Reddit mentions of The Left Hand of Darkness: 50th Anniversary Edition

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin

A classic scifi novel that I've yet to read; it's won both the 1969 Nebula and 1970 Hugo awards.

From Amazon:

> Winter is an Earth-like planet with two major differences: conditions are semi artic even at the warmest time of the year, and the inhabitants are all of the same sex. Tucked away in a remote corner of the universe, they have no knowledge of space travel or of life beyond their own world. And when a strange envoy from space brings news of a vast coalition of planets which they are invited to join, he is met with fear, mistrust and disbelief...'The Left Hand of Darkness' is a groundbreaking work of feminist science fiction, an imaginative masterpiece which poses challenging questions about sexuality, sexism and the organisation of society.

Santiago by Mike Resnick fits the bill pretty well; it's an abstracted space frontier setting reminiscent of the Old West. Very evocative.

Other than that, you could look at Ursula LeGuin (I'm thinking of The Left Hand of Darkness but she wrote many). And if you haven't yet read it, Foundation is a classic of the genre.

You might be interested in Unquenchable Fire by Rachel Pollack.

It's not exactly scifi in the sense that you're thinking of, but it's set in an alternate reality where society has progressed along entirely different lines. I think it may have been heavily inspired by LSD. The book is just batshit weird, but it is an interesting read.

Also, try Ursela K. Leguin's The Left Hand of Darkness. It deals heavily with gender issues and how they relate to society, as it's set on a planet where the inhabitants cycle regularly between male and female.

*Ursula Le Guin

Left Hand of Darkness takes a prescient look at gender questions.

https://www.amazon.com/Left-Hand-Darkness-Ursula-Guin/dp/0441478123/

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• The Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clarke [Songs]. Began August 6th.
  
  
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• House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds [suns]. Began December 5th.
  
  
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• Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke [childhood]. Began December 1st.
  
  
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• Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny [lord]. Began December 5th.
  
  
• Zones of Thought Trilogy by Vernor Vinge [zones], [fire], [deepness], [children]. Began October 28th.
  
  
• Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami [Wonderland]. Began October 3rd.
  
  
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• Rule 34 by Charles Stross [Rule 34]. Began August 2nd.
  
  
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• Embassytown by China Miéville [Embassytown]. Began June 1st.
  
  
• The Dervish House by Ian McDonald [dervish]. Began May 2nd.
  
  
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin [LHoD]. Began April 5th.
  
  
• A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. [canticle]. Began March 1st.
  
  
• Inverted World by Christopher Priest [inverted world]. Began February 1st.
  
  
• The City & the City by China Miéville [the city]. Began January 1st.
  
  

  2010######
  

  
  

• Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks [surface]. Began December 3rd.
  
  
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell [cloud atlas]. Began November 3rd.
  
  
• Anathem by Neal Stephenson [anathem]. Began October 1st.
  
  
• Blindsight by Peter Watts [blindsight]. Began September 1st.
  
  
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• The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect by Roger Williams [MoPI]. Began July 15th.

I'm surprised no one has brought it up yet, but I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring for Ursula K. Le Guin and the Earthsea Quartet. Le Guin is a master of writing character-driven fantasy with a focused message that extends beyond the worlds she creates, though those worlds are fascinating in their own right.

I think the best way to express how impactful her writing has been in my life is with a part of the introduction to The Left Hand of Darkness, wherein she discusses just why she writes fiction:


> A metaphor for what?

> If I could have said it non-metaphorically, I would not have written all these words, this novel; and Genly Ai would never have sat down at my desk and used up my ink and typewriter ribbon in informing me, and you, rather solemnly, that the truth is a matter of the imagination.

If you haven't already read it, you could pick up The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's topical for your experiment because it explores gender, or rather its lack. It's also fairly short and brilliantly written.

Check out The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin.

• Gene Wolfe (Book of the New Sun)
  
• Ursula K LeGuin (any entry point in the Hainish universe stuff is probably fine, if you want to start from the beginning start here otherwise try maybe The Left Hand of Darkness or The Dispossessed)
  
• CJ Cherryh (I'd suggest trying Downbelow Station)
  
• Michael Marshall Smith - Only Forward
  
• China Mieville (maybe Perdido Street Station)
  
• Samuel R Delany (Dahlgren)

The Left Hand of Darkness <- Ursula Le Guin is wonderful.

Fire Upon the Deep/A Deepness in the Sky by Vinge <- The literal best alien writing I can think of.

I look forward to those future Left Hand of Darkness days when body augmentation is so easy and effective/reversible that it's a non-issue.

The post got removed but I just wanted to reply to this last comment you made in case you come back to see it. What I would advise is just try not to be perfect. Just be yourself. What makes you feel good. It can be anything. Especially related to fashion, the places you hang out, the people you choose to be with.

Please note you didn't really get donwvoted here. You can go off on people in r/rant, r/angry (not anger) or r/offmychest all day. But this sub we really try to dig in and help people with anger management.

We can work ourselves up into an existential crisis over almost anything. Please realize you are not in a worst case scenario and other people don't wake up in the morning intent on ruining your day. So go easy on yourself and on everyone else. Spewing hatred at people will not foster peace. The transgender community is in the spotlight right now and it's basically being treated as the red-headed step-child of the world. So you need to seek out calm people for advice, people who have already been through it and aren't in the throws of figuring out who they are right now. Seek wisdom not opinions.

I used to hang out in punk clubs, gay bars, goth clubs and basically what most people would consider the worst dive bars in town because i was really low but found I could talk to other people who felt like outcasts out there. I didn't have any commonality with most people. But I started seeing people who dressed as weird as humanly possible because it made them feel like they were expressing themselves. It was a circus but it's a beautiful circus to those who appreciate it.

Even physically ugly people find love. We know this for a fact just people-watching on Saturday nights.
But thank God, right? If not, half of us would never find mates. We don't get to choose what we look like. We can alter it but only so much. Do what you would want to do anyway in life and the right people will come along. Gratitude, compassion, forgiveness will attract what you want.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you are kind to people and give them a chance they might have an easier job seeing the beauty in you. So omit those bad words and harsh feelings toward any specific group of people. They didn't help you. If something's not doing you any good, stop doing it. But don't lash out at them like it's their fault. When we know we have a hard problem on our hands, we have to work extra hard and find what heals us by ourselves. The power to choose your life is in your own hands. Take the wheel.

I suggest you find a counselor/therapist who deals with what you're dealing with. There are a lot out there that are well versed specifically in things like gender identity, body dysmorphia and conditions we don't even have names for yet. Shop around a bit to find the one that you connect with and offers suggestions that help you. Keep a journal and write your thoughts in it so you can go back and evaluate it and see if it's really true or if you're being negative. Having a journal gives you something to immediately go to and stay on track when you have a therapist as well. Also, you should just read. Read and read and read. Until you're kind of done. And then write. Write about what your experience has been. Being positive takes work, it doesn't just fall in our lap.

Movies are good too. Movies, movies, movies. Find movies that make you feel better and then ask yourself why they make you feel better.

It was twenty years ago and I'm not hip or that daring anymore. But I found my circus. Find your circus.

Hope you can feel better soon.

If you like Sci Fi and reading the Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin was the book that helped me most. Very sad but deep and interesting read. It explores a lot of gender issues. http://www.amazon.com/Left-Hand-Darkness-Ursula-Guin/dp/0441478123