Le Guin enjoys an honored reputation as a winner of the National Book Award, as well as of the Hugo, Nebula, Gandalf, and Kafka awards. She has produced more than 15 novels, as well as works of literary criticism, poetry, and even children's literature. In this collection of essays, organized into thematic categories (e.g., "Personal Matters," "Readings," "Discussions and Opinions," and "On Writing"), she explores a variety of subjects through personal vignettes that give insight into her values. The essays also provide perceptive literary criticism on works by a wide range of authors, from Jorge Luis Borges to Mark Twain; incisive comments on fiction vs. nonfiction; and discussion of gender, beauty, literacy, privilege, and the writer's role and character. Le Guin is invariably thoughtful; she engages and challenges her readers' minds and values while exploring her own voice and modeling good prose style. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.-Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Univ., Farmville, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Once you’re deep into genre fandom, if you’re not careful, you can wind up spending more time reading about the thing you love than actually reading the thing you love—there are certainly non-fiction books about Sherlock Holmes in print than there are Sherlock Holmes stories themselves, and no end to the number of scholarly considerations of the […]
Do you feel it? There is a tremor in the force. Science fiction and fantasy are steeped in traditions far older than Tolkien and Heinlein—going all the way back to the origins of storytelling. It’s a rich history, steeped in imagination and a desire to contemplate a future beyond our wildest dreams. But our dreams have a […]