Acclaimed fantasy and science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin died Monday, January 22, 2018 at the age of 88. While she leaves a tremendous legacy of wonderful, thoughtful, and acclaimed literature she will be missed. In the words of Margaret Atwood “her sane, committed, annoyed, humorous, wise and always intelligent voice is much needed now.”
While I haven’t read as much of Le Guin’s writing as I may have liked. I was forever 
changed by what I read. I found her short story, The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas (which can be found in “Masterpieces” at the WPL), so upsetting that I was unable to read science fiction for a time. The story was beyond disturbing, it was so affecting
Her voice will be missed but I’m choosing to to see her passing as an opportunity to explore her books, read more of them (you’ll likely see at least one of her titles featured among next month’s Rave Reviews selections) and to share her work with the next generation. The WPL also has a great selection of Le Guin’s children’s books;I look forward to sharing them with the children in my life.
I’d like to go further and suggest that we all honour Le Guin by taking this opportunity to read more of her books. The WPL has an excellent selection in a variety of formats including paper and electronic. Since there’s likely to be a run on her books in light of her recent passing I recommend skipping the wait by checking out our selection of titles available through Hoopla since they’re always available. Enjoy!
