Welcome to Litsy!

My January 2025 #bookspin and #doublespin selections. I'm excited to keep working through my list of #essentialwomenwriters.
@TheAromaofBooks

Following a young sacrificial priestess of an underground labyrinth and her life-changing encounter with a thief, I liked this second book in the Earthsea series more than the first and am very curious how the next book will put the first two into perspective somehow.

I have to say I think I liked this one even more than the first one. I was expecting a Ged adventure so the point of view shift in the beginning threw me off but once I reset my expectations I was thoroughly invested in Tenar/Arha. I love that these books have a very lyrical and sort of dreamlike feel to them when I finish.

“She is eaten”

The eaten one is stripped of all the things they know including their name. It‘s a strange ritual that is forced upon this person

This book is about a girl who is chosen to be the eaten one. Everything she owns, even her name is stripped away from her. She does not feel like she belongs there and must decide if it‘s worth it to risk everything and escape.

“The throne itself was black, with a dull Fillmore of precious stones or gold on the arms and back, and it was huge.”

I like how the details and imagery allow the reader to vividly picture the tomb and all the aspects that are found in front of the throne.

This book published in 1970 is the story of a young girl who is given the role of priestess. The first chapter is described using gloomy and dark details that uphold the mystery of the name of the story. If you are someone who is interested in tombs and ancient history, this book would be a good fit.

This book was published in 1970. It has lots of suspenseful words. I found it sometimes hard to pick up what was happening but by the end of the chapter things started to make sense.

I really liked how in depth in detail this chapter/book went!

“She is eaten! She is eaten!”

I finished book 2 of the Earthsea series and I loved it. I thought the character development was excellent. I was happy with the ending and I love that an event in the previous book got explained. Looking back I wonder if this was a bit of a call out of religions. But I admit that might be my own baggage talking. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next!

I had just finished the first book in the Earthsea trilogy and, luckily, had the second one sitting around, because I really wanted to read it. I love how Ged isn‘t the first person character in this book.

#haunted October 2021 day 21: in costume @eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Maybe it was the whole primitive, hateful idea of the feminine as dark, blind, weak, and evil that I saw shaking itself to pieces, imploding, crumbling into wreckage on a desert ground. And I rejoiced to see it fall.

I still do.

#QuotsyOCT21 day 17: tattered

Isolated, ritualized, & indoctrinated, Arha is the young high-priestess of the Nameless Ones. Her story is like night and day compared to the first book of Earthsea - a labyrinth instead of open sea, gloom where there was light. And a rigid hand driving her into the darkness.

I‘d love to write of her journey, but it would spoil this short book! Although dark & fantastical, it tenderly touches my own lived experience of transformation. A favorite.

Maybe it was the whole primitive, hateful idea of the feminine as dark, blind, weak, and evil that I saw shaking itself to pieces, imploding, crumbling into wreckage on a desert ground. And I rejoiced to see it fall. I still do.

The word power has two different meanings.
There is power to: strength, gift, skill, art, the mastery of a craft, the authority of knowledge.
And there is power over: rule, dominion, supremacy, might, mastery of slaves, authority over others.

One last book on the beach before I go back home.

I loved this book more than the first! And Le Guin's afterword "...fantasy isn't wishful thinking. But a way of reflecting and reflecting on reality." Yes!!

Spending my Saturday morning in good company

Did I mention I have the Charles Vess-illustrated Earthsea?

#30daybookchallenge #day1 #favbookinaseries Tombs of Atuan.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked this one a lot! The main female character is deeply interesting and complex, and I loved the story.

A rainy day is perfect for reading!

And now for something completely different.

After fighting my youngest daughter‘s fever for the last 8 days, complete with 2 doctor visits and an ER trip, she is finally on the mend, and I am falling apart in a corner with a book that I hope will cheer me up.

@TheBookHippie Thank you SO much for the book & lovely picture/note! I can't wait to read the book 😊 I'll be writing back soon!

