The guidelines to this post never mentioned that the book needed to be a novel or anything like that, so I decided it would be fine to put a collection of short stories. Welcome to the Monkey House was my introduction to Kurt Vonnegut. As it happened, over one summer I spent at the beach with my best friend (who is very well read), he encouraged me to read a few selections from the collection. Reading stories like Report on the Barnhouse Effect, Harrison Bergeron and Who Am I This Time? blew my mind. Since that vacation I have gone on to finish that collection in addition to perusing through a few others. Being a slow reader, I have never ventured to tackle one of Vonnegut’s novels, but as of late I have been feeling particularly ambitious when it comes to reading and have developed a long, long mental reading list. Cat’s Cradle would be #2 on the list (preceded by Moby Dick, which is currently slow going. Its seems my ambitions are getting the best of me), so my favorite book may soon be changing. I’m particularly excited about reading Cat’s Cradle because its known to be Vonnegut’s greatest novel and miraculously, I have been able to remain ignorant of the premise (and would prefer to stay that way until I start reading it).
I don’t mean to give the impression that I have not read any novels. I have read a bunch, other then the Harry Potter series and some Stephen King novels, the list of novels I have read were almost exclusively at one point part of my English curriculum. Vonnegut’s writing is just so great. His style is articulate and captivating, and all his ideas are brilliant. Something about his writing just touches my spirit. I have read a fair share of great novels though, and I’ve enjoyed almost every book I’ve read, which would be part of the reason for my new reading list. Wish me luck on finishing Moby Dick as soon as possible!
Fun Fact: I checked out Moby Dick and Cat’s Cradle as #1 and #2 for my reading list not knowing that the opening line of the later is an allusion to the former. It’s like God is telling me to read.
soerler 