It Was Sad & It Was Beautiful

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin. Finished July 5, 2026; audiobook on audible

Not Rob Inglis narration growing on me though lol. But I’m also happy to see that Jenny Sterlin does narration later in the series as she is one of my favorite narrators. Dude this book was so much darker than I imagined it would be. The scenario that takes Tenar to the tombs, the life she lives there, the radicalization she undergoes during her time there, and the difficulty of breaking out of that mindset, super dark stuff guys. I did enjoy the POV switch from the first book and I like that each book might be a new POV with Ged continuing to appear. On to the next..

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. Finished June 30, 2026; audiobook on Spotify

I started the Earthsea books on a friend’s (long-awaited) recommendation. I admire Ursula K. Le Guin and have read a few of her books (Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed), which were amazing, but I don’t know much about her career outside of one insane podcast episode about her family/early life and the (on-point) quotes that float around the internet. This first book could be a standalone, you get everything you need from a fantasy story here, but you can also see the potential for more. I really liked how the world-building was done as a complement to the characters’ stories. It doesn’t feel like oh I have a great idea for a fantasy world, let me show you through these characters, but more like here are some interesting characters and the world they inhabit. I continued on to the 2nd book right away. And shoutout to Rob Inglis for pronouncing evil like he was channeling Christopher Lee lol.