The Culture universe is my favorite sci fi universe besides The Expanse.
https://www.tor.com/2017/11/24/the-r...ulture-novels/
But embarrassingly enough it was a video game that got me into space adventure. Back when I was a Call of Duty type FPS gamer a friend recommended me it. Years later I got tired of military shooters and decided to pick up a cheap copy of Mass Effect 1 at GameStop for the hell of it. I immediately fell in love with the game's universe, story, and characters. It was the first video game I played that had a story that was compelling.
Immediately after finishing it I went to my local Barnes & Noble and picked up a few Expanse and Culture novels.