So I liked A Wizard Of Earthsea, but I loved The Tombs of Atuan even more. It's just as beautifully written, the world-building is compelling, and the story is simple but absorbing. What makes the difference for me, though, is that this is a story dominated by female characters - a rare bird in fantasy. How have I only discovered Ursula Le Guin now?!?

Great book, check out this nicely whitewashed cover from a Dutch version. Here, the dark skinned wizard Sparrowhawk escapes the labyrinth with Tenar, dressed in her rough homespun black hooded cloak.

“Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. The road goes upward towards the light; but the laden traveler may never reach the end of it.”

“The Earth is beautiful, and bright, and kindly, but that is not all. The Earth is also terrible, and dark, and cruel.”

5/5⭐ This book is EVERYTHING. The tone is the epitome of dark perfection. It's literally mirrored in the pitch black weightiness of the underground tombs, of the expectations on Tenar. Her internal journey as she becomes high priestess along with her physical journey away from the tombs is stunningly, gorgeously, expertly told, understated but so much more powerful for the lack of wordiness. I love this book even more the 2nd time. #projectreread

The sun itself was hidden, but there was a glitter on the horizon, almost like the dazzle of the crystal walls of the Undertomb, a kind of joyous shimmering off on the edge of the world.

"What is that?" the girl said, and he: "The sea."

#projectreread

So understated, yet so powerful.

Sunday morning reading. Anticipating a hard week (work, kavanaugh hearings, etc.), so I wanted something hopeful. Le Guin seemed a good choice.

You told me to show you something worth seeing. I show you yourself.

#projectreread

#June2018stats

Beautiful story of how Lenar becomes Arha, the reincarnated priestess of the Nameless Ones but then makes a choice that diverts her to another path from what seemed to be a pre-ordained existence.

"Dragons have no masters. The question is always the same, with a dragon: will he talk with you or will he eat you? If you can count upon his doing the former, and not doing the latter, why then you‘re a dragonlord.”

Excerpt From: "The Tombs of Atuan" by Ursula K. Le Guin. Scribd.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Read this book on Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/224291741

Reading on holiday at spa hotel in the mountains

I am really loving this book so much. The insights and character growth ... this is an extraordinary book. #epicfantasy #fantasy #leguin

A really enjoyable book 2-I didn‘t love this one as much as I did the first. The narrator was good, but didn‘t bring the story alive in the same way the narrator of the first book did. I did really enjoy watching Tenar/Erha come to know herself & question the stories she‘s been fed her whole life. The action doesn‘t really start till about 2/3 through the book, but I enjoyed the quiet beginning too.

“What she had begun to learn was the weight of liberty. Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. The road goes upward towards the light; but the laden traveler may never reach the end of it.” ~ The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin

A bit late for my March reading summary, but that‘s what happens when Easter weekend, my birthday, and a Litsy outage all happen in quick succession! March was a mixed bag. I really enjoyed the Earthsea novels and The Wise Man‘s Fear, Phoebe & Her Unicorn was a delight, and Between the World & Me lived up to all the fantastic reviews. The three down the middle (one re-read) were more disappointing. Tombs of Atuan may be my favorite of the month.

At first I was confused about where this book might be going but I enjoyed the description of the belief system. There are parallels between Ged and Tenar in that they have to learn who they are and realize they have a say in who they might become. Neither is evil or good, both have to balance this I think. The idea that freedom is heavy is accurate. I think sometimes we forget that.

Next up: The second Earthsea book. This is a rather fragile old paperback so I hope it holds up to reading. 😯

Being back at work doesn't mean I have more total time to read, but I do have more time to read on a rainy commute! #caltrain

Unlike many in #earthseachapteraday , I still preferred the first book, but I liked the end of the second book too! The afterword was still my favorite part ☺️

In the place of darkness I found the light, her spirit. By her an old evil was brought to nothing. By her I was brought out of the grave. By her the broken was made whole, and where there was hatred there will be peace.
#Earthseachapteraday

You were the vessel of evil. The evil is poured out. It is done. It is buried in its own tomb. You were never made for cruelty and darkness; you were made to hold light, as a lamp burning holds and gives its light.

#Earthseachapteraday