I know this is an old thread but I’m new here and so are lots of others who could probably contribute to everybody’s reading pleasure so it can usefully be revived. (Besides, I can’t sleep right now so I may as well do something useful.)

The story so far: a thread is looking for well-written books that teach about writing. Now read on:

For writing a difficult character simply and clearly:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

For huge themes and potentially confusing science fiction ideas made clear:
Diaspora by Greg Egan

For simple moral ideas we should all be reminded of expressed in an amazing landscape, and an understanding of how to develop a series:
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency By Alexander McCall Smith (and its various sequels)

Plus, here are some bad examples who aren’t necessarily bad writers, just not to be copied: Samuel Beckett, Ernest Hemingway, Olaf Stapledon, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Martin Amis.

And here is a very good book by a very good writer which also falls into the not to be copied category:
The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro

Don’t do that, you’ll never wake up.
Spike