# Other Kurt Vonnegut fans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2001, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894 "2001-08-30T06:02:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TheOtherOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@TheOtherOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheOtherOne)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/1 "2001-08-30T06:02:56Z")
Ok, welcome to the second thread I’ve ever started 🙂 If there are (and I would certainly hope so) any other Vonnegut fans out there: What’s your favorite Vonnegut book? For me it’s either “Galapagos” or “Timequake”, very hard to decide. Are there any “sleepers” our there that I should try to get my hands on? Any other authors that I’d love? I need something to read in between classes so I have an excuse not to study…help me out here. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/2 "2001-08-30T06:49:30Z")
Yup, me too! Cat’s Cradle is my favorite, followed by Breakfast of Champions… Oh! And Slaughterhouse 5… ---
**Author:** ![puk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ea5d25/32.png) [@puk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puk)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/3 "2001-08-30T07:01:10Z")
His last book, Timequake is my faveorite. He’s so twisted and sick… so dreamy ---
**Author:** ![straykat23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@straykat23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straykat23)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/4 "2001-08-30T07:10:41Z")
Slaughter House Five will always be my favorite. I read it in college and grew to appreciate it more when my daughter read it for a high school lit class. His bouts with mental illness make his work more intriguing; they had to lead to writing this book. Here are some great sites: [http://www.scaruffi.com/writers/vonnegut.html](http://www.scaruffi.com/writers/vonnegut.html) [http://www.duke.edu/~crh4/vonnegut/fwtd.html](http://www.duke.edu/~crh4/vonnegut/fwtd.html) ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/5 "2001-08-30T09:37:31Z")
“ **Mother Night** ”, also well worth watching the film. Great performance by Nick Nolte. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/6 "2001-08-30T12:12:51Z")
Another Vonnegut fan, here… I’ve read all of his books (that I know of, that is). I’d have to go with _Slaughterhouse 5_ and _Breakfast of Champions_. Look for _Venus on the Half-Shell_ by Kilgore Trout. While not actually written by KV, it’s still a fun read. (and no, it’s not REALLY by Kilgore Trout, either. Phillip Jose Farmer, I think?) ---
**Author:** ![puk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ea5d25/32.png) [@puk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puk)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/7 "2001-08-30T12:19:16Z")
Killgore Trout was I character in some of Vonnegut’s books right? I thought Killgore Trout was just Vonnegut under an Alias. Never read anything by KT though ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/8 "2001-08-30T13:39:52Z")
Cat’s Cradle ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/9 "2001-08-30T13:45:57Z")
I’ve also read and enjoyed nearly everything he has written. Hard to choose favorites, though. Maybe _Cat’s Cradle_, _Breakfast of Champions_ and _Mother Night_, although _Slaughterhouse Five_ may well be his most important work. I just reread _Bluebeard_ and enjoyed it much more the second time. I’d only recommend _Timequake_ to people who have read most of his other stuff. It’s sort of a farewell book (sad as that may sound). ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/10 "2001-08-30T13:51:26Z")
I did Vonnegut the same way a lot of folks do - all at once, in high school. Unfortunately by the end, I was kind of soured on him, and haven’t read anything from Hocus Pocus on. I keep meaning to go back to him, now that I think I can appreciate it a little more. (Which isn’t to say I didn’t love it all at the time.) The ones I really enjoyed were Cat’s Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Mother Night. I don’t remember much of Galapagos, Deadeye Dick, or Slapstick, as I was burning out on him by that time, but I do remember perkig up for Bluebeard. Now I need to start rereading all of them again… ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/11 "2001-08-30T14:00:11Z")
By far, my favorite Vonnegut is the commencement address he gave about sunscreen. 😉 Timequake and Slapstick. I seem to be one of the few who truly like Slapstick. Dunno why, though. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/12 "2001-08-30T14:26:53Z")
I’ve always enjoyed Vonnegut, not sure I could pick a favorite. I re-read _Sirens of Titan_ recently, and while it was a nostalgic kind of trip it was probably not great literature. As for the reference to Kilgore Trout, I have always considered Trout to be Vonnegut, the way he perceives himself: interesting ideas but not a great author, at least in the classic sense. His characters are usually less interesting and less fleshed out than his ideas and plot devices, sort of two dimensional. ---
**Author:** ![TheOtherOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@TheOtherOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheOtherOne)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/13 "2001-08-30T16:09:47Z")
Does anyone know where I can find the sunscreen address online? I haven’t been able to find a useful link yet. I always assumed that Trout was Vonnegut as well, I never thought to search around for any books by anyone named Trout. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/14 "2001-08-30T16:17:34Z")
The sunscreen address is not by Vonnegut. [http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/sunscreen.html](http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/sunscreen.html) However, the link above does link to the text. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/15 "2001-08-30T16:18:16Z")
According to [Snopes](http://www.snopes2.com/quotes/vonnegut.htm), it wasn’t given by Vonnegut, but by Mary Schmich. Do a google search on her name and “sunscreen” and you should find what you’re looking for. –sublight. ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/16 "2001-08-30T16:19:43Z")
I picked up [“Venus on the Half-Shell”](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0899683061/002-9992272-5864031) years ago at a bookstore. I think it may have been Trout’s only published work. Was it great? Not really, but then again at the time I devoured anything KV related. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/17 "2001-08-30T16:20:00Z")
But [here’s](http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/mary-schmich--wear-sunscreen.html) a copy of the actual speech. –sublight. ---
**Author:** ![horhay\_achoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@horhay\_achoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horhay_achoa)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/18 "2001-08-30T16:21:29Z")
Cats Cradle Sirens of Titan Slaughter House 5 ---
**Author:** ![missdavis102](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@missdavis102](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missdavis102)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/19 "2001-08-30T16:38:47Z")
I never read Vonnegut in school. When I was a sophmore in college, an incoming freshman introduced me to his work and I devoured it, and love it to this day. My favorites, I guess, are _Cat’s Cradle_ (the first one I read) and _Sirens of Titan_. Oh, and _God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater_. Vonnegut takes up a half a shelf in my library, and there are very few authors I can say that about. ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894/20 "2001-08-30T17:07:36Z")
I’m with **ShibbOleth** : it’s hard to pick a favorite. I guess I’d have to say that _Cat’s Cradle_, _Bluebeard_ and _Mother Night_ are my favorites—though not necessarily in that order. I’ve heard of the book written under the name Kilgore Trout, but I’ve never read it. I did read something by Vonnegut lately where he finally admits who Kilgore Trout really is. Kilgore Trout is a gentle parody of science-fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon, who died back in the 1980s. While Sturgeon was still alive, Vonnegut didn’t like to admit who was Trout’s inspiration. But now that Sturgeon is riding that great killdozer in the sky, Vonnegut feels comfortable admitting the origin of this affectionate parody. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-kurt-vonnegut-fans/78894.md?page=2)