since i am so indecisive

grapeape RemoveThis @aol.comjunk (GrapeApe) wrote in message news:<20030703103250.05686.00000061 RemoveThis @mb-m02.aol.com>...
 > What other books did you buy?
 >
 > I would place God Bless you Mr. Rosewater probably one rung above Mother Night
 > in your reading so far, as to what it seems you may like.
 >
 > The period you are reading is when KVs commercial style really seemed to gel.
 > Earlier books are a bit more conventional in tone, comparatively. Some of the
 > later books may seem like coasting, but he had his book of tricks well honed
 > even if the story didn't grab you. Some seem more relevant that others,
 > depending on your own life experiences... some might seem dated today, others
 > might seem prophetic. They resonate differently over time, as the reader and
 > the readers environment changes.
 >
 > I read most following BOC as they were released; eager to read new work, I may
 > not have placed them in a thumbs up thumbs down mode that much, as I enjoyed
 > them all. But some better than others. I recall Hocus Pocus as one of his
 > better works in a while.


I bought

mrs. rosewater
Jailbird
Slapstick
welcome to mu monkey house
galapoagos
hocus pocus
bluebeard
cats cradle*
slaughtherhouse 5*

*already have read these


I am thinking about galapogos, becasue evolution has always interested
me. However, I am willing to think of other suggestions.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: since i am so indecisive 

Mike cast forth electrons:

 > I have just started reading vonnegut, in the last 2 months. I cant
 > stop. Anyways, I had been asking you guys for advice, and going to the
 > library, and checking them out. Here is what I have read in order.
 >
 > 1. Slaughterhouse five: Maybe its because its my first, but it is my
 > my favorite so far.
 >
 > 2: Cats Cradle: Probably, the most chilling and insightful of the ones
 > I have read.
 >
 > 3. Breakfast of champions: hilarious, and frighteneing at the same
 > time. Loved it!
 >
 > 4. Mother night. Liked it a lot, though is my least favorite of the
 > four. Not sure why. Less humor? Did give it proper attention. (I was
 > reading it when I could make time beetween studing for an intense
 > final/research paper) Still really enjoyed.
 >
 > Anyways, I bought a lot of 9 more books on ebay. Any suggestions on
 > which direction to go? I realize there is no right answer, but any
 > insight helps. One of the toughest things to do is decide which unread
 > Kurt book to read next.
 >
 > Sorry for the reduntant questions. As I said, I am one indecisive guy.

You rate them much the same I would, at this point in your reading.
However, after reading them all I wound up with GOD BLESS YOU MR.
ROSEWATER as my favorite and SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE coming in second
place.

Probably if I read them all again I'd have a different opinion. I
encountered the novels in the order they were written and at the
time they were first published (well, a few years later for PLAYER
PIANO, but before 1959), except that I hadn't properly appreciated
PLAYER PIANO. From 1959's THE SIRENS OF TITAN onward, I did
appreciate his works, so I eventually (somewhere pre-1983 when I
started keeping a list of Books Read) reread PLAYER PIANO. As a
novel I now rank it higher than:

Deadeye Dick 1982
Bluebeard 1987
Galapagos: A Novel 1985
Hocus Pocus 1990
Jailbird 1979
Slapstick 1976
Timequake 1997

But, tastes vary. And to me even the least of Kurt's writings are
excellent reading.

I do strongly recommend, though, that you save TIMEQUAKE for last
(not counting GOD BLESS YOU DR. KEVORKIAN).

--
obscura.RemoveThis@null.net ¤ "Cleaning birdshit out of cuckoo clocks." -- KV<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: since i am so indecisive 

On 2 Jul 2003 23:04:48 -0700, mike141 RemoveThis @adelphia.net (Mike) plied
alt.books.kurt-vonnegut with:

 >I have just started reading vonnegut, in the last 2 months. I cant
 >stop. Anyways, I had been asking you guys for advice, and going to the
 >library, and checking them out. Here is what I have read in order.
 >
 >1. Slaughterhouse five: Maybe its because its my first, but it is my
 >my favorite so far.
 >
 >2: Cats Cradle: Probably, the most chilling and insightful of the ones
 >I have read.
 >
 >3. Breakfast of champions: hilarious, and frighteneing at the same
 >time. Loved it!
 >
 >4. Mother night. Liked it a lot, though is my least favorite of the
 >four. Not sure why. Less humor? Did give it proper attention. (I was
 >reading it when I could make time beetween studing for an intense
 >final/research paper) Still really enjoyed.
 >

SIrens of Titan schurely?<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: since i am so indecisive 

I think that "Sirens of Titan" should be high on your list, just because it's
fun in a goofy science-fiction sort of way. of course, after you've read them
all, you'll have to re-read them in a different order for perspective . . . .



---
Vincent J. Hrovat / Omnia quia sunt, lumina sunt.
 >> Stay informed about: since i am so indecisive 

 >I think that "Sirens of Titan" should be high on your list, just because
 >it's
 >fun in a goofy science-fiction sort of way. of course, after you've read
 >them
 >all, you'll have to re-read them in a different order for perspective .
 >. .

Earlier in the thread I was abotu to mention the number of times I had that
book NOT recommended to me. Of course I finally read it and enjoyed it very
much. It is much more in the Science Fiction than some of his other works,
perhaps that was where the prejudice lie.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: since i am so indecisive 

(Mike) plied

  > >3. Breakfast of champions: hilarious, and frightening at the same
  > >time. Loved it!

The movie is the same way. It just occurred to me that it is frightening because
none of the characters have any emotional or spiritual reserves. Nolte's
character goes nuts, Dwayne goes nuts, Celia Hoover is on pills.

Glenn Headley shoulda got an Oscar nomination. I liked her, anyway. Omar Epps
makes an appearance prior to his current ER gig. Michael Clarke Duncan (inmate
in The Green Mile) makes a cameo as Eli, a prison inmate. Albert Finney would
have been better in the part if Kilgore were a drunk, which he wasn't. Bruce
Willis has problems driving a car. This is not in the book but it is funny in
the film.

David Blocker and Alan Rudolph lined up an unbelievable cast for this
medium-budget indy. According to imdb.com the $12M film grossed $175K at last
count. Never got studio distribution. Sometime when a film is not distributed
by a studio, the film owners can rent screens one at a time. (Film studios
like fims that have exploding robots that take in $300M.)

BOC <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120618/" target="_blank">http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120618/</a>

-------
Legend of Suriyothai is another film that is selling crummy. Made in Thailand,
it is a fine $30M epic but has taken in about $350Kin the US market but sells
well in the Thai market. In some theaters now.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: since i am so indecisive