What is your favorite Le Guin book? Why? How does this one stack up?

I preferred this one to the Earthsea books, but I'm not sure I've read one I found wonderful. The Ones who walked away from Omelas is excellent and concise, so I think I'll try her short fiction next.

I've read four of her books, and I'd rank them best to last as:

The Left Hand of Darkness
The Lathe of Heaven
Lavinia
A Wizard of Earthsea

On the whole I think her sci-fi is superior to her fantasy work, but Lavinia was very solid, and did after all just win the Locus Award for best fantasy novel.

While I think the philosophy behind The Lathe of Heaven was the most thought provoking and socially relevant, ultimately The Left Hand of Darkness is my favorite because I found the writing and the narrative much more engrossing.

I really, really need to sit down with The Dispossessed one of these days, because it sounds like it could very well be my new favorite.

You say "po-tay-toe," I say "po-tah-toe."

My favorite Le Guin are the Earthsea books, especially the last two - Tales of Earthsea and The Other Wind - a fully matured, confident and skilled writer.

I also enjoy her nonfiction stuff like The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction or Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew or her translation of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu : Tao Te Ching : A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way.

I would like to read more of her Earthsea books, though I've generally been told that The Tombs of Atuan was the best of them.

The Earthsea books and Lathe of Heaven are my favorites by Le Guin. I want to read Lavina. I thought Left Hand of Darkness was okay.

Dispossessed and Left Hand of Darkness are my faves. The former because Shevek is one of the great characters in all sci-fi, and the latter for its scope and originality.

I loved Lathe of Heaven and The Dispossessed, but some of my favorites are her short stories. Changing Planes is one of my favorites. The Birthday of the World And Other Stories is also excellent. Does anyone have a link to or know the order that the Earthsea books should be read in? I often have this problem. I want to read them, but at the library it's impossible to tell which book comes first, and I walk away with something else.

The official Earthsea reading order is:

A Wizard of Earthsea
The Tombs of Atuan
The Farthest Shore
Tehanu
Tales from Earthsea
The Other Wind

I absolutely loved the Dispossesed. I reccomend that one to anyone interested in her. She did a lot of great work with it.

Well, Brad said it for me, books and reasons. In The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness, LeGuin has pondered topics dear to my heart, and brought them out in ways that both companion my thoughts/feelings and give them a new twist.

The Lathe of Heaven has always been my favorite by her. It was so good, even Hollywood couldn't ruin it.

Greyweather wrote: "The official Earthsea reading order is:

A Wizard of Earthsea
The Tombs of Atuan
The Farthest Shore
Tehanu
Tales from Earthsea
The Other Wind"

Thanks, Greyweather! When I read the books, only three were out. I'll have go back and read the whole series. The Tombs of Atuan still gives me shudders.

This is my list

The Left Hand of Darkness
The Dispossessed
Orsinian Tales
The name of the World is Forest
A Wizard of Earthsea
Rocanons World
The Begining Place
Malafrena
The Eye of the Heron

I still think wizard of Earthsea is my favorite - might have something to do with it being my first.

I'll put in a vote for LeGuin's translation of the Tao Te Ching. It's Incredibly different from other translations, and that makes it fun to compare. Example: the last 3 lines of number 33 in the Cleary translation of 1991:

"Those who act strongly have will
Those who do not lose their place endure
Those who die without perishing live long”

These same lines in LeGuin's translation:

"Boldly pushing forward takes resolution.
Staying put keeps you in position.

To live till you die
Is to live long enough.”

My own opinion is that she is purposefully pushing foreward the idea of ambiguity. How do you close this little poem? 3 lines or four lines? What line acts as a consequent to what line? How do you breathe these words?

Has anyone finished Powers? I saw it just won the Nebula and decided to give it a whirl. I wanted to finish the first two books first, though, and just finished Gifts a couple days ago.

Just curious how these books rank with her other greats.

My favorite book in the Hainish series was The Dispossessed, but Left Hand of Darkness was a close second. My favorite of all her books was Always Coming Home, which took a while to get into, but was worth it. A memorable book.

Wizard of Earthsea. I loved that book.

Wizard of Earthsea. No contest. But I liked the rest of thee series too. Haven't read Lavinia yet, but I want to - I'm a Latin teacher and I teach the Aeneid, so it interests me professionally as well as personally.

Ursula Le Guin is one of my favorite authors to begin with but, I loved the short story "Semly's Necklace". Also love Always Coming Home, such a lovely novel. And definately The Tombs of Atuan was my favorite Earthsea book.

I also loved "Semly's Necklace." It makes a great lead off story in the collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters, which also contains the story "Winter's King" set on the same world of Winter as LHOD.

The Dispossessed and Always Coming Home.