1st Time Authors - For Me

Out of 65 books I read this year, 43 were 1st time authors for me (including 6 that were non-fiction).  That's 66%.  Part of it is belonging to 3 book clubs (although I only get to Books, Inc. in Palo Alto 2-3 times a year).  And part of it is learning about and meeting new local authors (15, or 35%).  The rest of it is just getting recommendations from people I know (and trust) and from Goodreads friends.  I also established contact with out-of-the-area authors through social media.  There is even one (The Given Day by Dennis Lehane) I read because I made a deal with somebody who came to my recommendation table at Recycle on a Sunday morning (she had to read The Source).  So there you have it.  And here's the clincher:  THIS IS THE LAST YEAR-END-BASED BLOG!  I accept your collective thanks.

Alan Jacobson (Local) - Spectrum
Andy Weir (Local) - The Martian
Julian Rubinstein - Ballad of the Whiskey Robber (NF)
e. lockhart - We Were Liars
Christina Baker Kline - Orphan Train
Susan Sloat/Kevin Finn - Forward to Camelot
Tyler Draa (Local) - Mastering the Mechanics of Civil Jury Trials (NF)
Paula Hawkins - The Girl on the Train
Nia Carrera (Local) - Love Caters All
Tracy K. Smith - Ordinary Light
Elizabeth Rosner (Local) - Electric City
Linda Abbott - Ten Days in Paradise
David Levithan - Every Day
Dennis Lehane - The Given Day
Ann Packer (Local) - The Children's Crusade
Joy Brighton (Local) - Deadly Secret
John Billheimer (Local) - Dismal Mountain
Lisa Genova - Still Alice
Killian McRae (Local) - Pure & Sinful
Wm. Paul Young - Cross Roads
Matthew Pearl - The Last Bookaneer
Graeme Simsion - The Rosie Project
Bella Andre (with Jennifer Skully)(Local) - Breathless in Love & Reckless in Love
Ann Bridges (Local)(SBC member) - Private Offerings
Ruth Ozeki - A Tale for the Time Being
Sarah Jio - Goodnight June
Vendela Vita - The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty
Kristin Hannah - The Nightingale
Alice Hoffman - The Museum of Extraordinary Things
Jan Collison (Local) - Some Other Town
Dinah Lin (Local) - Daring to Dream Once Again (NF)
Marian Lindner (Local) - San Francisco
Dick Yaeger (Local) - Niki's Discovery
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Lauren Groff - The Monsters of Templeton
J. Ryan Stradel - Kitchens of the Great Midwest
Karma Brown - Come Away with You
Gabrielle Zevin - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Amanda Lindhout/Sara Corbett - A House in the Sky (NF)
Mary Kubica - The Good Girl
Adam Hennig (Local) - Alex Haley's Roots:  An Author's Odyssey (NF)
Atul Gawande - Being Mortal (NF)
Rebecca Skloot - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (NF)