No Time to Spare is a collection of essays from Ursula Le Guin’s blog, not in chronological order but according to what the author thought fit into her categories. The book is divided into four parts.

1. Going over Eighty
2. The Lit Biz
3. Trying to Make Sense of It
4. Rewards

In her note at the beginning, Le Guin says she was inspired by Saramago’s blog and thus she decided to keep a blog without reader interaction. The essays are from the last years of her life, from the turn of the century to 2016. The introduction by Karen Joy Fowler is worth mentioning, too, for its insights.

In the first part of the book, Le Guin points to the difficulty of being old and mentions that generation gaps happen in every age on their own as it is part of human culture. Still, she rages at getting old and what old age does to people and how the younger generations do not understand because they haven’t experienced it yet. She is also irritated by clichés that make old age a fun place to be, such as ‘old age is for sissies’ and ‘you are as old as you feel.’

Then she indicates that she loved her cats, always. Her present cat Pard is her joy and the cat is referred to in detail in several sections of the book with a much more lighter mood

About literature, she is annoyed with the upsurge of unnecessary cursing and expletives that find their way into the most common or simple sentences. She thinks this trend of heavy cursing began during the 1960s and came from religion, elimination, and sex. She believes that meanings change according to the general area of the subject, and says, “Meaning in art isn’t the same as meaning in science. In science, the meaning isn’t changed by when, where, or who reads it. In art, it depends on the reader.” She is also annoyed by the existence of the concept of the great American novel. What she loves are the readers’ letters, especially when coming from kids, and tries to answer each one.

Le Guin has so many interesting takes on many subjects that, while holding this book in my hands, I wondered why I didn’t read her blog or her other books of essays earlier. One of her thoughts that will always stay with me is her annoyance at vegetarians for the simple reason that she thinks plants and vegetables have feelings, too. Having personally wondered about that for a long time, I said out loud, “Ahha!” but then, I said that inwardly many times as I read the book.

Whether the well-read Le Guin is considering food banks as the cathedral of human kindness or putting anger into the categories of private, public, or political, or musing on belief or acceptance, she is mixing the serious with the playful while glancing at the world for one last time with compassionate attention and sometimes annoyance. She is, above all, considering everything she mentions from all its sides and possibilities.

What I loved about the book is everything in it, but especially its author’s impeccable prose that inspires the reader. On the whole, this is excellent writing with wit, sincerity, and keen observation.

getting to know this author's thinking aside from her fiction.

the way the author looks at her subjects from all angles with a keen wit and humor.

Read her other essays and maybe her blog, too.

uplifted because of the things I also thought and those things that hadn't occurred to me.

is Ursula Le Guin, better known as a fantasy and science fiction novelist who passed away in January 2018.

It was fun to read for me for agreeing, most of the time, with the author's thoughts. Since the essays are from her blog, they also show how blog-writing-at-its-best can be.

Here is a quote on literary prizes I copied from the book that may be of interest to WdC writers.
"As a way to honor a writer, an award has genuine value, but the use of prizes as a marketing ploy by corporate capitalism and sometimes as a political gimmick by the awarders has compromised their value. And the more prestigious and valued the prize, the more compromised it is."

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Created Jun 08, 2018 at 3:37pm • Submit your own review...