Out of sheer loyalty and friendship, you are getting a like and a full viewing from me. I will even not unsubscribe. Also, if you didn't have a TV, you might like The Dispossessed. 😁

"Ursula K. LeGuin" count in the first minute of the video: 4

I'm sorry I read ahead of you! I was traveling, didn't bring anything else to read on the plane, and I kept waiting for you to check in with me. We had already been reading it for two weeks, but I am very capable of reading at a slower pace.

I definitely clicked on it to hear you rant😛

"Shevek is a Gary Stu" is not a take I was expecting from this video! 😂Especially since you then went on to mention a bunch of flaws in his character... not something you can typically say about a Gary Stu imo. The Dispossessed is a strong contender for my favourite book so this was a bit of a painful video to watch. I typically don't expect classic sci fi to have compelling characters so it didn't bother me that the characters in this book lacked depth (although I certainly think Le Guin's characters are more complex and interesting than Asimov's, Clarke's or Dick's). I love The Dispossessed mainly for its thematic content. I really enjoy Le Guin's anthropological approach to world-building, and learning about all the details of life on Anarres was fascinating, and I especially enjoyed the details about how their language worked and how that shaped the way they thought about things. Shevek being a very passive protagonist makes sense when you examine Le Guin's philosophical beliefs as expressed through all of her writings. She was heavily into eastern philosophy, Taoism in particular, and I think she viewed passivity as virtuous.

I wasn't the biggest fan of this book either, although I did read a collection of Le Guin's short stories and novellas which I absolutely LOVED. ("The Found and the Lost" for those interested)

Allen, you are so not alone! Hitting you over the head - I had it with the word for world is forest and the lathe of heaven! That's why I prefer her short stories because they are about idea, it hits you, makes you think and it's over :)

Yooo glad to see this Allen! I loved Earthsea Cycle last year. Check out the Wizard of Earthsea. I'm currently in Hainish Cycle #4 and love LeGuin's themes/prose. I'll have to come back when I finish dispossessed.

Dispossessed is a thought experiment masquerading as a sci fi novel. I did find it dry but the ideas were interesting, if a bit repetitive. Le Guinn also has a very economical writing style. She said what she wanted to say and ended the book. I enjoyed Lathe of Heaven much more.

If you were not such a propertarian, you would have no problem sharing your stars and giving this book 5 stars.

I would love this book, you are right

Hey was wondering if there will be another One Piece live stream with the gang again soon?

What I liked best in The Dispossessed is the point you mentioned, when we finally get to know a couple of things that aren't super dooper perfect on Annares either. There are unfortunately so many SF novels that are all ideas ideas ideas and if you enjoy interesting characters, well, tough luck. So, thanks Allen, although I didn't completely dislike The Dispossessed, you've pointed out the reasons why I can't say I liked the book or enjoyed reading it better than anyone before.

you had me at "propertarians and hippies." If I'm understanding this review correctly, I should reach for this book when I'm ready for an adventure with a protagonist who mostly stands around. Very niche subgenre :) (hahaha, points for a Kett reference)

I finally found a narrator for The Wizard of Earthsea that I absolutely loved! Harlan Ellison! It is prose and a performance that is pure magic!

I am sooo happy that I got that Urgulanilla reference 🎉🎉

I love her Earthsea novels and the world is very charming and Ghibli esque tho I have yet to try her sci-fi. I recommend her short story “those who walk away from the omelas” that was my introduction to her work and I really liked it

I watched this and subscribed because I agree with you. I read this years ago and couldn’t tell you a thing about it. All I remember is it was a complete bore and felt like a chore to finish. I always finish books, but I don’t remember a thing. I love “Left Hand of Darkness “. Read that 3 times. I love “Earthsea”. It’s the only thing I ever read that gave me the physical sensation that my brain was chewing the words as I read them, and they were delicious. I am thinking of reading it again to see if I get the same feeling. I just read “Lathe of Heaven” last week and it was pretty good. The writing reminded me more of Bradbury though. Those three are infinitely better in my opinion. I just found a nice copy at my used bookstore store of “Dispossessed” for $.50 and was going to give it another try, but after your review, nah. I have too many others to read that I would enjoy, like “Ruin”, which I am reading next.

Your analyses are always a delight to watch 😂 I've only read Lathe of Heaven by LeGuin a few years ago (I barely remember it now) and didn't care for it. It was indeed a book about ideas, but I just felt the overall execution lacked substance, both in character work (I want human beings to feel like real human beings) and the overall conclusion (I'm pretty sure it ended abruptly). There were interesting quotes from what I remember, but nothing that stuck with me that much. So yeah, I'd have to read The Dispossessed to see if I agree with you, but our tastes are really similar, so... 👀 I'd have to look up any "books of ideas" that I enjoyed, but I'm pretty sure most of them don't have Gary Stus and that they all apply to our real-world one way or another. Unpopular opinion time: that's why I didn't like Frankenstein, a huge classic, despite of its great themes: the Monster made no sense whatsoever (how can you teach yourself human speech without real human interactions - aka he only overhears people talking - and then proceed to speak literally like a character in a Shakespeare's play -- the whole thing felt cartoonish 😬 And I wanted to beat up the Doctor so bad, he was the dumbest man I've ever read about -- there's no dilemma, your family members are all dying one after the other, you idiot... sorry I become angry everytime I think about that book 💀). What you said about made-up languages in SFF novels explains a lot about your dislike of LOTR (and modern Greek pronounciation). 😂 And, funnily enough, I read it twice (one time in EN and one time in FR with my husband), and both times I struggled so much through Fellowship and Two Towers, but enjoyed and was even moved by RoTK by the end. My husband loved the whole painfully slow and almost uneventful journey though. 😅

The only book I've read from Ursula K LeGuin that I enjoyed was The Lathe of Heaven (4 stars) it's a novella about a guy who can literally change the world he lives in with his dreams, it was very interesting. Other than that, I haven't had a good time with her books.

