Vonnegut's best books in order?

"M André Z Eckenrode" <mazec.RemoveThis@localnet.commie> wrote in message news:<10jh9on1mmsfn84.RemoveThis@corp.supernews.com>...
  > > It may be challenging to compile a list like this. I'm simply looking
  > > for a way to weigh the Vonnegut books I haven't read yet against one
  > > another so I can maximize the potential enjoyment I'll get from them,
  > > and skip the less popular ones for sake of time.
 >
 > My tendency is to read things in chronological order, but of the fiction
 > titles you haven't read yet, I enjoyed "Player Piano" and "Timequake" less
 > than the others. I still enjoyed them, though, and I'm glad I read them. Are
 > you counting the non-fiction collections/collages/blivits?
 >
 > -André

Yes, indeed. I just finished Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons and
thought it was great but would probably rank below Welcome to the
Monkey-House in my list. Next up are Palm Sunday and Galapagos, and
then a break for a while so I can study more for school and then I'm
going to end with Hocus Pocus and Timequake.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Vonnegut's best books in order? 

Didn't care that much for Hocus Pocus, though I should read it again.
Same with Jailbird.
I didn't like Timequake much the first time but liked it a lot the 2nd
time.
Breakfast of Champions is so funny, I've read it like 5 times!
Slapstick: although KV rated it a C - mostly based on all the critics
who slammed him for it, I think - I thought it was great and have read
it about 3 times.
God Bless You Mr. Goldwater is great, as is Galapagos.
Mother Night is one I want to read for a 3rd time (and the movie is
great, too! Seen it twice!)
Sirens of Titan I did not enjoy as much the 2nd time through, but it's
still great!
I guess Breakfast of Champions is probably my favorite, just because
it cracks me up.
I also have read "Palm Sunday" and "Fates Worse Than Death" many
times, and they are among my favorites.
I also love "Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut" which is worth picking
up and reading from time to time (though this is technically one of
KV's books)
 >> Stay informed about: Vonnegut's best books in order? 

I agree with the movie thing ... Mother Night is a great adaptation, and
I've never liked Nick Nolte more. I'd like to find that puppy on DVD
somewhere.

I've yet to see SH5 on film, so I can't verily say that MN is THE best.

New to this NG, incidentally. Howdy.

I began a college course on Thu. called "Fiction Workshop." The Prof asked
the class what contempo authors they like, and why, and two guys immediately
mentioned KV, with one guy saying Cat's Cradle was one of his favorite books
of all time. I just happened to have that one in my bag, too (having a
couple of hours to kill between classes that day). It's good to see that
some youngsters are still embracing his work. The Prof then asked why they
like KV so much, and one of the guys said something to the effect of "He can
create the most absurd, most heartbreaking situations and still manage to
make them seem hilarious." I couldn't agree more.

As far as my faves (in no discernible order - except alphabetical)

Bluebeard
Breakfast
Cats
Mother
Slaught

Nobody's mentioned Bagombo Snuff Box yet - some good stories, some so-so,
but a great representation of his early work. The only fiction of his I
haven't read are Sirens and Jailbird. Any opinions on those two?

DD


"DanKaye" <dankaye.TakeThisOut@nowhere.info> wrote in message
news:7conj05ibhu74m03pskmm97p52ml3svmqs@4ax.com...
 > Didn't care that much for Hocus Pocus, though I should read it again.
 > Same with Jailbird.
 > I didn't like Timequake much the first time but liked it a lot the 2nd
 > time.
 > Breakfast of Champions is so funny, I've read it like 5 times!
 > Slapstick: although KV rated it a C - mostly based on all the critics
 > who slammed him for it, I think - I thought it was great and have read
 > it about 3 times.
 > God Bless You Mr. Goldwater is great, as is Galapagos.
 > Mother Night is one I want to read for a 3rd time (and the movie is
 > great, too! Seen it twice!)
 > Sirens of Titan I did not enjoy as much the 2nd time through, but it's
 > still great!
 > I guess Breakfast of Champions is probably my favorite, just because
 > it cracks me up.
 > I also have read "Palm Sunday" and "Fates Worse Than Death" many
 > times, and they are among my favorites.
 > I also love "Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut" which is worth picking
 > up and reading from time to time (though this is technically one of
 > KV's books)
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Vonnegut's best books in order? 

Hi,
Welcome to the group. I haven't been here, much lately myself, but a
couple years ago this group was quite active. I guess Vonnegut not
releasing anything new has made it less interesting... Also,
"Wyaduck", or Robert Wiede, the producer of the "Mother Night" movie
and personal friend of KV used to post here quite a bit, but not much
anymore. Except for his recent post that he is selling an autographed
(by KV) poster....Here's his page at imdb.com:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004332/
He also is a producer of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" which a lot of people
like a lot; I'm sort of luke-warm on it... I think sometimes it's
hilarious and other times it's too much the same thing: Larry getting
upset over something and lots of yelling ensues. Funny, but it gets
old. I admit I only saw the first season, though; it may have
improved. Love Mr. Weide's work on "Mother Night", though!

As for "Mother Night" on dvd. it's here, at amazon:
http://myturl.com/000UF
Or here, at Barnes and Noble:
http://myturl.com/000UG

$22.48 at Amazon, I only listed the higher B&N url in case you have a
B&N store near you and would rather buy it there. I'm sure Borders and
other places like Tower etc. have it as well.

