Books as personality tests...

[wshaffer]

So, according to rather charming chat between China Mieville and Ursula LeGuin on Radio 4 (I love the bit where she makes him tea, and they talk about PG Tips), "It's been said that you can tell a lot about someone by whether they prefer The Left Hand of Darkness or The Dispossessed."

When I first read both novels in my early teens, I liked both but unquestionably preferred The Dispossessed.

What do you suppose you can tell about me from that?

The most obvious thing that springs to mind is that when I was in my early teens I was far more obsessed with working out how I felt about politics and justice than how I felt about sex and gender. Strange but true.

My opinion might be different these days - I haven't reread The Dispossessed since I was a teenager, and it might look less eye-opening now.

Comments

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

I came to LHOD first, and prefer it - and frankly in its own way it has a great deal of politics.

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

Yes, LHOD is full of politics, and it was sloppy writing on my part to imply that it wasn't. Though whether that would have been apparent to me as a teenager is an interesting question.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Er, yes.

[amoken.livejournal.com]

I felt the same about them.