Before starting to write, I want to briefly talk about translation and editing because I couldn't match it to the caliber of Metis.

There are 5 translators in the work. I'm not stuck on word choices, that part is of the quality we are accustomed to seeing in Metis works. However, some untranslated words made me think. This could be due to the translator or it could also be an intervention made by the editor, okay. Let's come to the fact that the word "part time" was left like this although there is a counterpart in our language, or the fact that "transgender" was not translated annoyed me.

Moreover, there were also a lot of spelling mistakes that I'm not accustomed to seeing in Metis books.

When it comes to the work itself, it was a reading experience that nourished my passion for the Queen herself, but I thought it fell behind some works. Women, Dreams, Dragons and Dancing on the Edge of the World was falling behind. I attribute the reason for this to its being fragmented.

The book consists of 4 main parts and each main part is divided into experiments within itself. I enjoyed all but one of them very much. My ranking is like this: On Writing - Readings - Personal Matters. However, the part that fragmented the book for me was Discussions and Views. If this part were a separate book, the integrity of the book would have been ensured within itself. Frankly, it was a part where I sometimes got bored while reading or felt like I was reading the repetition of the thoughts I knew from the author's other books.

If we evaluate A Wave in the Mind within itself, especially seeing the book reviews signed by Le Guin in Readings is exciting. The main part called On Writing is a treasure for everyone who writes or doesn't write. It is eye-opening, thought-provoking and controversial. It was amazing.

The letter by Virginia Woolf that gave the book its name and the phrase "a feeling creates a wave in the mind first" with Woolf's well-known sharp intelligence is thought-provoking on its own. I wanted to put my hand under my chin and be carried away by that one-paragraph letter excerpt. To ride on that wave that Woolf talked about and crash onto the shore...

In summary, as I said above, for me, Women, Dreams, Dragons and Dancing on the Edge of the World was a work that fell behind but carried Le Guin's valuable guidance in my heart.

The essays, and the whole collection, are truly fantastic. Le Guin truly understands. The fact that every single book you open holds the power to transform your life is truly remarkable.

“We have this inherent need to force the world to be coherent, to tell us a story. It's not just fiction writers who do this; we all do it. We do it constantly and continually, as it is essential for our survival. Those people who are unable to make the world into a story often find themselves going mad.”

This concept that Le Guin presents is both profound and thought-provoking. It makes us realize the importance of narrative and how we use it to make sense of the chaos around us. Whether it's through reading a book, watching a movie, or simply creating a story in our minds, we are all constantly engaged in this process of imposing order and meaning on the world.

It also makes us wonder about the consequences of not being able to do so. Are those who go mad simply those who have lost the ability to find meaning and coherence in their lives? Or is there something more complex at play? These are questions that Le Guin's words raise, and they are well worth exploring further.

It had been a long time since I had been spoken to (by a book, an author) with such intensity and depth. The little essays that make up the anthology deal with diverse themes that affect all human beings, such as otherness, imagination, beauty or creation. But if there is a guiding thread, I would say it is orality, the rhythm, the sonority of the words.

Each essay is a gem, a precious stone that shines with its own light. The author has a unique way of expressing herself, a voice that is both powerful and gentle. She manages to touch the reader's heart and soul, to make us think and feel.

Without a doubt, this is a book to read, underline, reread and quote. It is a book that will stay with you long after you have finished reading it, a book that will change the way you see the world. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves literature and wants to explore the human condition.

The greatest folly of my life has been that it's taken a full 30 years for me to finally wander into the enchanting words and captivating worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin.

When Einstein writes, one can learn about the vast and mysterious universe. His words open up a realm of scientific knowledge and understanding.

However, when Ursula writes, it is an entirely different experience. You learn about humanity in all its complexity, its joys, its sorrows, its hopes, and its fears. Her words have the power to touch the deepest parts of our souls.

Physics tells us that all things vibrate, that the universe is in a constant state of motion.

Virginia Woolf, on the other hand, says that words have rhythm and are created by a wave in the mind. We should paddle out and ride that wave, allowing the words to carry us to new and wonderful places.

Ursula K. Le Guin's words are like that wave, carrying us on a journey of self-discovery and exploration. I am so glad that I have finally found my way to her works and can now embark on this amazing adventure.

In sum, it is a collection of a handful of mostly playful essays that offer a few epiphany-like takeaways. However, this was my first encounter with her work. Perhaps naïvely, I was anticipating more structure that could holistically connect the wide-ranging musings. In the end, it turns out to be a compilation of blog-like essays put together to form a book. ~ meh. ~ Sadly, the meandering nature of it all has failed to persuade me to further explore her voice. I may give something else a try later. To that end, I would be grateful for any suggestions regarding her BEST work in the comments below. Thanks.

~ p.s. Apropos the above, Brain Pickings has just posted this > https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/11...

It seems that while the essays have their charm, they lack the cohesion that I was hoping for. Maybe her other works will展现出 a different side of her writing and be more to my liking. I'm looking forward to seeing what others recommend as her best work.

This book is divided into four sections.

The first two sections, namely "Personal Matters" and "Reading", consist of truly dull essays. The topics are so far removed from Le Guin's areas of expertise that the most she is willing to say about them is something that is impossible to disagree with or find interesting.

However, the second two sections, "Discussions and Opinions" and "On Writing", which are actually about fiction writing, are far more interesting. Her style, which I highly appreciate in her fiction, is indeed present in these essays. There is a decent amount of practical advice on style, imagination, and story-writing.

My favorite section is her defense of imaginative fiction as neither a crutch nor a constraint. It has helped me better understand my own appreciation for the "inventive" writer in any genre, be it historical fiction, realism, magic realism, and so on.

