This tripped a memory. When I was 8, I always took 2001 A Space Odyssey to school. I couldn't really read it, or understand it, that is. I loved the cover, I knew it held magic, and it was my comfort item that I had. My teacher saw me with it, knew it was a bit too much for me, and gave me The White Mountains, the first book in the Tripods trilogy. I guess it's considered a classic, so not obscure really, but that got me started into the magic of reading. To this day, I still have a special place in my heart for that series and that teacher. And I loved 2001 when I finally was mature enough to read it.