Kurt Vonnegut, RIP
 

Happened Yesterday.

I've only read Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions so far, but the guy was a genius and I've been making it a point to buy more of his books.

In fact, I bought one at lunch today. Timequake. Pretty much exactly the same time as CNN's news article.

Super freaky. I choose to accept this as more than coincidence.

Anyway, I always thought it was incredible that such an amazing genius of a writer was still alive in this age of garbage literature. He will be sorely missed. Among the last of a dying breed.

Is it just me, or have more famous people than usual been dying lately?

I have yet to read a full Vonnegut novel, but I've been meaning to for ages. (My dad is a big fan; he told me about Ice-9 and the Green Death.) What I have read is "Harrison Bergeron," and if I ever write something that powerful and prescient, I'll die happy.

I haven't read one of his novels yet, but i've read loads of his short storys. My 10th gread english teacher did a unit on him, and i credit that with first intresting me in sciance fiction.

I prefer to think that he isn't dead so much as "unstuck in time."

I've read Slaughterhouse Five, Jailbird, and listened to an audiobook of Timequake. I think I've read a few other things by him, but I don't recall what.

So it goes.

One of those many authors whose name I've heard, but have never actually read anything they wrote. I'll get round to it in time though - at the moment I'm hip-deep in stuff to read, and discovering that a goodly number of H.G. Wells' novels are available for free in ebook form hasn't helped matters any.

It is sad news though. Stanislaw Lem last year, Kurt Vonnegut this year... who's next? Arthur C. Clarke? :(

I've only read 2BR02B, which was interesting. In a slightly stomach-churning way.

Those of you who have only read one or two things by Vonnegut should read more. Short stories, too ('Harrison Bergeron' is only two or three pages of Welcome to the Monkey House.) Those who have read his Big Hits should also read stuff like Player Piano and Bluebeard.

Heigh-ho.