is called Fine...ly, My Story of Hope, Love, and Destiny. Got it on Amazon. Highly recommend it!!

Looking for Alaska by John Green its a book about going to boarding school it is one of my absolute favorite books its amazing.

Just Us yanks

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. It wasn't her first book but it was her first book of fiction.

Rodney Walther's debut novel BROKEN LACES is excellent. It's a story similar in theme to those of Jodi Picoult and Nicholas Sparks. A grieving father and son trying to work things out. I love the author's voice.

Another amazing first-time novel is David Wroblewski's THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE. "Wow!" on the writing.

TRAINSPOTTING!!!!!!

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson (his first fiction book)
In the Woods by Tana French
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (her first fiction book)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey (correct me if wrong, but this is his first published work and one of my favorite books ever)

"Don't Touch The Plate" is a book that is for everyone in the world. This is a book on higher consciousness and understanding who you truly are. This is a non fiction book.

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Touch-Plate-Consciousness-Spiritual/dp/1450581684/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282153425&sr=1-1

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I am hearing about these new books by a new young author, Stefan LeBlanc, a student at Butler University, as getting especially boys interested and excited about reading - one university professor was astonished that her son who refused to read has re-read these books 3 times already and is anxiously awaiting the next installments in this epic scifi/fantasy series. Also popular with college students but I enjoyed them myself, especially Episode 2:

Dungeons Crawlers: Episode 1 and Dungeon Crawlers: Episode 2

Amazon and Barnes & Noble carry them - 5star reviews on them there.

Janice S.