
The Wave in the Mind
Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination
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Narrated by:
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Christina Moore
About this listen
Join Ursula K. Le Guin as she explores a broad array of subjects, ranging from Tolstoy, Twain, and Tolkien to women's shoes, beauty, and family life. With her customary wit, intelligence, and literary craftsmanship, she offers a diverse and highly engaging set of stories.
The Wave in the Mind includes some of Le Guin's finest literary criticism, rare autobiographical writings, performance-art pieces, and most centrally, her reflections on the arts of writing and reading.
©2004 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2018 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Great story!
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-
-
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-
-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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-
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- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Victoria on a former prison colony, two exiled groups - the farmers of Shantih and the city dwellers - live in apparent harmony. All is not as it seems, however. While the peace-loving farmers labor endlessly to provide food for the city, the city bosses rule the Shantih with an iron fist. When a group of farmers decide to form a new settlement further away, the bosses retaliate by threatening to crush the "rebellion".
-
-
Great story!
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-
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Performance
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In a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophes, George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams have the ability to alter reality. He seeks help from Dr. William Haber, a psychiatrist who immediately grasps the power George wields. Soon George must preserve reality itself as Dr. Haber becomes adept at manipulating George's dreams for his own purposes.
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Amazing!
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Not my favorite Le Guin collection, but...
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The Wind's Twelve Quarters
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, and the Pushcart Prize, Ursula K. Le Guin is renowned for her lyrical writing, rich characters, and diverse worlds. The Wind's Twelve Quarters collects 17 powerful stories, each with an introduction by the author, ranging from fantasy to intriguing scientific concepts, from medieval settings to the future.
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Follow the development of U K Leguin through well chosen short stories.
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Always Coming Home
- A Novel
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Always Coming Home is Ursula K. Le Guin’s fictional ethnography of the Kesh, a people of the far future living in a post-apocalyptic Napa Valley. Having survived ecological catastrophe brought on by relentless industrialization, the Kesh are a peaceful people who reject governance and the constriction of genders, limit population growth to prevent overcrowding and preserve resources, and maintain a healthy community in which everyone works to contribute to its well-being. This richly imagined story unfolds through a series of narrated “translations” that illuminate individual lives.
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A favorite Ursula K. Le Guin
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Worlds of Exile and Illusion
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Three remarkable journeys into the stars: Worlds of Exile and Illusion includes Rocannon's World, Planet of Exile, and City of Illusions. These three spacefaring adventures mark the beginning of grand master Ursula K. Le Guin’s remarkable career. Set in the same universe as Le Guin’s groundbreaking classics The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, these first three books of the celebrated Hainish series follow travelers of many worlds and civilizations in the depths of space.
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Well and Beautifully Told
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A Wizard of Earthsea
- The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1
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- Narrated by: Rob Inglis
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Sparrowhawk casts a spell that saves his village from destruction at the hands of the invading Kargs, Ogion, the Mage of Re Albi, encourages the boy to apprentice himself in the art of wizardry. So, at the age of 13, the boy receives his true name - Ged - and gives himself over to the gentle tutelage of the Master Ogion. But impatient with the slowness of his studies and infatuated with glory, Ged embarks for the Island of Roke, where the highest arts of wizardry are taught.
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A little gem, excellently narrated.
- By Marjorie on 05-14-12
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Lavinia
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Highly acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin lends a resonant voice to a pivotal yet often overlooked character of Vergil's The Aeneid. Born into peace and freedom, Lavinia is stunned to learn that she will be the cause of a great war - or so the prophecies and omens claim. Her fate is sealed, however, when she meets a man from Troy.
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Fascinatingly well written
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The Complete Earthsea Series & The Left Hand of Darkness
- 3 BBC Radio Full Cast Dramatisations
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: full cast, Toby Jones, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Ursula K. Le Guin was one of the most revered and influential writers of the 20th century. Her Earthsea books have sold millions of copies and been translated into numerous languages, while her trailblazing novel The Left Hand of Darkness was a landmark in feminist science fiction and ranks among the greatest SF novels of all time. This BBC collection brings together the magical radio retellings of both these seminal classics.
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Too much fluff and interruptions.
