Left Hand of Darkness surprised me, it was really good- i tried to read it years back and couldnt get past the slow politics in the beginning, but audiobook format helped. Tehanu was just stunning. I love how her books always hook me with an interesting plot, then leave me just sitting quietly, contemplating how I can be a more empathetic person. Her ability to show the value in people, even flawed ones is just amazing. I think my favorite read by her lately is The Lathe of Heaven.
You may not have convinced him, but you have totally convinced me that I need to do a deep dive into the Korean War because I knew next to nothing about what the US did there outside of the propaganda