Welcome to Litsy!

#OminousOctober Day 27: #Leaves

With a very fitting title, this book comprises three conversations on writing as a craft with Ursula K Le Guin, right at the end of her life. It didn‘t knock my socks off, but I did enjoy, especially her sly humor.

Not included: the sound of the sea.

Found this gem and took it for a walk to read in the breezy sunshine. Delightful.

I can‘t resist nice letter writing things. Looking forward to a year ahead of interesting, exciting bookish letters in the mail . Thank you to everyone in the #jb group, it‘s been an amazing year of connections. 💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Essentially a conversation in three parts (fiction, poetry, non fiction) between Ursula K. Le Guin and David Naimon. This is really an amuse-bouche of a book, a taste of Le Guin's formidable intellect and opinions on a wide-range of topics. It has lead me to add books to my TBR list, particularly Le Guin's own book on reading and writing called Words Are My Matter which I hope will flesh out topics that are touched on too briefly here.

This is a short book of interview transcripts with Le Guin on the topics of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. The manuscript was still being edited when she passed. The interview questions for fiction were mostly framed around the material she covered in her book Steering the Craft. The poetry discussion was interesting. The non-fiction discussion, that's where the magic is, folks, all 20 or so glorious pages of it. I didn't want it to end.

Quick, interesting read which includes some excerpts from Le Guin‘s writing, the funniest of which is titled “On Serious Literature” and is about the death and resurrection of genre fiction.

This was actually the book I was looking for when I bought that other book of essays the other day. I found this on in an independent bookstore today.

I‘d already listened to all three of the Between the Covers episodes that formed the basis of this book, but not only was it a real pleasure to revisit those conversations in written form, but the book adds some nice additional dimensions. The book as object is beautiful, feeling simultaneously contemporary and classic. And I enjoyed the introductions David added to introduce each section, which provided context and deepened the experience.

This is a great way to open a book.

Up next

This little gem came as an extra in the recent @Powells #indiespensable box 📦 (which keeps getting better and better)! UKL‘s candor, intelligence, and humor made me want to add all of her books to my #TBR list 🤓📚

This is a wonderful little volume that includes conversations on fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. It also includes quotes from Le Guin's work. It's a feast for the mind and really makes me want to dive again into Le Guin's book Steering the Craft. #writersoflitsy

I listened to David Naimon‘s last conversation with Ursula only just a month or so ago and then I found this lovely little book at Foyles on the recent Litsy Meet up.

It‘s lovely to have a transcript of UKL‘s conversations with David Naimon. Excerpts of most of the works mentioned (whether UKL‘s or others‘) are included, which is a really lovely touch. I will definitely go back and listen to the other interviews too.

The London Litsy Meetup yesterday made me totally blow it on my book buying ban!! #MountTBR progress is also taking a hit, because I started the tagged book yesterday on the way home to Buckinghamshire. That said, it‘s a brief, quick read and I‘m already halfway through it.

It was such a great day and I could spend all day in bookstores. Next time: used bookstores (and Fopp, Foyles and Forbidden Planet!)

Grateful for this chance to honor a matchless storyteller and advocate, our neighbor and friend. URSULA K. LE GUIN: CONVERSATIONS ON WRITING with David Naimon is out today.

Day 20 of the @bookriot #Riotgrams Challenge: writing! This is out in April from @Tin_House 👑 🖤💔