Le Guin, Ursula K ; A Wizard of Earthsea ; Informal Buddy read ; Starts 20 June 2018

[Deanna]

Jenny wrote: "Yes. Otak is so fun, but my two kitties might object.
I want to be able to turn into a big bird of prey at will. I have flying dreams- have had since I was a kid- and it would be so cool to actual..."

Flying would be awesome. Of course, I would probably be so excited about flying that I would lose myself to the bird the first time around and need help to change back.

[Deanna]

Jenny wrote: "I liked this. I kind of wish I had read it as a child, the wonder of it and the characters would probably have resonated more with my younger self. But, I am enchanted enough to want to read the ne..."

I would be up for a buddy read of the next book.

[Elen]

Deanna wrote: "Jenny wrote: "I liked this. I kind of wish I had read it as a child, the wonder of it and the characters would probably have resonated more with my younger self. But, I am enchanted enough to want ..."

I would like to read next book too :)

Sometime in mid-July?

[Deanna]

Elen wrote: "Deanna wrote: "Jenny wrote: "I liked this. I kind of wish I had read it as a child, the wonder of it and the characters would probably have resonated more with my younger self. But, I am enchanted ..."

I'm flexible. Whatever works for everyone else. I already have the next book.

[Jenny]

Mid-July sounds good to me. I also own the next two books.
You know the ones that are on that huge pile of "I know I will read it someday" books.

[Karen Michele]

I finished a couple of days ago and there were lots of things I loved about the book. As others have said, the idea of being able to become a bird has fascinated me since I was a child, so I loved that part and the other connections to the natural world. I was reminded as I read through some reviews and information on Shmoop that this book was written before Harry Potter and even before YA literature was actually a designation publishers and libraries used. Le Guin wanted to explore the idea of how wizards like Gandalf and Merlin got to be the wise old men they were. So, it introduced the idea of "wizard school" -- pretty cool!

[Elen]

Jenny wrote: "Mid-July sounds good to me. I also own the next two books.
You know the ones that are on that huge pile of "I know I will read it someday" books."

Same!

How about 12th July, Jenny and Deanna?

[Jenny]

Perfect.

[Rose]

Just realized I finished and forgot to post.

I really felt like it picked up from about half way to about 80% of the way through, but it kinda lost me again at the two men in a boat scenario, and then the ending felt kinda anti-climactic. I think I'm so spoiled by her later books, I'd kinda rather read another of those then continue on with this series.

[Eldarwen]

Jenny wrote: "I am a couple chapters in, and I do love the writing.
[spoilers removed]"

This is mainly what I feel as well - I have now finished chapters 1-3.

I tried reading a Le Guin book before, namely The Dispossessed and I had severe issues getting into the writing and the story. Of course that wasn't helped by the fact that I was supposed to read it for a course, so I ended up stopping after page 20ish. I've put it off for a few years now but I want to try and read it again and see if the issue was the fact that it was an obligation or the book/writing.

Aaanyway.

The writing in this flows well enough though it feels a bit too much like a bedtime narration to me. Aaand I do not like Ged. (view spoiler)[He is still young and has a lot to learn. He is not aware of the consequences of his actions or his behaviour, but I assume that in a small village without much interaction with the outside world, perspective is something he might be lacking. But he is an arrogant, spiteful boy, which is something I do not particularly like in main characters. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

I'm a bit late, but just downloaded to my kindle and keen to start :)

[Eldarwen]

Yay! :-) Glad to get some company hehe.

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

😉
I’ve read the first two chapters and I agree that it reads like a bedtime story / fable. I’m not sure what it is about the writing - maybe the short sentences and talking to the reader?
As I started chapter 3 it seemed to actually get a bit more body to it, but it’s time for bed so I didn’t get to finish the chapter ;)
Will be back in the morning to catch up on your spoilers and read a bit more of the book!

[Eldarwen]

I finished chapter 5 today.

I don't know about you, but the writing style is making it incredibly hard for me to read this fast. I feel like a total snail. Already, I don't have a lot of reading time these days, but this short a book shouldn't be taking me this long haha.

[Eldarwen]

Deanna wrote: "Finished 4-6.

The shadow - [spoilers removed]

Dragons - [spoilers removed]"


Hmm I think for the dragons (view spoiler)[Ged really did the right thing. Seems like he learnt from his mistake with the shadow. And I agree, it's odd that he would have chosen the one spell that had caused trouble before. But maybe that was also the exact reason why he chose it. Difficult spell that seemed to be feared even by someone as powerful as Ogion, so surely it must be something Jasper would not know or consider using thus increasing Ged's glory - if only it had worked to plan.

