Ursula Le Guin has passed away at age 88

[Nonny]

Ursula K. Le Guin, a longtime Portland resident who influenced a generation of writers worldwide and whose name became synonymous with superlative speculative fiction, died Monday at her Portland home. She was 88.


www.oregonlive.com/books/index.ssf/2018/01/ursula_le_guin_dies.html

[ufcasey]

I had requested that my library get a digital copy of "The Left Hand of Darkness" and received a notification today that they now have it and I'm on the wait list for it. I haven't read any of her books yet. Always sad when an author passes away, it's like they are taking whole imaginary worlds away with them if they are fiction writers.

[ufcasey]

And I just realized that book is actually #6 in a series. Whoops. Any recommendations for books by the author which doesn't require reading other books first?

[Nonny]

Jan 24, 2018 10:27:32 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

And I just realized that book is actually #6 in a series. Whoops. Any recommendations for books by the author which doesn't require reading other books first?

I don't think you actually need to read the other books in the series to read and appreciate The Left Hand of Darkness - it's actually the only book of hers that I read, and it seemed stand alone to me.

I would liken it to how you might have a bigger appreciation for The Stand or IT if you've read Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, since they are all part of a larger, interconnected world, but it's not like reading Harry Potter where if you jumped in at book 5 you wouldn't have all the necessary backstory.