I completely agree about the title story. It definitely stands out the most. I read it about two weeks ago and still find my self pondering the idea the story is asking us to entertain.

On a side note, It might be a good idea to do a full review of the book if you get a chance. I say this because I originally decided to check the book out due to the up coming film (Arrival – Based on the title story) and it was difficult to find booktube reviews. The film is generating a little bit of buzz, so i think there will be more people starting to take interest in the source material.

Hooray! Someone else who liked Lockstep.

Was probably too young when I first read The Dispossessed. Might be ripe for a revisit. All I remember is a person visits two planets. I was aware of the political systems but had no understanding.

I enjoy your videos, and you have turned me onto a lot of great books. Look forward to reading these.

Seeing The Dispossessed made me smile as it wasn’t long ago we read and talked about it 🙂
You made me interested in Lockstep with your description and enthusiasm for it.
I’m also definitely going to have to look into Ted Chiang too, sounds kinda ideal; especially considering the liveshows and all.

“The Dispossessed” was my first Le Guin and founded my deep and growing love for her work. So I’d definitely second that.
And I wanted to go and get “Stories of Your Life and Others” the last time you mentioned it, now I’ll go and check out the stories that can be found online first. Sounds very intriguing!

From Story of Your Life and Others, one of my favorite stories from the collection is Understand. It is just brilliant how Chang takes topics that seem indescribable and break them down so they can be easily digested.

I read “Story of Your Life” yesterday. It´s so good to find somebody talking about it on booktube! Don´t you think that this story is extremely visual, but its writing is incredibly non-visual? This is amazing, we are not overloaded (or confused) with descriptions, but I´m afraid sometimes there is too much dialogue with scientific terms (linguistics). I feel that we have so much to gain with a movie, BUT so much to lost too because Hollywood can´t think of a contact with aliens without war, without guns, without “lets save our planet, we humans and heroes, kings of the universe”. And the absence of answers about the arrival and the departure of that “tourists” is a great achievement of the story. : )

Story of your Life is getting a movie adaptation later this year, by a good director (Denis Villeneuve).

I definitely didn’t know Lockstep was hard sci-fi. I so thought it was something completely different. Ted Chiang’s stuff sounds good, thank you Rachel.

I’ve been told before that Stories of Your Life would be totally right up my alley. Seems I should really get on that.

Ted Chiang seems like this mystical being who comes down to earth every few years to grace us with a perfect science fiction story.

I feel like I could list my whole Hugo ballot for this topic, which doesn’t bode well for those books’ chances alas!

When it comes to Ursula’s novels, so far I have only read The Left Hand of Darkness but this novel knocked me off my feet. I was so impressed by it! It is so profound, so deep, so inspirational and masterfully written….Thank you for these recommendation. Right now, I want to read The Dispossessed asap!!!