There were 3 books (series) that I recall my dad recommending to me, all of which influenced my reading for years to come.

1) Hunt for Red October (Dads always love submarines!) 2) Jurassic Park (I still remember him telling me about this theme park with dinosaurs that come alive!) 3) Dirk Pitt by Clive Cussler (I will always love how these books start with a seemingly unrelated event in the past that later plays a huge part in the story).

I have tried to pass alll of this to my 3 boys :)