4 ms·
[Speaking as someone who takes a lot of random book recommendations from side discussions on this site…] If, like me, you're aware of how prolific¹ she was but
by JNRowe 7y ago
[Speaking as someone who takes a lot of random book recommendations from side discussions on this site…]
If, like me, you're aware of how prolific¹ she was but have yet to dip in, where would you start?
Edit: Thanks! Looks like The Left Hand Of Darkness wins so far.
1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin_bibliography https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin_bibliograp...
- steerpike 7y agoI would almost certainly start with 'The Wizard of Earthsea'. Incredibly approachable and likely her most influential work. Plus Ged is awesome.
- ClearAndPresent 7y agoThe Left Hand Of Darkness managed to be both groundbreaking and popular. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness
- e12e 7y agoNot disagreeing with any of the sibling comments - but imnho her latest series "Annals of the Western Shore": "Gifts", "Voices" and "Powers" is also worth mentioning.
- DantesKite 7y agoOn a side note, I noticed some of the best book "choices" I've made came when I was able to read a couple snippets. Just enough to get my curiosity going. It would be cool if Amazon released some of the most highlighted passages for some of these stories. I feel like it would do more for discoverability than just recommending book titles.
- JNRowe 7y agoYeah, I'd like to see some improvement too. Simply asking strangers who you think may be like you feels weak. My favourite weird recommendation was The 2020 Commission Report¹. I watched a guy miss his stop on the train home because his thoughts were so taken by it. Seemed like a good enough reason to pick it up ;) 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_2020_Commission_Report_on_the_North_Korean_Nuclear_Attacks_Against_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_2020_Commission_Report_o...
- DantesKite 7y agoOhh. Thanks for the recommendation. Just reading about the Wikipedia article had me entranced.
- vector_spaces 7y agoThat's a cool idea for a browser extension -- pull quotes off Wikiquote and inject them into the item listing
- saucymew 7y agoDepends on your speed. If you want a slow but epic burn, Left Hand of Darkness. Something faster action novella, Lathe of Heaven. And the OG Harry Potter tale, Earthsea series. It won’t be time wasted with any of these.
- viburnum 7y ago"The Left Hand Of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed" are great back-to-back.
- peterhj 7y agoHer short story collections are quite accessible. If you want to dive into the Hainish cycle, _Four Ways to Forgiveness. Or for a mostly Hainish but more diverse set of stories, _The Wind's Twelve Quarters_.
- Chathamization 7y agoI've only read her first three Earthsea books and some of her short stories, but The Wizard of Earthsea had a big impact on me. Also, one short story of hers that I really like is available online: http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-island-of-the-immortals/ http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-island-of-the-...
- wwright 7y agoI love The Left Hand of Darkness, but I think it’s definitely a slow burn, for what it is worth. It is worth sticking with it, though :)
- domdib 7y agoIf you want to get a sense of her mature utopian and anthropological thinking, then read "Always Coming Home". It's not a conventional novel but more of a series of observations on a post-apocalyptic society in California. The framing device is of an anthropological investigator from another time/place interviewing people in the society or hearing their stories and poetry (she also wrote good poetry). It even has accompanying music which she collaborated on with Todd Barton.