Just want to add/second some thoughts:

• I aslo found the similarity between coding and other forms of writing. When someone says "I can only write, not read", we know it's a joke. But I've seen so many, actually maybe a majority of software engineers, who never ever read someone else's code. I always wondered how they can grow. The greatest thing of the internet and open source for software engineering is that it provides a free school that is better than that ever existed. Yet many of us fail to take advantage of it. So I appreciate the desire to read good code.
• Like reading, I believe the capability to appreciate a good style grows with time. For coding, one just needs to make enough mistakes, and even write enough bad code to be able to write good ones. It helps a lot if there is someone looking over your shoulders.
• PM is probably one of the best places to get a glimps of what some good codes look like. Like books, most examples are short, but one can get the essense.