If we're talking about fiction, my own short list of favorite novels would have Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (and Emma, but that's more satirical and thus has a narrower appeal), Rudyard Kipling's Kim, Dorothy Sayers's Gaudy Night, J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and Donald M. Kingsbury's Courtship Rite. I also share your appreciation for Robert Heinlein's juveniles, which I think show him at the height of his powers, though the first, Rocket Ship Galileo, and the intended last, Starship Troopers, are both weaker books. I used to be very fond of Austin Tappen Wright's Islandia; I need to reread it and see if I still like it as much.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment is an equally substantial work, but a bit slower going and not such a delight to read.
I have Sayers's The Mind of the Maker, and share your liking for it. If you want another book on Christianity, take a look at Charles Williams's The Descent of the Dove, which I find more worthwhile than any of C. S. Lewis's efforts, partly because he's not trying to persuade me of anything but showing me how things look to him.
I do like "Pride and Prejudice", though I have to say I'm perplexed by how it got quite as famous as it has. And yes, "Kim" is very good. I've heard very good things about "Crime and Punishment too; it's on my To Read list.
I read "Descent of the Dove" a while back; I thought it was weird but interesting - much like Williams' fiction that I've read. He wasn't afraid of sharing his opinions, though as you say he wasn't really trying to persuade the reader. It might be good to reread sometime.
If we're talking about fiction, my own short list of favorite novels would have Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (and Emma, but that's more satirical and thus has a narrower appeal), Rudyard Kipling's Kim, Dorothy Sayers's Gaudy Night, J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and Donald M. Kingsbury's Courtship Rite. I also share your appreciation for Robert Heinlein's juveniles, which I think show him at the height of his powers, though the first, Rocket Ship Galileo, and the intended last, Starship Troopers, are both weaker books. I used to be very fond of Austin Tappen Wright's Islandia; I need to reread it and see if I still like it as much.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment is an equally substantial work, but a bit slower going and not such a delight to read.
I have Sayers's The Mind of the Maker, and share your liking for it. If you want another book on Christianity, take a look at Charles Williams's The Descent of the Dove, which I find more worthwhile than any of C. S. Lewis's efforts, partly because he's not trying to persuade me of anything but showing me how things look to him.
I do like "Pride and Prejudice", though I have to say I'm perplexed by how it got quite as famous as it has. And yes, "Kim" is very good. I've heard very good things about "Crime and Punishment too; it's on my To Read list.
I read "Descent of the Dove" a while back; I thought it was weird but interesting - much like Williams' fiction that I've read. He wasn't afraid of sharing his opinions, though as you say he wasn't really trying to persuade the reader. It might be good to reread sometime.