2014: The Year of the Vonnegut
I love Kurt Vonnegut. Everything that I’ve read that he’s written is a gem1 and his interviews are amazing. Except for PG Wodehouse, I consider Vonnegut the greatest writer of comedic depth-psychology in the history of the universe. I read very few biographies, but when I learned of the Vonnegut biography And So It Goes, I ran right out and devoured it in mere days.
That said, I’ve only read a portion of his books, essays and short stories. However, I will remedy this shortcoming in 2014 — the year of the Vonnegut. Here, in my research are my missing readings, in order of year written. If it’s not on the list then I’ve already read it; the remainder I will read starting next month. Those in italics contain Kilgore Trout.
- Canary in a Cathouse
- Mother Night
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater- Welcome to the Monkey House
- Happy Birthday, Wanda June
- Between Time and Timbuktu
- Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons
- Slapstick
- Jailbird
- Palm Sunday
Deadeye Dick- Galapagos
- Hocus Pocus
- Fates Worse Than Death
- Timequake
Have you Vonnegut’d?
:F
9 Comments, Comment or Ping
Eric Normand
I have read Galapagos twice and loved it both times.
Dec 8th, 2013
MaysonL
As a lagniappe, read Carl Schlachter’s little homage: The Dangers of Free Shipping: http://techpinions.com/the-dangers-of-free-shipping/25343
Dec 8th, 2013
Rob
[1] In 12th (??) grade, my social studies teach convinced me to read God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (as extra-curricular reading) after convincing me to read Atlas Shrugged (and in the that order). And whereas with the latter he convinced me to buy it, with the former he just handed me a stack of photocopied pages. So yes, you’ll enjoy crap out of this.
[2] This past year I read Cat’s Cradle and Mother Night. (In the opposite order, and oddly enough right after my second reading of Functional JavaScript, in a weird bit of reflective synchronicity.) Anyway, Mother Night is positively fantastic and darkly comic and massively under-rated. Enjoy.
Dec 8th, 2013
RogerTheGeek
I’ve read a bunch of them and the plan is to read a bunch more when I get the time. Retirement isn’t that far off so maybe I will read more then. I always feel like I know him when I read his work. It is like a mind-melt. I’m not sure if that shows what a excellent writer he is or whether my neurons aren’t fully formed. Probably too late if the latter.
Dec 8th, 2013
Jon Millett
+1 A toast to Kurt. He is surely up in heaven now ;)
Dec 8th, 2013
Thomas Reynolds
Of those remaining books, I prefer Mother Night. I still think about its resolution frequently.
Dec 8th, 2013
Wally Glutton
I finished reading Bluebeard yesterday. I too love Vonnegut. The closest thing I’ve found to an instruction manual for life are the books of Kurt Vonnegut and Robertson Davies.
Enjoy the year of Vonnegut!
Dec 14th, 2013
Eugene Wallingford
I’ve read ’em all, most multiple times. Even late in his career, he could surprise me; Bluebeard made me happy. It’s hard to go wrong with his novels. Some are subpar, but even those were worth a read.
Jan 7th, 2014
Eugene Wallingford
Oh, and you must read Mother Night. Wampeters… and Palm Sunday are delightful pastiches of essay, speech, and memoir.
Jan 7th, 2014
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