I picked up Codex Alera sometime after the second book was out... I know this was, in part, due to the fact that I'd enjoyed Butcher's Dresden stuff, but I feel like someone recommended them too, but now I don't know who that was.

Anyway, it's a good thing I started after there were two books out because the first one was very wobbly. Then the second book had one of my absolute favorite introduction scenes for a character ever (it was Max, of course), and I was hooked.

Which, now that I think about it, is kind of a boring way to get into a canon...