From acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin, and with an introduction by Karen Joy Fowler, a collection of thoughts-always adroit, often acerbic-on aging, belief, the state of literature, and the state of the nation. Ursula K. Le Guin has taken readers to imaginary worlds for decades. Now she's in the last great frontier of life, old age, and exploring new literary territory: the blog, a forum where her voice-sharp, witty, as compassionate as it is critical-shines. No Time to Spare collects the best of Ursula's blog, presenting perfectly crystallized dispatches on what matters to her now, her concerns with this world, and her wonder at it. On the absurdity of denying your age, she says, "If I'm ninety and believe I'm forty-five, I'm headed for a very bad time trying to get out of the bathtub." On cultural perceptions of fantasy: "The direction of escape is toward freedom. So what is 'escapism' an accusation of?" On her new cat: "He still won't sit on a lap.I don't know if he ever will. He just doesn't accept the lap hypothesis." On breakfast: "Eating an egg from the shell takes not only practice, but resolution, even courage, possibly willingness to commit crime." And on all that is unknown, all that we discover as we muddle through life: "How rich we are in knowledge, and in all that lies around us yet to learn. Billionaires, all of us."
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“Caruso’s wondrous ability to capture Le Guin’s humor and energy gives listeners an unhurried experience…framing the audiobook as a journey. Distinctions between essays are clear; Caruso pauses a few beats before and after announcing each selection…Interspersed between sections are the adventures of her irrepressible cat, Pard.”
— AudioFile
“This delightful book [is] inquisitive and stroppily opinionated in equal measure.”
— Wall Street Journal“Witty, often deeply observed…If she’s arrived at a ‘crabby old age,’ as she puts it, it’s inspired her to be engagingly mindful of everything around her.”
— USA Today“Touches on…everything from feminism to swear words in fiction. Each entry is filled with warmth, insight, and humor.”
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Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018) was an American author of novels, children’s books, and short stories, mainly in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. She has also written poetry, literary criticism, and essays. She was widely recognized as one of the greatest science fiction writers in the history of the genre. She won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards on several occasions, as well as the National Book Award, the PEN/Malamud Award, and many other honors and prizes. In 2014, she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
Barbara Caruso, winner of numerous Earphones Awards for narration, is an accomplished actress. A graduate of London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she was a featured player in the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has played starring roles on Broadway and in theaters across the country. She won the Alexander Scourby Reader of the Year Award for her performances of young adult fiction and has more than one hundred audiobook narrations to her credit.