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Darko33 t1_j3wna3h wrote

I preach the gospel of Ursula le Guin to absolutely anyone who will listen, she's one of my five favorite writers but definitely the least well-known out of all of them.

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bhbhbhhh t1_j3wp531 wrote

I swear Reddit thinks everyone other than King and Rowling is unknown.

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Darko33 t1_j3wqdoa wrote

I work a white-collar job with loads of college-educated folks who read a lot in their free time, and have only been met with blank stares just about every time I have ever recommended her. It baffles me, too.

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Dopey-NipNips t1_j3y6fv8 wrote

People that read f&sf are weird

I don't know anybody who reads what I'm into. Most men I know read non fiction and women read literature, chick lit, self help

Everybody reads mysteries nobody reads fiction about post apocalyptic America.

That's my experience anyway and I ask everybody what they read

I go in 5 or 6 different houses a day and I always look for the book shelf. Nobody has anything good

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Chathtiu t1_j424jo4 wrote

I pretty much exclusively read spec fiction and nonfiction. Regular fiction and mysteries bore me to tears. There’s nothing there to titillate the mind and make me think and re-think new concepts.

I cut my teeth on Dune and Ceasar’s Column. As I matured, my tastes transitioned to The Sheep Look Up and The Culture series. In my teens, I had an entire 2 year stint where I exclusively read nuclear apocalypse fiction (Level 7 is by far my favorite in that category full of standouts). Right now, I’m taking a palate cleaner by reading Mark Kurlansky. I just finished Salt; A World History and will be moving onto The Last Fish Tale.

After that, it’s back into Scifi with Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey. I read the Ancillary series and An Empire Called Memory duology not too long ago. Based on them, I’m thinking about digging into language-oriented scifi, if that’s even a sub genre.

I’m 30f and my wife is the polar opposite. She is exclusively chick lit and Christmas lit. She loves having the post-read discussions, though, as I talk through whatever new and interesting concept from my latest read. We had a great talk about languages without gendered pronouns not too long ago.

I’ll gladly send some recommendations your way.

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Chathtiu t1_j424zoc wrote

> I swear Reddit thinks everyone other than King and Rowling is unknown.

While Guin is one of the great scifi authors, scifi is often considered a niche genre and she is an older author. Finding Guin in a modern bookstore can be a challenge.

Even finding the scifi section of any big box bookstore can be a challenge. It’s certainly the smallest section in Barnes and Noble, and has to share with high fantasy….which in turn is being overtaken by D&D and other table top gaming supplies.

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Interesting-Emu-6877 t1_j4206s7 wrote

I'm a big reader .... but never read le Guin..... where to start?

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Darko33 t1_j421nax wrote

You've got a few options!

...if you'd like to check out a novel, The Left Hand of Darkness was my first, and what got me hooked, personally. I followed that with The Lathe of Heaven.

...if you'd like to check out some of her short stories, which are stellar, I'd suggest The Unreal and the Real, a big collection.

...if you'd like to check out an essay of hers you can read in a few minutes, enjoy! https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/IntroducingMyself.html

...and if you liked that essay, two of my favorite collections of hers are No Time to Spare and Words are My Matter.

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Interesting-Emu-6877 t1_j43lhkn wrote

Read the essay.... yup... she's got it. Sent off to three friends as so thought provoking

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Darko33 t1_j43rqkb wrote

So glad you liked. She's a real gem.

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Interesting-Emu-6877 t1_j436xhl wrote

Fantastic. Will start there. I have to trust you ... my brother in law is also a Darko

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Cantstandyuh t1_j427fsf wrote

I listened to The Dispossessed in a single sitting I was so enthralled by it. Cannot recommend that book enough

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qread t1_j4cdgeo wrote

One of my favorites, too.

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