Vonnegut fans

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kloopper
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From: bangkok
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Who.

kl0pper
izen
etownpunk ("so it goes...")

izen
an obscure reference
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word

kloopper
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From: bangkok
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What you read.

izen
an obscure reference
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From: colorado
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uh.....
Book.

kloopper
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Nice, me too.

angelanicole
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if chuck had never been invented, vonnegut would be my favorite writer ever. i love his work so much, and i have yet to read a vonnegut book i didnt like.
those books with the almost-the-same-but-not covers make a pretty significant hole in my otherwise nearly empty pocket.. but every one is definitely worth the genius contained inside.

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kloopper
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The one's with the V one em? yes yes.

angelanicole
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mmhmm.

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[COLOR=Red] with a bit of luck, his life was ruined forever. always thinking that just behind some narrow door in all of his favorite bars, men in red woolen shirts are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know.[/COLOR]

kloopper
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From: bangkok
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I don't like that shit he does
"Listen:"

Shtupid.

angelanicole
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i do... one of my favorite things about him is his style.

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[COLOR=Red] with a bit of luck, his life was ruined forever. always thinking that just behind some narrow door in all of his favorite bars, men in red woolen shirts are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know.[/COLOR]

izen
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[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by kl0pper [/i]
[B]I don't like that shit he does
"Listen:"

Shtupid. [/B][/QUOTE]
hey!
(see sig)

etownpunk
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From: Easley SC
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I was hoping someone would notice: So it goes... Kurt Vonnegut is my second favorite writer...Chuck being my first...His books are good stuff.

izen
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etown, i noticed the "so it goes..." thing.
you know, i was on some other forum and compared Chuck to Kurt and got blasted. so many people in here consider Kurt their favorite (or second favorite) author, it's nice to know other people appreciate both these author's and maybe even see a little bit of a relation between them.

angelanicole
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they do have a lot of similarities, and it definitely is a justified comparison.
i went to the conference last year, and there were a couple literary comparison presentations.. i talked to the man who presented a couple of them about the comparison of the two writers, and he agreed that there are a lot of similarites between the two. we discussed similar themes, the repetition that comes with minimalist writing [although kurt is less of a minimalist then chuck, he has very obvious minimalist leanings, which are either him concentrating on being more like a minimalist, or just being a fucking good writer..either way..] , a similar character voice, the use of pushed-reality twists that seem completely probable, and narrative changes.
i asked this man about it because kurt was my chuck, in the terms of how chuck is to a lot of people. he got me into reading real litertature, and showed me that writing can be so much more than i thought it could be. i read breakfast of champions freshman year of high school, and it was one of the biggest discoveries, ever. it completely changed how i viewed absolutely everything, and totally fucked up my psyche in general.. i then sucked up almost all the others, feeling fulfilled yet also feeling as if i had just hit the tip of an iceberg that would be forever changing. in that sense, he was my chuck.. chuck for me came later, and although it was a similar sort of literary refreshment, it wasnt to that level of complete epiphany as it was with kurt.
chuck is definitely my favorite writer at this point, because his writing is new to me, and it shows me something different about the world and myself everytime i read one of his works. in that sense, he has replaced vonnegut to an extent that vonnegut is no longer really that new.
anyway, they are both my favorite, and i can totally empathize with why you would make a comparison. if i was a lit major, my thesis would be comparing the two of them...they have a lot in common, and it also makes one wonder if chuck is a sort of current generations kurt, if that is applicable. they are obviously different, but they have pretty endless similarities. so...yeah..its a great topic that is exceedingly interesting and is definitely a viable idea.

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[COLOR=Red] with a bit of luck, his life was ruined forever. always thinking that just behind some narrow door in all of his favorite bars, men in red woolen shirts are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know.[/COLOR]

angelanicole
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indeed.

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[COLOR=Red] with a bit of luck, his life was ruined forever. always thinking that just behind some narrow door in all of his favorite bars, men in red woolen shirts are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know.[/COLOR]

Bohonkie
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I'm reading Cats Cradle right now, and I'm loving it. The man is a fuckin' genius, I swear. I had heard he was good, but I wasn't expecting this. Brilliant style, brilliant ideas, brilliant author.

-Bohonkie

kloopper
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Breakfast of Champions, my boy. Do that one next.

SpacedOut_Fetus
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KVJ and Chuck are both tied as my favorite Authors right now. They are what got me actually wanting to read again; I read Invisible Monsters and Breakfast of Champs. back-to-back and was blown away by both of them and since then I have been on a non-stop binge of reading constantly.

Unlike what I did with Palahniuk, which was read all of his published books (up untill Lullaby) back-to-back-to-back I am reading Vonnegut at a much more slower pace with long periods of not-reading-Kurt in between. I find it more edifying to know that I still have another 10-15 more KVJ books to read so I won't be completely spoiled by him.

I just got DEAD-EYE DICK, Jailbird, and Sirens of Titan recently so I guess I will probably be reading one of those soon as well.

Did anyone else see Kurt Vonnegut in a series of commercials that came on last year, I'm not even sure what the hell it was they were selling. Maybe a credit card or insurance or something. Anyways it had Kurt talking about life in one of them and him signing a copy of Slaughterhouse-Five in the other--- It was weird and I wasn't sure if it was a dream or an actual commercial at first.

