Welcome to Litsy!

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Okay, THIS is what I thought Earthsea would be! An epic, timeless familiarity with Narnia & Middle Earth yet completely original, fresh, and wise. There were several passages like this one I had to stop to treasure. I loved Arren (and his crush) and his (denied) influence on Harry Potter was clear to me. I think he makes a better entry point to the series. Unpopular opinion: this should be the first book in the trilogy and the first two prequels.

#BookBinge #InvolvesDragon Yes indeed a 🐉

I enjoyed this and think it will stay with me but I feel like Tombs of Atuan is still my favorite. Arren was a solid POV character but after a while boy coming of age quests aren‘t fave material.

Book 3 finished in my 6 book illustrated edition. I really loved the ending to this one. It had so many feels. It really kept me guessing right to the end as well. I can't believe it has taken me this long to find this author. She is simply amazing.

Haven‘t historically been into fantasy, but I‘m really enjoying the Earthsea series

What a wrap to the story of Ged. I loved the journey and the menace.

Evil, in this book, has an immediate, ugly, human shape, because I saw evil not as some horde of foreign demons with bad teeth and superweapons but as an insidious and ever-present enemy in my own daily life in my own country: the ruinous irresponsibility of greed.

#QuotsyOCT21 day 16: demonic

I found this novel‘s portrayal of fear, depression, and loneliness moving, but I feel this was slightly the weakest of the beautiful Earthsea trilogy. I wonder if Le Guin felt she needed to balance her unconventional themes with a very conventional young prince protagonist.

Yet it was a sound and fitting end to an arc, and meaningful in its journey to explore death as both key to the balance of life and as a reality personally, inevitably faced.

Another bingo! #bookspinbingo

I‘m so glad I added this book to my bookspin list this month; I always love reading the Earthsea novels and this was no exception!

1. I‘m not really an accessory person, besides one ring I inherited from my grandmother that I wear daily

2. Nope!

3. I‘m almost done with the tagged; it‘s lots of fun!

Thanks for the tag @AmyK1
If you‘d like to play, consider yourself tagged! #thoughtfulthursday

Evil, in this book, has an immediate, ugly, human shape, because I saw evil not as some horde of foreign demons with bad teeth and superweapons but as an insidious and ever-present enemy in my own daily life in my own country: the ruinous irresponsibility of greed.

Being an irreligious puritan and a rational mystic, I think it's irresponsible to let a belief think for you or a chemical dream for you.

Friday night plans

This is the third book in the Earthsea quartet. Even though it‘s only 200 pages, I struggled to read it. For me, it dragged and lost all momentum after the first chapter. There is a darkness is creeping through the land causing wizards to lose their sorcery. Archmage Ged travels with Arden, a young prince, to find the source of the corruption and shut the door between the worlds of life and death.

“There must be darkness to see the stars.”

Loving these tales of Earthsea!

4.5/5 ⭐. Le Guin, as usual, delivers a stunning physical and thematic journey through magic, adventure, philosophy, and the meaning of life and death. Some of the middle dragged a bit for me upon this re-read, but Ged continues to be an interesting character (he and his boat are the best pairing), the world continues to intrigue, and I look forward to continuing the series. #projectreread

When I was young, I had to choose between the life of being and the life of doing. And I leapt at the latter like a trout to a fly. But each deed you do, each act, binds you to itself and to its consequences, and makes you act again and yet again. Then very seldom do you come upon a space, a time like this, between act and act, when you may stop and simply be. Or wonder who, after all, you are.

#projectreread

Ged's utter joy and liveliness when on his boat, Lookfar, is the purest part of this entire series. 💙💙💙

#projectreread

Fortune-telling and love-potions are not of much account, but old women are worth listening to.

#projectreread

Perhaps the weakest of the original trilogy, with heavy handed explicit exposition of rhe author's Taoist views. Hesitating between a pick and a so-so.

But his heart went out utterly to his companion, not now with that first romantic ardor and adoration, but painfully, as if a link were drawn forth from the very inmost of it and forged into an unbreaking bond. For in this love he now felt there was compassion: with-out which love is untempered, and is not whole, and does not last.

Excerpt From: "The Farthest Shore" by Ursula K. Le Guin.

"This is not a righting of the Balance, but an upsetting of it. There is only one creature who can do that.”

“A man?” Arren said, tentative.

“We men.”

“How?”

“By an unmeasured desire for life.”

