I remember my earliest reading: Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden (maybe occasionally borrowing my sisters Sweet Valley books), Asterix. I remember identifying with Jo in Little Women. I devoured the Black Stallion series. And Watership Down was the first book that made me cry.
But Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey is the very first SFF book I ever read--and reading about Menolly and her Dragons was so unexplainably awesome. That book was special, and set me on a reading/writing path that make me who I am today.
Today, the books I prefer to read the most are those with a strong female protagonist. And most of the stories I write also reflect this. But on occasion I do enjoy stories with male protagonists and I have surprised myself by writing a few too.