I keep picturing Yevaud as Smaug hehe. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Eldarwen wrote: "I finished chapter 5 today.

I don't know about you, but the writing style is making it incredibly hard for me to read this fast. I feel like a total snail. Already, I don't have a lot of reading ..."

Yeah. I'm struggling a bit too. Will try and catch up with you today. I just cracked chapter 4

[Eldarwen]

After chapter 5, I find the story picks up the pace - there is also a little bit of action and not just narration, wooh! ;-)

I'm hoping to get it done tomorrow.

[Eldarwen]

It definitely picks up a little after a while, but that may also have been because I knew that with each page the end was coming nearer :-p

Towards the end of chapter 7 and throughout chapter 8, Ged (view spoiler)[finally realised that yes, actions really do have consequences and they cannot be undone but must be faced no matter what the personal cost. It is a good moral to the story, and it actually makes me think even more that this is a bedtime story, not a novel. (hide spoiler)]

The ending (view spoiler)[is anti-climactic somehow. After all the travelling and hunting for the last 4 chapters, it was... well.. nothing much, to be honest. The fact that the shadow bears the same name as the actual person did not come as a surprise to me, even less so after the many times the shadow was seen passing through villages/towns in the shape of Ged himself. (hide spoiler)]

The story as such could have been interesting, but the writing made it sluggish and somewhat boring for me.

There was little dialogue and while it seems like there was a lot of description, it was missing in important places, such as interactions between characters, explanations on spells and classes. It was sort of assumed that the reader knows everything, even though that is not the case.

[Deanna]

Eldarwen wrote: "After chapter 5, I find the story picks up the pace - there is also a little bit of action and not just narration, wooh! ;-)

I'm hoping to get it done tomorrow."

This was my experience as well. The first half was fairly slow, but the last was more than interesting enough to make up for it.

[Deanna]

Eldarwen wrote: "It definitely picks up a little after a while, but that may also have been because I knew that with each page the end was coming nearer :-p

Towards the end of chapter 7 and throughout chapter 8, G..."

I agree about the ending. (view spoiler)[It was definitely anticlimatic, but it was also interesting. The shadow was really himself or at least the worst parts of himself. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Deanna wrote: "Finished 4-6.

The shadow - [spoilers removed]

Dragons - [spoilers removed]

Hunted - [spoilers removed]"


So true with the Dragons. It was a very mature thing to do (unlike many of his other choices!!)

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Eldarwen wrote: "It definitely picks up a little after a while, but that may also have been because I knew that with each page the end was coming nearer :-p

Towards the end of chapter 7 and throughout chapter 8, G..."

So I just finished chapter 7, and I'm still finding it a bit of a bore.

I do like the world and the magic, but wish I knew more about it.
The characters just seem very one dimensional to me. There is just no development happening. I was even struggling to remember names of characters other than Ged as they just flitter in and out of the story.
It is still very much like a fable to me and the story just lacks depth. I don't hate it, but if it wasn't for this buddy read I probably would have DNF it by now. Hopefully I will finish on the train today

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Eldarwen wrote: "It definitely picks up a little after a while, but that may also have been because I knew that with each page the end was coming nearer :-p

Towards the end of chapter 7 and throughout chapter 8, G..."

I finished on the train today and I agree with everything you said. The ending was quite anti-climactic

The style of this book just didn't do it for me. I prefer much more development and exploration rather than just being told what is happening.
Glad it is off the tbr, but I wouldn't read another

[Eldarwen]

Hmmm true, the fact that it was for a BR and another book to be crossed off the TBR was most of the motivation to really push through and finish. I'm not one to DNF books but I just didn't care all that much about this one. I couldn't even find it in me to really rant about it, as I do with books I dislike.

[Eldarwen]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "The style of this book just didn't do it for me. I prefer much more development and exploration rather than just being told what is happening."

Very much agreed. :-)

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Haha - so true about the ranting. There isn’t enough to consider ranting about 😉

[Jammin Jenny]

I am up through Chapter 3. I like the use of language by the author - she has a unique literary flow. So far I would give it 3 stars - I like it, but I don't love it. We'll see what happens in the next chapters.

[Jammin Jenny]

Finished the book today. I liked it but didn't love it. Gave it 3 stars.

[Jammin Jenny]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Eldarwen wrote: "It definitely picks up a little after a while, but that may also have been because I knew that with each page the end was coming nearer :-p

Towards the end of chapter 7 and throug..."

I agree - I thought I would like it much more than I did.

[Eldarwen]

Hmm, it's a bit of a shame, but I guess that's just how it goes sometimes.