- By KDSC on 01-20-22
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The Unreal and the Real
- Selected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin, Volume One: Where on Earth
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- Narrated by: Tandy Cronyn
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- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Unreal and the Real is a major event not to be missed. In this two-volume selection of Ursula K. Le Guin's best short stories--as selected by the National Book Award winning author herself--the reader will be delighted, provoked, amused, and faced with the sharp, satirical voice of one of the best short story writers of the present day. Where on Earth explores Le Guin's earthbound stories which range around the world, from small town Oregon to middle Europe in the middle of revolution to summer camp.
-
-
Shame on you, Audible
- By Audrey McCombs on 07-03-20
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The Beginning Place
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Rob Inglis
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Tembreabrezi is like Eden - a beginning place. There, Hugh and Irena assume they have merely discovered an escape from the dull monotony, even the terrors of their regular lives. But Tembreabrezi has a secret, a dark fear that is threatening the very life-blood of the kingdom. Hugh and Irena were led there for a purpose, selected for an impossibly hopeless mission. If they accept the challenge, they may lose everything - their new-found paradise, and possibly their lives.
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Really needed an editor and some clear point
- By starling01 on 03-09-21
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The Silmarillion
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: Martin Shaw
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
The complete unabridged audiobook of J.R.R Tolkien's The Silmarillion. The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part.
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Finally!
- By Brian on 11-22-18
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
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The Tibetan Book of the Dead for Beginners
- A Guide to Living and Dying
- By: Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Mordy Levine
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Through countless editions and across centuries, The Tibetan Book of the Dead has drawn people intrigued by the Tibetan Buddhist view of the end of life. In a world that often ignores death or hides it from view, Tibetan Buddhists acknowledge it as the last of a countless series of endings in this lifetime. And after each ending comes a new beginning. The Tibetan Book of the Dead for Beginners draws on this timeless wisdom to help listeners today live with more joy and approach the end with more ease.
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great as summary or starter
- By M Smith on 12-22-23
By: Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, and others
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chapter names
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Overall
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-
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- A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Ursula K. Le Guin
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- Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Alyssa Bresnahan
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Overall
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-
-
Well and Beautifully Told
- By K.E.H. on 04-07-25
-
The Unreal and the Real
- Selected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin, Volume One: Where on Earth
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Tandy Cronyn
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Unreal and the Real is a major event not to be missed. In this two-volume selection of Ursula K. Le Guin's best short stories--as selected by the National Book Award winning author herself--the reader will be delighted, provoked, amused, and faced with the sharp, satirical voice of one of the best short story writers of the present day. Where on Earth explores Le Guin's earthbound stories which range around the world, from small town Oregon to middle Europe in the middle of revolution to summer camp.
-
-
Shame on you, Audible
- By Audrey McCombs on 07-03-20
-
Words Are My Matter
- Writings About Life and Books, 2000-2016, with a Journal of a Writer’s Week
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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-
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- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Tandy Cronyn
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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chapter names
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- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Jefferson Mays
- Length: 34 hrs and 3 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Every novella by Ursula K. Le Guin, an icon in American literature, collected for the first time - and introduced by the legendary author - in one breathtaking volume. Ursula K. Le Guin has won multiple prizes and accolades, from the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to the Newbery Honor, Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, and PEN/Malamud awards. She has had her work collected over the years but never as a complete retrospective of her longer works.
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You gotta be kidding me.
- By Spam on 07-02-19
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Dancing at the Edge of the World
- Thoughts on Words, Women, Places
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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From modern literature to menopause, from utopian thought to rodeos - in this classic collection of essays, Ursula K. Le Guin roves with her customary audacity over the intersecting arenas of literature, feminism, and social responsibility, exploding any received notions she comes across and revealing visionary possibilities in their stead.
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Not my favorite Le Guin collection, but...
- By Cameron on 05-11-19
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The Eye of the Heron
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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In Victoria on a former prison colony, two exiled groups - the farmers of Shantih and the city dwellers - live in apparent harmony. All is not as it seems, however. While the peace-loving farmers labor endlessly to provide food for the city, the city bosses rule the Shantih with an iron fist. When a group of farmers decide to form a new settlement further away, the bosses retaliate by threatening to crush the "rebellion".
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Great story!
