I wasted my youth not reading this beautiful series by Ursula K. LeGuin and I thought it deserved to be the first post here. Having read so much fantasy over the years, I can see so much of it in the books that have come out more recently. It’s the type of book that is written so that every single word has a purpose, and doesn’t languish in one place or another. I highly recommend the audiobook version as well.
I also got to them as an adult, having first seen the not very good Studio Ghibli film. It’s a series where, like so many of Ursula’s work, you have to completely break all preconceived notions of trope and action.
She undoes the macho power fantasy and presents empathy as the key to understanding and resolving so many issues in life.
highly recommend the series, more so since they have seen recent reprints.