Discovered science fiction when I was 8 with Judith Merril' Year's Best SF series. Never looked back.

Bob, Son of Battle
All of CS Forester's stuff, especially the Hornblower series
Farley Mowat's The Dog who wouldn't be, as well the stuff I discovered later.
Heinlein, especially his juveniles
Even though I liked him in persona, Asimov wrote too much like a professor to keep me happy. I got him to go sailing for the first and only time in his life shortly before his demise.
Sam Clemens, all of him
Joshua Slocum's compete collection of writings
The Fagles translation of the Iliad and the Odessey. It got me to read the Aeneid. Interesting contrast between the two philophies. Homer had the Gods in charge. Virgil allowed his characters a lot more freedom. No one but a fool would have voluntarily taken the path between Scylla and Charybdis. [ps, it's a real place.]

etc, etc, etc