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izen
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bohonkie, it's great to hear of another Vonnegut fan. the guy has these subtle little things he puts in that are so frikin profound, and that's rare in a day and age when everything has already been said (or so they say).
Fetus, i didn't see those commercials, that sounds whacky. if you find out more about them let me know; unlike Chuck, i know very little about the man himself. i just read Dead-Eye Dick and i'm into Jailbird now, Sirens of Titan and Cat's Cradle will be my next two i imagine. it does suck having read all of Chuck, and i'm always happy to know, as you are, that there's plenty of Kurt to hold me over for a long while.

angelanicole
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his subtle humor rocks.

as for favorites, my big two are breakfast of champions and cats cradle.

as i said before, breakfast of champions was that big huge revolutionary book for me.. but i wont delve into that life story for a second time in the same thread..:rolleyes:

__________________________

[COLOR=Red] with a bit of luck, his life was ruined forever. always thinking that just behind some narrow door in all of his favorite bars, men in red woolen shirts are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know.[/COLOR]

Ozymandias
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Me too.

Though I've only read:
Slaughterhouse-Five
Breakfast of Champions
Cat's Cradle
Welcome to the Monkey House

For some reason SH5 was the only one I didn't like.

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angelanicole
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[QUOTE]For some reason SH5 was the only one I didn't like.[/QUOTE]

tis also my least favorite.

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[COLOR=Red] with a bit of luck, his life was ruined forever. always thinking that just behind some narrow door in all of his favorite bars, men in red woolen shirts are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know.[/COLOR]

SpacedOut_Fetus
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Slaughterhouse Five was also my least favorite but after a second reading this past weekend I really thought it improved a second time around for me.

__________________________

"Excuse me sir, Did you wash your hands after you took that big heaping dump. You know that sign, that sign says ALL employees MUST wash their hands after using the restroom, What part of that do you not understand?"- Malcom X

"Would you care to lick my sweaty baulz after they have been dipped in the finest venerial juices and sauteed in my own ass-sweat, madam?"- Winston Churchill

izen
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From: colorado
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that seems to be a lot of people's least favorite's. i really enjoyed it, but i do lean more toward's war stories and such. my least favorite of his, while still enjoyable, are the relatively really sci-fi ones, dealing with the Tralmalfadorian's and what not.
that's why i enjoyed Dead-Eye Dick and really into BlueBird, more down to earth (no pun intended) non-alien having realistic stories.

etownpunk
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has anyone seen a book called Thank god for Dr. Kevorkian? <---not sure about the title but I think that's the name for it...Can't seem to find it in stores any where around where I live...

izen
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God Bless You Mr. Kevorkian?
i think that's it.
i've seen it at plenty of bookstore, if you can't find it locally try [url]www.amazon.com[/url] or barnes & nobles website.

Bohonkie
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I have a single hardcover edition that contains six or so of his works. I borrowed it from my English teacher, although I don't think he will be getting it back....

-Bohonkie

PsychoKeety
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[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by SpacedOut_Fetus [/i]
[B]
Did anyone else see Kurt Vonnegut in a series of commercials that came on last year, I'm not even sure what the hell it was they were selling. Maybe a credit card or insurance or something. Anyways it had Kurt talking about life in one of them and him signing a copy of Slaughterhouse-Five in the other--- It was weird and I wasn't sure if it was a dream or an actual commercial at first. [/B][/QUOTE]

I only saw one...it seems like it was those credit card ones where they ask for ID for checks and stuff. Eh, I don't really remember now that I say that.

But yeah. I didn't even realize he was still alive until I saw them.

kloopper
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[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by moth [/i]
[B]I currenty have Jailbird sitting on my desk but im not READY to read it yet

It has that dude

the reacurring character, the writer or w/e Kilgore Trout

i want to read them in succession ( the ones with Kilgore) [/B][/QUOTE] Almost all of his characters are reacurring.
THat's why I said you shouldn't read Timequake till you'ev at least read BoC.

Sjoerdie Q
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Quote:
Almost all of his characters are reacurring.
THat's why I said you shouldn't read Timequake till you'ev at least read BoC.

I didn't know that and timequake is the only one I've read!!! Shocked
But I still liked it, his style and humor (this may seem weird) reminded me of Roald Dahl...
PsychoKeety
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I love Roald Dahl.

I think i may have seen that too....or it was someone else who reminded me of him...now I can't really remember, but I think it was Vonnegut.

Strange Happy

ArcherDylan27
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By my location i think we can all figure Breakfast of Champions is my fave, and for some reason i may have already mentioned this but i think its soo funny the way he describes that one guys seashell as a Salami plopped on on his thigh, i love that!

izen
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i just finished Jailbird, and that entire part where he thinks he's in a dream, and everyboy he ran into that day is all in the limo, and then everything that follows it, was some of the best writing and beautifully executed 'whacky situations' i've ever read. it blew my mind how he pulled it off so smoothly. the book was almost getting boring, and it was a day late back to the library, but i picked it up and read a few more pages before leaving to return it and next thing i know it's one more day late and i'm finishing it.
good stuff.
however, and i might have mentioned this already: do any other Vonnegut fans think that his books, while being wonderful engaging reads, suffer from slow or poor endings? it's my only complaint about him, but not big enough of one to make me not read him.