There is only one possible author for today’s article and that is Ursula K. Le Guin. Her books are from my childhood and so many other people’s childhoods. We’re talking the Earthsea Quartet and you can see the first book, The Wizard of Earthsea, in this photo. And then we’re talking Rocannon’s World and The Left Hand of Darkness (as it talks about a people who can change gender it’s a good book for those looking at doing this in real life) and we’re also talking The Word For World is Forest.

I remember reading The Wizard of Earthsea as a child and was overcome by the darkness of it. The idea that one can have a great power, misuse it before learning enough to take charge was a powerful idea to me but I remember so much darkness in the book, I read it again a few years ago and found I’d missed so, so much. I suspect I was far too young the first time and just didn’t understand.

When I read The Word for World is Forest I was so overcome by the ideas within this book that I was a complete convert to Le Guin’s writing and would give much to meet her and just talk about nothing in particular but I suspect that may never happen. I browsed her FAQ page and under the question of “Can I Email You?” is the answer “Please don’t.”

My favourite book of hers is actually Rocannon’s World. This is world building at its most basic, she’s taken a world and shows us not just the individual characters but also the types of people and in one short book creates a world in my mind that can never go away. I also have great affection for the character Rocannon and also for Semley who took on the Gods in order to get her necklace, the price was high and she paid as she had no choice.

I’m including photos of both Catwings and Catwings Return as they’re lovely books and aimed at younger readers. They’re about cats with wings, not at all science fiction but young people are bound to love them.

I could spend some time telling you how Le Guin leads by example, not just with her writing, she has been a big influence on so many writers including Salmon Rushdie and Neil Gaiman but with herself. In 2009 she resigned from the Authors Guild who weren’t protesting about Google Books digitisation, this is a quote from her letter which I’ve pinched from Wikipedia.

“There are principles involved, above all the whole concept of copyright; and these you have seen fit to abandon to a corporation, on their terms, without a struggle.

You can’t help admiring someone like that.