cheerfulMany of us who read science fiction and fantasy were likely influenced by her early writings, such as the Earthsea trilogy, and the Hainish series (including The Left Hand of Darkness), and I am staggered by the sheer amount of material that she has written over the years and which I have in my possession. And honoured to own.
While I began with Asimov, Tolkien, and some of the other great writers who dominated the late 1950's (as my dad felt that I should read the sf and f that was written during the decade of my birth and before), it was the words and prose of Le Guin's writing that gave me my love of social science fiction, and introduced me to the social sciences in such a terrific fashion.
Happy Birthday, UKL!! May the Goddess bless you with health, happiness, prosperity, and the ability to keep us entertained with enjoyable, thought-provoking books and short stories for many years to come! :)