I like RAH. Yes, I did read him when I was young - starting with Podkayne of Mars (which I liked even more upon rereading the uncut version recently) - but I think he holds up pretty well as long as you remember to adjust your expectations for his bizarre worldview. I also like Stranger and the Lazarus Long books - Time Enough For Love, The Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, and To Sail Beyond the Sunset. I just think LL is a really great character, funny, amoral and interesting, and I like spending "time" with him. For some reason Friday also sticks in my mind, even though I didn't even like it that much and was utterly appalled by its twisted sexual mores, but I might just be remembering it more for the porny cover than anything else. The Rolling Stones and Glory Road were both pretty boring for RAH. Have not read "The Green Hills of Earth" but now I want to. Did recently read Expanded Universe which is a collection of short stories and nonfiction from the 30's through the 70's with annotations from Heinlein. Some of them were relatively crappy but it was interesting to see the evolution of his thinking/writing over 40 years. Even when I disagree with him politically, I do think he was a pretty smart man, and I liked his apocalypse preparedness tips.

Here is a site listing all of his readily available published works.

ETA if you want to be able to discuss Heinlein in educated company, you should at least read Stranger. The others all have their devotees and critics but are not as universally known as Stranger and Moon.

I always thought Stranger was overrated - good in parts, but he did not really know what to do with it. Moon is my favorite of all his works. Personal opinion of course - plenty who loved Stranger. But I pretty much hated all of his later work - including Fear No Evil, Job, Time Enough For Love, Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Number of the Beast.

Speaking of Number of the Beast... I can't believe all this evil was just sitting around. I had to pick it up before someone got hurt.

One should never talk of Number Of The Beast.

How did you Heinlen-likers get past the silly stoopid gurls?

One should never talk of Number Of The Beast.

Ah. Sorry. It was thing. (Honestly not familiar with the book at all.)

How did you Heinlen-likers get past the silly stoopid gurls?

My friend the major Heinlein fan simply acknowledges it as a flaw in RAH's writing and ignores it. (shrugs) As I said, I haven't read enough, and none in the last 5 years or so, to really make an opinion on the subject.

Yeah, I'd say that's more or less how I do it - it's the same way with the libertarianism. When I read him I go into it knowing that he has wacky ideas about women and politics, so it doesn't bother me. Plus, I like his dialogue and story-telling, so I get swept up in the story and don't worry about the stoopidity.

ETA an explanatory 'it's'

EETA I still like Number of the Beast

I read NotB twice, because I didn't believe I could have hated it that much the first time.

I'm not very bright.

I felt slightly guilty when I found out his stroke affected the book, but unless everyone along the chain also suffered a stroke, there's no excuse for that imbroglio.

Apparently it is one of those polarizing books. There's an amusing review on Amazon of it:

It is simultaneously clever and silly and complex and stupid.

See, that sounds like perfect Buffista material!

[snip]

The banter is somewhat reminicent [sic] of that of Dawson's Creek and Gilmore Girls (not watched by choice) - sometimes unrealistically witty. In Heinlein's defense, his four main characters are educated geniuses, not high-school students.

hee.

What's the premise, ita? Is it about silly gurls who flirt with totalitarian regimes so the menfolk can start a revolution, marry their cousins, and call the town Shelbyville?