As to Sirens, I loved it the first time I read it, like 15 years ago;
but on re-reading it recently, I found it less enjoyable, unlike other
KV books which I have read 3-4-5 times and still enjoyed them. But
then, maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it when I read it, or
something like that...

Jailbird I only have read once and remember it as being hard to get
into, a different kind of book for KV, as if he was trying to write
something more "serious" to please the critics.

Did anyone else here feel that way about Jailbird? I will have to
re-read it some day... I felt that way about Hocus Pocus, too...
 >> Stay informed about: Vonnegut's best books in order? 

Here's my list:

Bluebeard
The Sirens Of Titan
Slaughterhouse Five
Breakfast Of Champions
Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons
Fates Worse Than Death
Cat's Cradle
Galapagos
Palm Sunday
Timequake
Hocus Pocus
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
Slapstick
Deadeye Dick


"Pal Nym" <palnym.TakeThisOut@opendiary.com> wrote in message
news:ba2a2d3.0409022206.56587e81@posting.google.com...
 > It may be challenging to compile a list like this. I'm simply looking
 > for a way to weigh the Vonnegut books I haven't read yet against one
 > another so I can maximize the potential enjoyment I'll get from them,
 > and skip the less popular ones for sake of time.
 >
 > Of the ones I've read, my list would go a-something like this:
 >
 > Slaughterhouse-Five
 > Cat's Cradle
 > Breakfast of Champions
 > God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
 > Bluebeard
 > Slapstick
 > Deadeye Dick
 > Jailbird
 > Mother Night
 > Welcome to the Monkey House
 >
 > Though I emphasize that I loved them all. In searching the archives I
 > found one post that provided something similar to what I'm asking for,
 > but I'd like to get more opinions.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Vonnegut's best books in order? 

"malachi" <malachi.RemoveThis@theendofmyrope.com> wrote in message news:<V6b%c.101891$A8.63518@edtnps89>...
 > Here's my list:
 >
 > Bluebeard
 > The Sirens Of Titan
 > Slaughterhouse Five
 > Breakfast Of Champions
 > Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons
 > Fates Worse Than Death
 > Cat's Cradle
 > Galapagos
 > Palm Sunday
 > Timequake
 > Hocus Pocus
 > God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
 > Slapstick
 > Deadeye Dick
 >
 >
 > "Pal Nym" <palnym.RemoveThis@opendiary.com> wrote in message
 > news:ba2a2d3.0409022206.56587e81@posting.google.com...
  > > It may be challenging to compile a list like this. I'm simply looking
  > > for a way to weigh the Vonnegut books I haven't read yet against one
  > > another so I can maximize the potential enjoyment I'll get from them,
  > > and skip the less popular ones for sake of time.
  > >
  > > Of the ones I've read, my list would go a-something like this:
  > >
  > > Slaughterhouse-Five
  > > Cat's Cradle
  > > Breakfast of Champions
  > > God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
  > > Bluebeard
  > > Slapstick
  > > Deadeye Dick
  > > Jailbird
  > > Mother Night
  > > Welcome to the Monkey House
  > >
  > > Though I emphasize that I loved them all. In searching the archives I
  > > found one post that provided something similar to what I'm asking for,
  > > but I'd like to get more opinions.

Thanks for your opinion. It is good to see one of the latter-day novels as the #1.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Vonnegut's best books in order? 

On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 04:51:01 GMT, "malachi"
<malachi.RemoveThis@theendofmyrope.com> wrote:

 >Here's my list:
 >
 >Bluebeard
 >The Sirens Of Titan
 >Slaughterhouse Five
 >Breakfast Of Champions
 >Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons
 >Fates Worse Than Death
 >Cat's Cradle
 >Galapagos
 >Palm Sunday
 >Timequake
 >Hocus Pocus
 >God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
 >Slapstick
 >Deadeye Dick
 >
 >
My list is almost the reverse of your's! Not totally, but in some
ways:
This is very difficult to do which is why I kind of talked around the
doing of it in my previous post. But just to throw something together
to illustrate my point, I would rate them, from my favorites to my
least favorites:

Breakfast of Champions
Slapstick
Deadeye Dick
Galapagos
God Bless You Mr. Rosewater
Mother Night
Palm Sunday
Fates Worse Than Death
Timequake
Bluebeard
SL5
Cat's Cradle
Sirens of Titan
Wampeters

I have to explain that I don't think Breakfast of Champions is his
BEST book, but it's just the one that I always seem to enjoy the most
when I re-read it. Same with Slapstick, which KV himself rated only a
C. Deadeye Dick is very dark and cynical which I suppose is why I find
it so intriguing. Likewise, Galapagos is very cynical, yet
hopeful...God Bless You is such great social satire. Mother Night is a
brilliant concept... Palm Sunday and Fates together represent the
Collected Intelligence and Philosophy of KV... Timequake though
somewhat weak in concept is also very polished and well-put-together.
The sci-fi contingent (SL5, Sirens, and Cat's) just don't do it for me
anymore; though once they'd have been at the top of my list. Wampeters
I never cared for much, and Bugumbo's Snuff Box isn't even on the list
for the same reason. I've read all but Player Piano, for some odd
reason I've never been inspired to read it. So I am sure I left a few
off my list, but that gives you an idea...<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Vonnegut's best books in order?