Cat’s Cradle, Sirens of Titan, Breakfast of champions, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Mother Night, Slaughterhouse Five.

Got halfway through Calypso and lost interest.

I just finished reading it for the first time and oooooooooooo lord… incredible and horrifying, especially in the current moment. I’d love to discuss if anyone else has recently been through it. I’m also amazed that it came out before Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem and would be very interested if anyone has thought about these two works in connection before!

I’ve seen a quote attributed to Mr Vonnegut that goes something like: “Imagime the world if everyone were kind and wise.”

I’m pretty sure that’s NOT it, but something along those lines. Anyway, assuming it exists and isn’t just springing forth from my own head can anybody tell me which book it is from?

I realise I am extremely late to the party but I have only just begun delving further into famous/critically acclaimed works. I just finished Slaughterhouse Five.

I went into this book expecting it to live up to the hype, but man, it really is amazing, I have been in a post book glow just processing my feelings for the past few days.

I am instantly looking for new Vonnegut titles to read. Please let me know what I should go into next!

So it goes…

So, like the title says, I’m wondering if anyone knows of college English Departments that offer a class in Kurt’s work.

I do not remember the book, possibly God Bless You Mrs. Rosewater, but at some point the narrator orders a cocktail that is notable because of the difficulty in making it, because he is doubting the reality of the surreal situation in which he finds himself, so why not order the hardest cocktail to make in the world. Anyone remember the name of the drink and what book it was?

There is a scene in a book that I would like to find again. When I read it many years ago, I remember thinking it was a neat concept, but lately I think about it a lot and find it to be profound. Or maybe my memory is exaggerating things. I had thought that it was from a Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman book, but so far I’ve not found it among their works, and then it occurred to me that it might be from a Vonnegut book. Anyhow…

The scene was something like a radio talk show interview. The guest was an astrologer or something like that, talking about astrology. The host was skeptical and I guess trying to debunk the whole enterprise. The guest responded to this with a lovely monologue about how the point isn’t that people are controlled by stars or whatever; rather, that by applying a consistent set of rules and assumptions to things, patterns will emerge which can be useful for making sense out of life.

Or something like that. Like I said, it was a long time ago and I could be greatly distorting the memory by now. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

Thanks!

Just watched the documentary by Bob Weide and was incredibly moved. His decades-long friendship with Kurt gave him the ability to make a film that really showed who Kurt was as a person. It was a beautiful film. What were everyone’s thoughts on it?

I'm new to actually posting on Reddit. Sorry if this is the wrong forum. Does anyone remember Vonnegut writing a lengthy (somewhat salty) takedown of Denver Colorado? I've been trying to figure out what book it was. Any help would be appreciated.

I’m newer to Vonnegut’s work—Slaughterhouse Five brought me in, and since then I’ve read Cats Cradle and Breakfast of Champions—but while I’m familiar with his fictional novels, that’s really all I know. I just picked up If This Isn’t Nice, What Is? and I just love the way this man talks to people and the advice on life he has to share, so if there’s anything similar he’s written (I realize this is an edited collection but you get what I’m getting at) out there that y’all would recommend I’d love to know!

Also open to thoughts on what I should read next! I currently have God Bless You Mr Rosewater and Galapagos on my shelf.

I have two sons 12.5 and 10. What is the appropriate age to introduce them to Kurt Vonnegut, and what book should I start with?o

i was re-reading slaughterhouse five when i came across lance rumfoord’s character and wondered if there’s any stated relation to winston niles rumfoord or if vonnegut just re-used the surname.

my understanding is that slaughterhouse five and the sirens of titan are in the same overarching universe (both books mention tralfamadorians. and with this logic, breakfast of champions also takes place in this universe, thanks to kilgore trout!), so perhaps it’s not too far off? please let me know your theories :D

I'm trying to find a passage from one of Kurt's books that I read a while back:

He was telling a story about the cost of land and property getting so high that people started buying balloons and would live hovering in the air because they couldn't afford to stay on the ground.

I think I narrowed the search down to the following: Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five, Breakfast of Champions, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater and Sirens of Titan

If this sounds familiar to anyone, any tips / help would be appreciated!

Just saw this quote on some instagram post:

“Life is a garden, not a road. We enter and exit through the same gate. Wandering, where we go matters less than what we notice.”

I searched online and it's credited to Vonnegut in Cat's Cradle, but it's not a line I remember from the book, and doesn't quite sound like his voice, though it aligns with much of his philosophy and other quotes of his.

Seems like this might be one of those quotes attributed to him because it fits his ethos?

I have a copy of Cat's Cradle on my desk. I couldn't find a page number associated with this quote, so I couldn't confirm.

He would be celebrating armistice day of course

Poo tee weet