“For life? But it isn‘t wrong to want to live?”

“No. But when we crave power over life—endless wealth, unassailable safety, immortality—then desire becomes greed. And if knowledge allies itself to that greed, then comes evil.”

“Do you see how an act is not ... like a rock that one picks up and throws, and it hits or misses, and that's the end of it. When that rock is lifted, the earth is lighter; the hand that bears it heavier. When it is thrown, the circuits of the stars respond, and where it strikes or falls, the universe is changed ...

Having intelligence, we must not act in ignorance. Having choice, we must not act without responsibility.” ~ Ursula K. Le Guin

"For only that is ours which we are willing to lose. That selfhood, our torment and glory, our humanity, does not endure. It changes and it goes, a wave on the sea. Would you have the sea grow still and all the tides cease to save one wave, to save yourself? Would you give up the craft of your hands, and the passion of your heart, and the hunger of your mind, to buy safety?"

"But his heart went out utterly to his companion, not now with that first romantic ardour and adoration, but painfully as if a link were drawn forth from the very inmost of it and forged into an unbreaking bond. For in this love he now felt there was compassion: without which love is untempered, and is not whole, and does not last."

What an interesting addition to the Earthsea world. On the one hand, 🐉. On the other hand, in this volume, the world is broken and the descriptions of the desolation, bleakness and barrenness of the collapse are as effective as anything I've read. Le Guin's writing is outstanding, if depressing, here.
#earthseachapteraday

It‘s interesting comparing the three books—I was most intrigued with the ideas in Tombs of Atuan & found its ending the most compelling of the three. But I most enjoyed the stories in the first & third. In this one, a quest to put the world right, a coming of age for Arren, and the two standing together against the darkness. I‘ve grown to love Ged as a character—a long way from being really annoyed at him in the first book! #earthseachapteraday

Arren saw the world now with his companion‘s eyes and saw the living splendor that was revealed about them in the silent, desolate land...So when one stands in a cherished place for the last time before a voyage without return, he sees it all whole, and real, and dear, as he has never seen it before and never will see it again. #Earthseachapteraday

I admit that this came as a relief after Tombs of Atuan. I was happy to travel with Arren & Ged & appreciated how cohesive the book was in terms of language, structure, & plot. Though ostensibly about geopolitics, it was less political, in terms of social relations & power, than the previous two. You can tell Le Guin enjoyed thinking & writing about dragons. It was a pleasure to read about them; it was my favourite part. 🐉 #EarthseaChapterADay

#EarthseaChapterADay TFS Chapter 13 : "The Stone of Pain"

Discussion prompt below in comments.

@coffeenebula @llwheeler @Seekingtardis @GarthRanzz @GrilledCheeseSamurai @AmandaL @Clare-Dragonfly @NotAJot @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @UrsulaMonarch @batsy @Bianca @saresmoore @Ashley_Nicoletto @Phlamboyant @Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas @TheRomantiCate @jpmcwisemorgan @BarbaraJean @cobwebmoth @Fantasyfan

#EarthseaChapterADay TFS Chapter 12 : "The Dry Land"

Discussion prompt below in comments.

@coffeenebula @llwheeler @Seekingtardis @GarthRanzz @GrilledCheeseSamurai @AmandaL @Clare-Dragonfly @NotAJot @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @UrsulaMonarch @batsy @Bianca @saresmoore @Ashley_Nicoletto @Phlamboyant @Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas @TheRomantiCate @jpmcwisemorgan @BarbaraJean @cobwebmoth @Fantasyfan

#EarthseaChapterADay TFS Chapter 11 : "Selidor"

Discussion prompt below in comments.

@coffeenebula @llwheeler @Seekingtardis @GarthRanzz @GrilledCheeseSamurai @AmandaL @Clare-Dragonfly @NotAJot @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @UrsulaMonarch @batsy @Bianca @saresmoore @Ashley_Nicoletto @Phlamboyant @Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas @TheRomantiCate @jpmcwisemorgan @BarbaraJean @cobwebmoth @Fantasyfan

Something's not quite right here . . .

#EarthseaChapterADay TFS Chapter 10 : "The Dragon's Run"

Discussion prompt below in comments.