I also finally read, as a companion to the book, her essay on The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction. But unlike some of my young Goodreads friends who might be frauds, I won't log it as an entire book and will merely mention it here. That essay is really very enjoyable, and I wish the ones in the book had been more like it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of essays.

Le Guin has a brilliant mind and has really some wonderful insights.

Her feelings about libraries mirror my own, and I felt right at home with her as I read it.

It was as if she was speaking directly to my heart, sharing her deep love and appreciation for the power and magic of libraries.

The way she described the atmosphere, the smell of books, and the sense of discovery that comes with exploring the shelves was truly captivating.

Each essay was like a little gem, filled with thought-provoking ideas and beautiful prose.

This is a great book that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves reading, libraries, or simply wants to be inspired by a truly remarkable writer.

It has left a lasting impression on me and I will definitely be revisiting it in the future.

Ursula K. Le Guin (born in Berkeley, California in 1929 and passed away in Portland, Oregon in 2018) once said that "telling is listening." What does she mean by this? Under this promising title, around thirty non-fiction texts are gathered. In these texts, the author expounds, with a clear and straightforward humor, her ideas about written, read, and imagined literature.

The voice of this writer, who is specialized in science fiction and fantasy, rises so that we can hear her. Her personal opinions on issues such as gender, family, the craft of writing, and the difficulty of teaching someone to write through workshops are mixed with readings of Tolstoy, Tolkien, Darwin, or Borges. Above all, respect for the reader and the communication channel that erases the boundaries between the written and the read prevails. (To this end, she dares to compare human communication with the sex of amoebas, and yes, we can understand how far she wants to go.)

K. Le Guin asserts that "the map is not the landscape" and she says this because, above all, she wants to draw attention to the text itself: the beauty of the composition of a narrative creation; not only its meaning, but also its sonority when read aloud, its arrangement and structure, its sentences. (The sentences of Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf are an example, the example.) Listen to Ursula K. Le Guin to understand her positions on feminism, history, or the questionable need for the existence of literary awards and competitions.

And so many other things are told. We listen to her.

A master of writing recently shared some of her profound wisdom about the craft.

Her words were not only thought-provoking but also incredibly insightful. She delved into the various aspects of writing, from the importance of having a unique voice to the art of constructing engaging narratives.

Listening to her, I couldn't help but be in awe of her talent and knowledge. Her style was something that I would truly kill for. It was so captivating and effortless, yet it had the power to draw the reader in and keep them hooked until the very end.

As I sat there, taking in every word, I knew that I had much to learn from this master. Her wisdom was like a guiding light, shining a path for me to follow in my own writing journey. I left the session feeling inspired and motivated, eager to put her advice into practice and see where it would take me.

I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to such a remarkable writer and gain a glimpse into her world of words.

Ah, this was precisely what I required at this moment. I wouldn't assert that this book was flawless. In fact, it's not so much about novel writing as it is about deeper cultural communication. (That might sound uninteresting, but it truly isn't. Le Guin delves into the denigration of oral tradition in "primitive cultures," sexism, and the contrast between honest wisdom and clever falseness.) Just like Stephen King's On Writing, this work delves into her own personal narrative and how her love for reading and storytelling molded her into the writer she became. I truly valued the fact that even when she became highly opinionated, she distinctly adhered to her own advice, presenting it as opinion rather than fact, often in a very humorous and wry manner.

In terms of the section on writing, I extremely appreciate Le Guin's personal perspective that FORCING IT is not the way to proceed. Based on what she said, I think she would compel herself to either sit or write every day, but she really emphasizes that sometimes just "sitting" is the best possible course of action. Allowing the unconscious to do its work. I believe for highly intuitive, pattern-connecting individuals, as opposed to more empirical personalities, this makes an enormous amount of sense. As she states, a writer writes.

The other aspect that I truly adored was what she said about "inhabiting a character" - that she won't progress until she has achieved that. Ah, I feel as though this pertains so significantly to my last novel. (Oh, how much simpler it is to inhabit other people's characters than one's own! - the vulnerability!) If there were a single criticism I could level at myself for that novel, that would be it, and it is of utmost importance. So, yes, I really liked this book. Not only is it a collection of wisdom, but it is also highly recommended for the sheer beauty of its prose.

I had completely forgotten, prior to reading this particular work, just how significantly LeGuin emphasizes gender issues. My goodness!

Nevertheless, within these pages, there were several essays that I truly relished. In fact, two of them, namely "Stress-Rhythm in Poetry and Prose" and "Rhythmic Pattern in The Lord of the Rings," were so refreshingly new and thought-provoking for me. They were of such high quality that they warranted a four-star rating.

These essays made me feel that both my financial investment and the time I dedicated to reading this book were well spent. Additionally, "Dogs, Cats, and Dancers" and a couple of the essays in the Writing section were also quite good. They added to the overall richness and diversity of the collection, offering different perspectives and insights that further enhanced my reading experience.

Overall, despite the initial surprise regarding the focus on gender issues, this book contains some truly excellent essays that are worth exploring and contemplating.

Bellísimo libro. This is an absolutely beautiful book. The moment you lay your eyes on it, you are immediately drawn in by its charm. The cover design is exquisite, with vibrant colors and a captivating illustration that gives a hint of the wonderful content within. As you open the book and start turning the pages, you are greeted with well-written prose that flows smoothly and engages your imagination. The story or the information presented is presented in a way that makes it easy to understand and yet still manages to be thought-provoking. Whether it's a work of fiction that takes you on a thrilling adventure or a non-fiction book that enlightens you on a particular subject, this bellísimo libro is sure to leave a lasting impression on you.