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 already got duped by the BBC radio version because I thought it was one of those book bundles--is it worth listening? I have to read the rest of the series before starting so I'm curious if it's worth it.
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.
This is my all time favourite series. I read the original trilogy back in the early 80s. The relatively recent illustrated hardback is amazing, and includes a couple of short stories that were very hard to find.