@coffeenebula @llwheeler @Seekingtardis @GarthRanzz @GrilledCheeseSamurai @AmandaL @Clare-Dragonfly @NotAJot @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @UrsulaMonarch @batsy @Bianca @saresmoore @Ashley_Nicoletto @Phlamboyant @Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas @TheRomantiCate @jpmcwisemorgan @BarbaraJean @cobwebmoth @Fantasyfan

Really didn't want to stop listening to this today. I'm almost done, but alas I had to actually move around at work today.

I just got a raise and new job which is more clerical instead and requires a bit more attention as I get use to everything.

#Earthseachapteraday

Really didn't want to stop listening to this today. I'm almost done, but alas I had to actually move around at work today.

I just got a raise and new job which is more clerical instead and requires a bit more attention as I get use to everything.

#Earthseachapteraday

#EarthseaChapterADay TFS Chapter 9 : "Orm Embar"

Discussion prompt below in comments.

@coffeenebula @llwheeler @Seekingtardis @GarthRanzz @GrilledCheeseSamurai @AmandaL @Clare-Dragonfly @NotAJot @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @UrsulaMonarch @batsy @Bianca @saresmoore @Ashley_Nicoletto @Phlamboyant @Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas @TheRomantiCate @jpmcwisemorgan @BarbaraJean @cobwebmoth @Fantasyfan

#EarthseaChapterADay TFS Chapter 8 : "The Children of the Open Sea"

Discussion prompt below in comments.

@coffeenebula @llwheeler @Seekingtardis @GarthRanzz @GrilledCheeseSamurai @AmandaL @Clare-Dragonfly @NotAJot @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @UrsulaMonarch @batsy @Bianca @saresmoore @Ashley_Nicoletto @Phlamboyant @Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas @TheRomantiCate @jpmcwisemorgan @BarbaraJean @cobwebmoth @Fantasyfan

I, who am old, who have done what I must do, who stand in the daylight facing my own death, the end of all possibility, I know that there is only one power that is real and worth the having. And that is the power, not to take, but to accept.
#earthseachapteraday

I caught up on #EarthseaChapterADay and then some. This was by far my favorite of the Earthsea books. It read like this was the book all the others were working toward.

#EarthseaChapterADay TFS Chapter 7 : "The Madman"

Discussion prompt below in comments.

@coffeenebula @llwheeler @Seekingtardis @GarthRanzz @GrilledCheeseSamurai @AmandaL @Clare-Dragonfly @NotAJot @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @UrsulaMonarch @batsy @Bianca @saresmoore @Ashley_Nicoletto @Phlamboyant @Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas @TheRomantiCate @jpmcwisemorgan @BarbaraJean @cobwebmoth @Fantasyfan

My favorite line so far: "old women are worth listening to."
#earthseachapteraday

Finally catching up on my #EarthseaChapterADay reading!

#EarthseaChapterADay TFS Chapter 6 : "Lorbanery"

Discussion prompt below in comments.

@coffeenebula @llwheeler @Seekingtardis @GarthRanzz @GrilledCheeseSamurai @AmandaL @Clare-Dragonfly @NotAJot @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @UrsulaMonarch @batsy @Bianca @saresmoore @Ashley_Nicoletto @Phlamboyant @Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas @TheRomantiCate @jpmcwisemorgan @BarbaraJean @cobwebmoth @Fantasyfan

#EarthseaChapterADay TFS Chapter 5 : "Sea Dreams"

Discussion prompt below in comments.

@coffeenebula @llwheeler @Seekingtardis @GarthRanzz @GrilledCheeseSamurai @AmandaL @Clare-Dragonfly @NotAJot @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @UrsulaMonarch @batsy @Bianca @saresmoore @Ashley_Nicoletto @Phlamboyant @Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas @TheRomantiCate @jpmcwisemorgan @BarbaraJean @cobwebmoth @Fantasyfan

#EarthseaChapterADay TFS Chapter 4 : "Magelight"

Discussion prompt below in comments.

@coffeenebula @llwheeler @Seekingtardis @GarthRanzz @GrilledCheeseSamurai @AmandaL @Clare-Dragonfly @NotAJot @JazzFeathers @ghosthost @UrsulaMonarch @batsy @Bianca @saresmoore @Ashley_Nicoletto @Phlamboyant @Sisasuku @InLibrisVeritas @TheRomantiCate @jpmcwisemorgan @BarbaraJean @cobwebmoth @Fantasyfan

I am super tired today, but I am enjoying this third installement in the Earthsea series. It has the same feeling as the first but feels more polished somehow. I am super curious as to what is happening with the magic. #earthseachapteraday