Tuesday 28 July 2020

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Top Ten Debut Books



"Top Ten Tuesday" is an original feature/weekly meme created on the blog "The Broke and the Bookish". This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at "The Broke and the Bookish".

It is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Since I am just as fond of them as they are, I jump at the chance to share my lists with them! Have a look at their page, there are lots of other bloggers who share their lists here.

Freebie

This week we have a "freebie week". We have to come up with our topic. So, I've chosen one from the many I have missed in the past and that's:

Top Ten Debut Books

I thought this sounded like an interesting topic. Have authors started to be just brilliant and then carried on or have they gotten better or worse over time? I think every reader has to decide that for themselves. The debut novels are not necessarily my favourite novels by these authors. I have added those in brackets. I also couldn't list all of my favourite authors since I haven't read all their debut novels.

But here are the debut novels by some of my favourite authors:

Austen, Jane "Sense & Sensibility" - 1811
(favourite novel: "Persuasion" - 1817)

Frazier, Charles "Cold Mountain" - 1997
Definitely my most favourite novel by him since it is one of my most favourite ones overall.

Fredriksson, Marianne "The Book of Eve" (Swedish: Evas bok) (Paradisets barn/The Children of Paradise #1) - 1980
(favourite novel: "Hanna’s Daughters" (Swedish: Anna, Hanna og Johanna) - 1994

Hislop, Victoria "The Island" - 2005
(favourite novel: "The Thread" - 2011)

Hosseini, Khaled "The Kite Runner" - 2003
(favourite novel: "And the Mountains Echoed" - 2007)

Kingsolver, Barbara "The Bean Trees" - 1988
(favourite novel: "The Lacuna" - 2009)

Lawson, Mary "Crow Lake" - 2002

Pamuk, Orhan "Cevdet Bey and His Sons" (Turkish: Cevdet Bey ve Oğulları) - 1982
(favourite novel: "My Name is Red" (Turkish: Benim Adim Kirmizi) - 1998)

Ruiz Zafón, Carlos "The Prince of Mist" (Spanish: El príncipe de la niebla) - 1993
(favourite novel: "The Shadow of the Wind" (Spanish: La Sombra del Viento) - 2001)

Turner, Nancy E. "These is my Words, The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901" - 1999
Very hard to choose my favourite of hers, they are all great but this is the first in her trilogy.

32 comments:

  1. Cold Mountain was such a good story!

    My TTT .

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    1. It definitely was. As you might have seen, I have visited your page while you visited mine. LOL

      I loved your pictures. Such a sweet idea.

      Thanks for coming by.

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    2. Oh, LOL. I didn't realize that. Thanks for telling me.

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    3. As I said, we must have crossed each other. LOL

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  2. So many interesting books in this list! I've been meaning to pick up a Carlos Ruiz Zafón book for the longest time, but I never got round to it.

    I haven't read the Island by Victoria Hislop, but I've seen the TV series we produced in Greece a decade ago and it's a great, very-well researched story. She was heavily involved in the production so I'm guessing the book is equally good. Fun fact: Hislop was recently received honorary Greek citizenship because of this book.

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    1. You should definitely try Ruiz Zafón. Start with "The Shadow of the Wind". That was my first one and has remained my favourite, although the others are also great.

      "The Island" is a wonderful story, well written, as everything by Victoria Hislop. I have just started her latest one, "Those Who Are Loved", another novel about the Greek history. I have read a few books about Greece but the best history book was Modern Greece. A Short History by P.M. Woodhouse which I was given by a Greek friend. The ones by Victoria Hislop have added to that. So much recent history that most people know nothing about.

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  3. Nice topic this week! Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment on my TTT post this week. Happy reading!!

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    1. But of course. It's always fun to read what others have been thinking about. This week was double fun since there were so many different ideas.

      Thanks for the re-visit.

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  4. These Is My Words was wonderful.

    Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.

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    1. I couldn't agree more. I've introduced it into two book clubs and everyone loved it.

      Thanks for your visit and for leaving your link. Will come and visit.

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  5. Creative choice for your list! I love Sense & Sensibility but my favorite by her is probably Northanger Abbey! These is My Words has been on my TBR forever.

    My TTT: https://mamaneedsabook.blogspot.com/2020/07/next-up-classics.html

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    1. Interesting. I always say Northanger Abbey is so different from all of Jane Austen's other books that it could almost be from another author. But they are all great.

      Everyone who's read These is my Words seems to love it. It is just such a great novel.

      Thanks for your link, I'll have a look at what you came up with.

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  6. I like the idea you had for this list. As a general rule, I find that the first novel of a writer is usually better than the second, but then the novels tend to get better and better.

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    1. I think you've got something there. Maybe the second often comes too soon after the first success?

      Anyway, thanks for your visit and thanks for that great thought.

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  7. Great idea for a topic! The Kite Runner is such a powerful story. Here's my TTT list this week.

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    1. It definitely is but it's my least favourite of his novels, strange, right.

      Thanks for your visit and your list.

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  8. I like how far back you went with this. I'm usually only thinking current year.

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    1. Some novels and authors stay with me forever, I just have to include them, if I can. I doubt I could have come up with 10 first novels I read this year.

      I think they both have their advantages, if you only include books you read this year, we probably get more new ones in your lists.

      Thanks for your visit.

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  9. I have only read Sense and Sensibility off your list, but what a great one! It is still probably my favourite Austen, which I am hoping to re-read soon. 🙂

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    1. They are all great books but everyone of us has their favourites, and that's great.

      Thanks for your visit. Hope you'll find some good books here you'd like to read, as well.

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  10. What a lovely list, my favourite has to be Austen!

    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. She is one of my favourite authors ever. What a shame she could only write six whole books but at least we have those.

      Thanks for your visit.

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  11. That's a fun list. I'll have to check out several of these books.

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    1. Thanks. I enjoyed your list, as well.

      I hope you'll like many of the books I mentioned. I love them all.

      Thanks for your visit.

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  12. I enjoy reading debut novels and then reading later novels by those authors to see how they grow and change. Often I find the seeds of what they will become in those debuts.

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    1. That is so true. Sometimes they stay in my mind as the best of their books but I think that might be because that's when I first fell in love with them.

      As you can see, all the authors I mentioned have a link which means I read at least three of their books.

      Thanks, as always, for your faithful friendship. Means a lot. ♥

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  13. Khaled Hoseeini is an amazing author :D
    Here's my TTT if you want to have a look!! https://readwithstefani.com/10-books-i-want-to-read-by-the-end-of-2020/

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    1. You are right. And I think, he gets better with every book. I wish he'll write many more. Have you seen "Sea Prayer", his illustrated "letter"?

      Thanks for your link, I always love looking at other reader's lists. But I have been already, this morning. As I mentioned, I'm looking forward to the next Ken Follet book, as well.

      Thanks for your visit. Happy Reading.

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  14. This is a cool topic! I loved The Kite Runner, so I need to pick up more of the author’s work.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Oh, definitely. I just said to Stefani ^^ that I believe he gets better with every book he writes.

      Thanks for your visit and for leaving your link. See you there soon!

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  15. I enjoy Victoria Hislops books but it has beeen a long time since I read one.

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    1. I'm just reading her latest (from 2019) Those Who Are Loved and seems to be just as great as the other ones. My favourite is still The Thread but they are all great.

      Thanks for your visit.

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