Mine was a copy of the Dhammapada followed by the Itivuttaka followed by Thera and Therigata. I suppose before that I was taught some of it at school during the Buddhism class from year 2 to year 10.
With metta
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First book I encountered on Buddhism was The “Gospel of Buddha” by Paul Carus. I chanced across a reprint of the 1894 book in a second-hand bookshop. It definitely made an impression. Interesting book. It’s a collection of reworked sutta translations from all over the canon (deliberately put together, I think, to give an overall parable-based almost New Testament feel to the document). Seems there’s a Project Gutenberg version here with the original artwork FYI.
First book I read containing conventional sutta translations was Bhikkhi Bodhi’s “In the Buddha’s Words”.
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I was exposed to Buddhism from early as age 3. However almost after 50 years, one of my Muslim friend gave me a copy of Buddha and his teaching by Narada.
https://www.urbandharma.org/udharma14/budtea.html
I almost jump out of my bed when I read about the Anatta doctrine. Then I start searching more and join Dhamma Wheel and I learnt about access to insight (from @mikenz66) and start reading Sutta.
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My first book was The Life of Buddha by Bhikkhu Ñānamoli. So fast Years has passed and now I have it in my phone. 
Later they will say my first sutta was on suttacentral etc
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That was my first book as well. 
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I have that one also. I got it donations from monastery. I once went to Sri Lanka. And I got permission to take books from the monk training centre. 
Btw that’s the best book. Very detailed
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First Buddhist literature was Siddhartha, the story of the Buddha’s life, when my high school offered it as a reading option (if I remember correctly. That got me into Buddhism in general but I wouldn’t say I was a practicing Buddhist. About A year and a half ago now I read The Noble Eightfold Path by Bikkhu Bodhi and then started my journey on the path from there officially 
Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa 
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My first Buddhist book was Handbook for Mankind by Ajahn Buddhadasa. Then I did a retreat, following which I read What the Buddha Taught (of course!) and Seeing the Way by various Ajahn Chah disciples. There were some other things, also, maybe by Phra Khantipalo? And maybe something vipassana-ish, perhaps a book by Mahasi Sayadaw? It was a long time ago!
But then I started reading the Majjhima Nikaya, in Nyanamoli’s translation edited by Khantipalo under the title A Treasury of the Buddha’s Words. You could say it had an effect on me!
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I’d already found my way to the Sydney Buddhist Library and signed up for an intro meditation class. The teacher was Graham White who was into Mahasi Sayadaw style vipassana meditation. After the first class I asked him for some reading material. He walked me over to a library shelf and selected three items
- a 12-page booklet, of which I remember nothing,
- The Experience of Insight by Joseph Goldstein (1976) which was written at a level I could understand, and
- The Heart of Buddhist Meditation by Nyanaponika Thera (1962), which blew my mind. I couldn’t understand it at that time. But I knew it was the most important book I’d ever read.
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Yep that’s a really good book also I do have it also but for the same reason I did not dive too much in it I guess. You know what. Maybe it’s because it was when I had no knowledge of Buddhism. So now I am going to reread it. It probably now more understandable. So many year has past. But a friend and monk told me sometimes they don’t understand how a Caribbean boy knows so much about Buddhism. But thinking back it was from the builded up from these books. 
and thanks to my preceptor. Who was the first one to have let me take alot of Buddhist books from America. When he saw me the day with whole bagpack full of book. He told your like the Chinese monk that went to India and look for Buddhist text. I must mention actually a book that I found there, its not available anymore I think. Admirable Beginnings By Pra Wai Cattālayo.
Well let me tell. If you find that book. It’s gold. Especially for monastics.
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