Ursula K. Le Guin died today (Monday) at 88. The author of the Earthsea novels, The Dispossessed, The Left Hand of Darkness and many others, she was and remains among the brightest stars in the sky of fantasy literature. The New York Times obituary notes, in part:
Ursula K. Le Guin, the immensely popular author who brought literary depth and a tough-minded feminist sensibility to science fiction and fantasy with books like “The Left Hand of Darkness” and the Earthsea series, died on Monday at her home in Portland, Ore. …
Ms. Le Guin embraced the standard themes of her chosen genres: sorcery and dragons, spaceships and planetary conflict. But even when her protagonists are male, they avoid the macho posturing of so many science fiction and fantasy heroes. The conflicts they face are typically rooted in a clash of cultures and resolved more by conciliation and self-sacrifice than by swordplay or space battles.
Bindlestiff carries most of her fiction, two volumes of her poetry, three volumes of essays, several books she wrote for children and young adults, and a translation of a Spanish-language novel (in the magical realism tradition) that she edited. We also have several copies of a slipcased 2-volume edition of her collected novellas and short stories – enough to keep even the swiftest reader engrossed for weeks…
The second dollar stroll of the year will be Thursday, Sept. 7, from 5:30 pm to 8. We will be tabling with a selection of new adult and children’s books reduced for the evening to $1, and the store will be open late as well.