This thread reminded me of something that I wanted to share, apologies that it's slightly off topic.
I was at a friends house about 8 years ago and she had a book lying around on the sofa. I picked it up, read the blurb and it appealed to me. She'd only just started it but said I could borrow it after she'd finished. Before she could finish this book, we fell out and didn't speak for several years. I always wanted to give the book a go, but didn't know the title, author or even any details of the plot to ask anyone about it. However, I knew that if I ever saw it again, I'd know and always scoured second hand shops and fantasy sections in the hope I'd catch it with the same cover art.
And I did, last year. I found it in a second hand book shop and knew it on sight. Reading the blurb again triggered my memory and confirmed it.
For the record, it was The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan and it was worth the wait. The rest of the trilogy had it's weak points, but overall, it was a nice change from the fantasy I'd been reading.