- By trailtrekkie on 02-24-20
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The Language of the Night
- Essays on Writing, Science Fiction, and Fantasy
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Michael Crouch
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Le Guin’s sharp and witty voice is on full display in this collection of twenty-four essays, revised by the author a decade after its initial publication in 1979. The collection covers a wide range of topics and Le Guin’s origins as a writer, her advocacy for science fiction and fantasy as mediums for true literary exploration, the writing of her own major works such as A Wizard of Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness, and her role as a public intellectual and educator.
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The Complete Earthsea Series & The Left Hand of Darkness
- 3 BBC Radio Full Cast Dramatisations
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: full cast, Toby Jones, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Original Recording
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Ursula K. Le Guin was one of the most revered and influential writers of the 20th century. Her Earthsea books have sold millions of copies and been translated into numerous languages, while her trailblazing novel The Left Hand of Darkness was a landmark in feminist science fiction and ranks among the greatest SF novels of all time. This BBC collection brings together the magical radio retellings of both these seminal classics.
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Too much fluff and interruptions.
- By KDSC on 01-20-22
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Always Coming Home
- A Novel
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi, Isabella Star LeBlanc
- Length: 23 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Always Coming Home is Ursula K. Le Guin’s fictional ethnography of the Kesh, a people of the far future living in a post-apocalyptic Napa Valley. Having survived ecological catastrophe brought on by relentless industrialization, the Kesh are a peaceful people who reject governance and the constriction of genders, limit population growth to prevent overcrowding and preserve resources, and maintain a healthy community in which everyone works to contribute to its well-being. This richly imagined story unfolds through a series of narrated “translations” that illuminate individual lives.
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A favorite Ursula K. Le Guin
- By Michael on 03-30-24
What listeners say about The Wave in the Mind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jonathan Allmen
- 08-12-19
Essential Reading
This woman was a rare genius. Very generous of her to write so many surprisingly accurate ideas.
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9 people found this helpful
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- MSB
- 02-12-21
Thoughtful, literate, intelligent, heartfelt
The essays in this book are interesting, surprising, and thought-provoking. The inquiring mind, disciplined thinking, and mastery of words possessed by the author come through clearly.
The narrator is perfectly suited to the material. Her phrasing and intonation fit the complex sentence structure and discursive narrative of the essays perfectly.
HEY AUDIBLE: YOU NEED MORE NARRATORS LIKE THIS. I HAVE PURCHASED (AND IN TWO CASES RETURNED) BOOKS WHERE A LARGE PART OF THE PROBLEM WAS NARRATORS WHO HAD NO IDEA WHERE SENTENCES STARTED OR STOPPED, OR HOW THEY FLOWED. IF THEY CAN'T READ THE MATERIAL PROPERLY, WHY ARE YOU PAYING THEM?
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9 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-31-20
chapter titles
Personal matters --
Introducing myself --
Being taken for granite --
Indian uncles --
My libraries --
My island --
On the frontier --
Readings --
All happy families --
Things not actually present: On the book of fantasy and J.L. Borges --
Reading young, reading old: Mark Twain's diaries of Adam and Eve --
Thinking about Cordwainer Smith --
Stress-rhythm in poetry and prose --
Rhythmic pattern in The Lord of the rings --
The wilderness within: The sleeping beauty and "the poacher" --
Off the page: loud cows: a talk and a poem about reading aloud --
Discussions and opinions --
Fact and/or/plus fiction --
Award and gender --
On genetic determinism --
About feet --
Dogs, cats, and dancers: thoughts about beauty --
Collectors, rhymesters, and drummers --
Telling is listening --
The operating instructions --
"A war without end" --
On writing --
A matter of trust --
The writer and the character --
Unquestioned assumptions --
Prides: an essay on writing workshops --
The question I get asked most often --
Old body not writing --
The writer on, and at, her work.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Lizardectomy
- 10-13-20
Food for thought, music for ears
I listen to these recorded essays over and over again. Zenlike, invigorating, clever and profound.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Lex
- 07-13-19
Honest and deeply beautiful
This collection truly touched and inspired me. It made me feel a little less alone in this world. I trust her writing, and now I’m a little less scared of Dragons.
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13 people found this helpful
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- Morris Nelms
- 12-02-21
Ursula K. Le Guin sounds off
There is plenty to engage any reader in this book. She tackles a wide range of subjects with sharp humor and perception. A great iconoclast. The narrator does a fine job.
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