No Time to Spare: Thinking about What Matters

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Karen Joy Fowler (Introduction)

• ISBN10: 1328507971
• ISBN13: 9781328507976
• Publish Date: 15 January 2019 (first published 5 December 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Harper Perennial
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[jamiereadthis]

I admit, I skimmed the stuff with the cat. I’m sure this means I missed out on wisdom, and I’m a heartless person, but perhaps Le Guin would agree that we each have our things that matter at different times in our lives. Don’t get me wrong, there are gems here, and I wholeheartedly cosign such sentiments as:

“The longer a life is, the more of it will be old age.”

[annieb123]

First published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

I've been heavily influenced throughout my life by books and reading. I have been shaped and guided by the things which I've read which have resonated with and awakened me. I distinctly remember reading the Earthsea books as well as The Left Hand of Darkness, sometime in the mid 1970s and being completely electrified. This was it. This author 'got it'. She was speaking to me and people like me. The author of course, was Ursula K. Le Guin and I've been a lifelong fan.

This book is a collection, arranged thematically, of her ruminations, many of which appeared on her blog (a word she disdains). If it's not as tidy as her books (and how could it be), it's still beautifully written and well worth reading. Le Guin is such an artist with words and there are many passages about her love affair with the written word. She talks briefly of poetry and the meaning of words and writing and nuance. She spends some time talking about the evolution of language and usage and what that means for readers and writers. There are tiny glimpses here and there of her incredible facility in choosing the words she uses, but not enough that it doesn't just look like magic to me every time.

I enjoyed reading this book immensely and even though I swore to myself that I was going to delicately ration out the entries and read them over a respectful period of time; I wound up devouring the entire book in two sittings.

She's an amazing author, quite possibly my favorite living author. She's lived on this planet for 88 years and has an incredibly profound amount of wisdom to offer, and she does so. She claims that a lot of it has to do with just living, but I'm not so sure. A simple search of current news headlines will show an awful lot of unpleasant puerile immature divisive arrogant privileged supposed adults who display a shocking and dangerous lack of maturity or wisdom.

The book is profound, exquisitely written and topically relevant. I loved it.

Five stars (and a solid four and a half even for non-fans)

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

[lovelybookshelf]

In this collection of essays, Le Guin talks about literature, politics, belief, aging, and life, and it is just delightful. She is so interesting. Even when she's talking about her cat, Pard, there's a deeper layer to her musings. She sees the world with such clarity and wonder, and these essays allow the reader to experience that perspective. This book ended up being a smart, feel-good kind of read.