Good to see you Allen 💜

Oof, yeah, I'd probably dislike this as well--I have a hard time connecting with books that are just ideas and themes... I find them way more digestible if they're more of an undercurrent to a plot and dynamic/nuanced characters. I dislike being bludgeoned with an opinion lol. That being said, I read A Wizard of Earthsea in Jan and though I can't say it was mind-blowing, when she was writing for a younger audience she did a better job of balancing the world building and ideas she was trying to convey with a somewhat relatable protagonist, and an actual story. I still think she didn't really present any of the characters in a way that made them feel tangible and her writing has kind of this... cold, detatched quality to it that makes me struggle to be immersed, but I still ended up giving it a 4 because I valued what she did for the genre at the time, and there were elements that still really held up to today. Anyways. Sorry for the block of text! I hope your next foray into Le Guin is more successful!! She writes such a variety of things I can't imagine there isn't SOMETHING you'll like, but finding it might be unworthy of the effort lol. XD

Oh man, I thought when you asked for people to tell you what they liked and then started with "I'll tell you something I liked", it was going to be "I liked that I was done reading the book." Maybe that's too harsh. Just chuckling to myself here at possibilities. Thanks for the video Allen.

Yes! It's so annoying when we're told by other characters how amazing the mc is, especially in the beginning when the mc hasn't even done anything yet. It's very Hallmark movie-ish. (which my sisters and I watch for the cringe, lol)

I read all the Earthsea Books, which I liked but didn't love. I watched to the end just to contrast with Johanna's video - thanks!

Fair point about Shevek's motivation, but to explain why I could see it otherwise would be part longer discussion. I did not love Shevek or feel like I was supposed to be rooting for him, but there's also a lot to say about that.

I liked this book but much preferred "The Lathe of Heaven" which is the only other LeGuin I have read and is an excellent exploration of dreams, power and good intentions gone awry.

Hello there. I have never read this author, but perhaps I will try it to see what’s what. Would anyone pass on some science fiction that they have enjoyed? Personally I enjoyed Herbert, Legends of the Galactic Heroes, the Expanse, and CJ Cherryh’s series.

Tell us who you really feel

I wasn’t able to finish this book. Mostly I was just bored. It just was dry to me. That was a long time ago though. Because it is so loved I thought maybe I should give it another try. This makes me think it’s just not for me.

I DNF'd this and that's unusual for me. It seemed a bit obvious and didactic. I love some of her work but this one I didn't get. Subscribed!

Yes, but it's Ursala K. LeGuin, so you must like it. Because...Ursala K. LeGuin. {Insert Invasion of the Body Snatchers reference here}

I'm a vegan, and I've hung out with you and Christina. We had two meals together. Was I ever like that? 😛

I would love to know your internal system for rating books because I don't have one. My rating system is wildly inconsistent.

I read one of her books called The Left Hand of Darkness and didn't like it, gave it 2 stars, her books are all about the ideas and concepts and philosophy of everything, meanwhile there's little plot or character work. definitely not for me.

I tried 2 earthsea stories and The Lefthand of Darkness. Le Guin is just not for me. 😔

I am a LeGuin loyalist. How dare you diss her😡 Ha jk While I do love a lot of LeGuin, Left Hand of Darkness is sadly inadequate. It is so bleh that I get the same visceral wretchedness that you do when I think about this book. In short, I concur with that review 1000%

whatever the opposite of a 'based' opinion, this is it. Thanks for the thoughtful and honest review of one of my favorite books!

Much as I LOVE Johanna, I feel like I am just going to trust your word on this one and give it a pass hahah. Also, damn the misleading blurbs!!

Sanderson non delundus est

You should try The Will of the Many, it should be right up your alley. Red Rising + Samderson + a bit of K.J Parker

I’m upset now

Very brave video! You knew that you would be shunned from buddy reads for years to come but the TRUTH must prevail

Why would you read the back of the book? Who does that?

Don't tell me the days of the five star strumpet are over! I doubt I'd like this either. I haven't read it, but I usually find classics and older stuff dry and boring.

Two ⭐ Harsh. I didn't care for the story and I barely remember it. But I remember it was Okay. Her short stories are better.

Such a spicy 🔥 let’s get down to business 😆

You speak as if I were listening to myself. The moral exaltation of anarchists was unbearable. The part that made me laugh the most was that people just like to work for free and live in dusty huts.

So when you say vegans are insufferable you are referring to Dr. Philip Chase, right?

Thank you. I thought The Left Hand of Darkness was just ok, so I will not be reading The Dispossessed.

What I like about this book is that it was written by a woman, something KJ Parker is not. (okay i actually haven't read it)

not only do I not read the backs of books, but I also use white out to make sure that NO ONE can read the back of the book ever again. because reading the back of a book should be a crime. bookstores hate me

This book failed to deliver on philosophical themes. It never explains why the characters believe what they believe. Very pointless characters, and the more relevant characters are dogmatic for seemingly no reason. Too much dialogue that leads nowhere... very dull book. 4.4 stars on Amazon? Really?...

Allen's proximity to Cuba may have colored his opinion on this book

First here