But to respond more directly to your question instead of just sniping... I would say that The Iliad, The Martian Chronicles, The Count of Monte Cristo, Lovecraf

But to respond more directly to your question instead of just sniping... I would say that The Iliad, The Martian Chronicles, The Count of Monte Cristo, Lovecraft, The 15 Decisive Battles in the History of the World, The Stranger, Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, and... well, this list is getting mighty long. But they and a truckload of others put me on the path to literature and the pursuit of knowledge, I think.