What's the book that got you?

My first summer job was at a B.Dalton Bookseller at Hulen Mall in Fort Worth, Texas. I was fifteen and had landed the job of my dreams at the twinkly-eyed age of fifteen . . . two weeks before my sixteenth birthday and the guy who hired me liked me so much, he bent the rules. My first day at the job, a girl and I were in training and a Texas spring thunderstorm rolled through and knocked out the power at the mall. Thankfully, my fellow trainee had already turned sixteen and could drive me home in her little Toyota. It was quite a memorable first day.

Though I was grateful to be hired, I can't say I was the biggest fan of my boss. You know that moment in retail when you've been working, in my case shelving cart after cart of books, wracking my brain with the alphabet, and you stand there a moment taking a mini break? My boss, with his male patterned balding, thick Milton glasses, and trimmed mustache, would come out of nowhere with the line, "Working hard or hardly working, Kirk?" Swear to God, every damn time. When he finally took a position at the evil competitor across the street, Bookstop, I was relieved . . . we all were. However, It was his introduction of a certain fantasy series that I will be forever grateful to him for. I was on a break (an actual half-hour lunch break that wasn't subject to his shitty line) and he noticed me perusing the sci-fi/fantasy section. Swooping in, he yanked a book off the shelf and put it in my hands, "Read that. You'll love it."

The book was The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, the first book in the Wheel of Time series. It blew my mind. It ruined me for other fantasy novels from there on out. Yes, I've enjoyed other fantasy books, but I hold them all, including my own (right or wrong), up to the Wheel of Time standard. Jordan's world building, the characters, his focus on strong female characters, and the scope of the story is all so deeply enjoyable. If you're thinking of grabbing the book, I'll give you the same warning he gave me, "Now, you have to make it through the first seventy-five pages, but after that, you'll be hooked." He was right, but it sucks you have to clear that hurdle.

I was in my early thirties when Robert Jordan passed away from a rare blood disease after the eleventh book in the series and it wasn't yet complete. His widow, who was also his editor, worked with the publisher to find another author to finish the series. They brought Brandon Sanderson onto the project and he completed it beautifully.

I think about those books and nostalgia hits me almost like a drug. I've chased that same first high from those novels and I've yet to find it again, though I've discovered some amazing authors in many different genres along the way. So, what's the book that got you? Was there a novel or series that opened your eyes, grabbed your heart, or ruined you forever? Tell me about it in the comments!

Later.