I wish I could tell you all about the many Usual K. LeGuin books I've read and loved, but I am woefully behind on her work. She was an author I specifically intended to get know through the #ReadWomen2014 experience, and I have failed miserably, but I won't let that stop me from recommending her.

Her work is often described as science fiction or fantasy, but she is a genre fiction writer who defies and transcends her own genres on a regular basis. Most of her major novels fall into two series, but it isn't necessary to read them in any kind of special order; the series define the fictional universe in which the short stories/novels take place, but there is no need to feel bogged down or intimidated by some kind of massive and demanding commitment to a book series. If you have read more of her work than me (i.e. any of her work), leave your impressions in the Comments.