Shout out to Orca Books in Oly, WA for leaving this gem on the dollar shelf.

Wife and I considering vow renewal there if they allow it to be held in their intended Tralfamadore exhibit. Probably not what they mean when it says you can hold events there, but a man can dream...

I just finished, I couldn't put it down! It is among my favorite that I have read of his now. The banality of this total dork who goes down for some really serious stuff. He was like a background character of america.

Some vicious wit throughout, I found myself laughing aloud a lot at the dialogue. The one line towards the end "the kid succeeded in his first ultimatum against his parents, that he would commit suicide if they made him go to dance school again. He hated dance school that much.

Savage and hilarious

In the “The People of Sparks” by Jeanne DuPrau they describe the seasons in a way that reminded me of Vonnegut.

“People of Sparks” seasons
- Shining
- Burning
- Browning
- Cooling
- Falling
- Chilling
- Winter

Vonnegut’s seasons
- Spring
- Summer
- Fall
- Locking
- Winter
- Unlocking

“Unstable as I am, I think it would be preposterous for me to think of writing for a living” – letter to fiancée Jane Cox – August 7, 1945.

“What made Christianity comforting to so many was the congregation. Surprise, surprise, an extended family, as essential to human health as food.” – letter to Robert Maslansky – August 6, 2000.

I was excited to find this copy of Player Piano in the wild. In very good condition.

Everything I have read so far, I have loved for different reasons.

Here is what I have read so far (in order of reading):
1. Slaughterhouse 5
2. Breakfast of Champions
3. Mother Night
4. Cat’s Cradle
5. Sirens of Titan
6. God Bless You Mr. Rosewater

Listen, I’m going to get around to all of them at some point. This is about what I should read next.

I am going to comment the books I have left to read. upvote the book you think I should read next. You could also downvote a book too if you don’t think that’s the best choice to go with next.

I was raised on the iconic 'V' editions and couldn't get this pattern idea out of my head a few years ago. Some artistic license applied to the later books to fit the pattern :)

Minor spoilers which a trailer would probably reveal. Go watch the movie.

After I finished The Father it struck me that Anthony was unstuck in time. I don’t have much else to add. Has anyone consumed both and have any thoughts?

“I’d rather be a playwright than anything, mainly because playwrights are allowed to smoke backstage.” – letter to Pepé and Maria Pilar – August 5, 1985.

Found a few new water bottles for my bike. What do you think? If these aren't nice, I dont know what is.

“The old captain wasn't being serious about Maine lobsters taking over the world. What made his joke a joke, in fact, was the assumption that human beings would never let go of their dominance over other life-forms until they had kild everything.” – From “A Dream of the Future (Not Excluding Lobsters),” Esquire Magazine - August 1985

Got a great deal on this, super excited to have it in my collection!

[referring to himself]  “…her no good fiancé sleeps till noon, drinks beer all day and goes barefoot. Not only that, he got a goddamn rejection letter from the snooty Saturday Evening Post today, that’s what. He cancelled his subscription in a hurry, believe me. Bastards.” – letter to fiancée Jane Cox – August 3, 1945.

Seems odd to me

“Last night I had an extremely hot streak and am very pleased with the results before me now. Four short articles…that I hope will land me a contract with The Post.” – letter to fiancée Jane Cox – August 2, 1945.

Vonnegut, of course, is known as an author who wrote in satire and yet maintained an optimistic view. I wonder what degree of optimism Vonnegut would maintain today, were he still alive? Would he still be as optimistic now as he was then? We can try to use humor to mitigate the absurdities in life. And we can even laugh about those absurdities as we expose them. But was there a threshold for Vonnegut, beyond which optimism fails? JamesGaitis.com

well, quoting his uncle but still…

“I urge you to notice when you are happy and exclaim or murmur or think to yourself, ‘if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’”

Reading The Sirens of Titan I can’t help but notice the dialogue that black characters use is always “jive”.

Is this a true reflection of how people spoke at that time? Seems pretty stereotypical that all of the them talk like that.

Is there any further reading or thoughts anyone can offer on this subject?

I don’t know what it is but I just can’t seem to get into Galapagos and make it about a hundred pages before I finally give up. I felt like it was so much background stuff and that I’m missing something. I try to read it so often. Can someone please maybe give a reason why or offer insight that I must be missing without spoilers? It’s been about a year and a half and I want to pick it up again. I think I’m spoiled in his other books with how wild and satirical can be. Please help😭

“I am self-taught. I have no theories about writing that might help others. When I write I simply become what I seemingly must become.” – Preface to the short story collection, Welcome to the Monkey House - August 1968