Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's  Tales from Earthsea. The Short of It Plot:  A collection of short stories which flesh out the history of Earthsea. Page Count:  296 Award:  None, but is preceded and followed by award winners. Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass. Technobabble:  Nah. Review:  Does for Earthsea what the Silmarillion does for Middle Earth, but does not require the same level of buy in. Mileage may vary for each story. Le Guin successfully creates short, compelling vignettes, which illuminate aspects of her world - without sacrificing character or plot. Nice to see Ged doing his thing again. Probably my favorite of the post-trilogy Earthsea  books. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! The way one does research into nonexistent history is to tell the story and find out what happened. I believe this isn’t very different from what historians of the so-calle...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's  Tehanu. The Short of It Plot:  Rejecting a life in court, Tenar settles down to be a farmer's wife. When she takes an abused girl as her ward, she sparks the ire of powerful enemies. Page Count:  289 Award:  1990 Nebula Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass. A++++++ Technobabble:  Nah. Review:  A very different Earthsea. Fresh characters and a more intimate setting offer a much clearer image of day to day life, while background rumblings from those in power herald big changes. Excellent characterization all around, including of villains. Le Guin's writing is excellent, as always. Plot is mostly characters reacting to situations beyond their control - but characters are compelling and writing is crisp enough that it works. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! When I first read this book I was probably in fifth grade - and I hated it. Why shi...

Hello, Stranger. And an extra hello and thank you to the person who donated money a couple days ago! You are awesome. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's  Earthsea Trilogy. The Short of It Plot: Ged's journey from a young man through to a powerful wizard. Page Count:      A Wizard of Earthsea: 205     The Tombs of Atuan: 180     The Farthest Shore: 259 Award: Books four and five won awards Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Some fantasy babble Review:  A remarkable trilogy. Each short book packs a punch. Excellent character development over all three books. Short enough that pacing is quick but thoughtful. World is intriguing and a careful balance is found of showing enough to inform but not so much that things are not mysterious. Le Guin is an excellent writer, and it shows. Superb atmosphere woven through an intriguing world. Somehow all three book...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's  The Dispossessed. The Short of It Plot: For the first time in nearly 200 years a divided, militaristic, capitalist world will receive a visitor from its moon: an anarchist utopia. Page Count: 387 Award:  1974 Nebula, 1975 Hugo and 1975 Locus Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Moderate to high; frequently plot relevant. Review:  An enjoyable exploration of what society could be. Oft subtitled (quite fittingly) "An Ambiguous Utopia." Excellent world building - the joys and perils of anarchism. Definitely not subtle as advocacy for anarchism. Plot and characters both decent, but mostly used to show the world - a lot of monologues.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! I hope you're not in the mood for a subtle suggestion that capitalism begets violence, because you will not find that here. And if you wish to find something that implies t...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's  The Lathe of Heaven. The Short of It Plot: George Orr's dreams have a bad habit of altering reality. Page Count: 175 Award:  1972 Locus Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  Minimal. Review:  A surprising treat. Kept going wondering what would change next - and how things would go wrong. Excellent implementation of the Monkey's Paw. Attention to detail is amazing. Story went in all sorts of directions that I did not see coming - but enjoyed the heck out of it all. Highly recommend - packs quite a punch for so short a tale. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! The simplicity of this book is what makes it so remarkable. Some of George Orr's dreams change reality.  That's it. That's the plot. It is executed in a no-frills fashion that keeps pace quick and scenes interesting. Every detail of surroundings becomes noteworthy - was that pictu...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. The Short of It Plot:  A single Envoy is sent to bring the lost colony planet of Winter, where everyone is ambisexual, into the interplanetary federation.  Page Count: 304 Award:  1970 Hugo and 1969 Nebula Worth a read : Yes. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass* *This is way above my pay grade  Technobabble:  Minimal Review:  Not every moment of this book is exciting or engaging; obstacles just happen from time to time. However, world building is superb, well considered, and deftly written - remarkable. Character interaction is believable and very human. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! The first time I read this it was assigned reading in high school, and I hated every second of it. I feared having the same response now, to add to the pitchfork- and torch-wielding mob that appeared when I said that I didn't like Stranger in a Strange...