Its a special occasion thing for me. I've never enjoyed cigars.

Part four of an excellent reading of Mother Night, a novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

@@Michael.the.teacher. Thank you! How did you know Kurt? I’ve only seen him in person speaking one time.

I have thought maybe I’d record Sirens next. It’s different with the 3rd person omniscient narrator, but it’s such a great story. I’ll look into the Al Stewart song, thanks!

Thank you! Comic sadness is a tone I relate to and Kurt was a master at finding something to laugh about amidst tragedy.

Thank You!

In the introduction of Slapstick he recounts coming up with the idea on a plane ride with his brother to his Uncle Alex’s funeral. But it could easily have been any plane ride he was on at the time and he used the funeral story to work in his brother and sister. Sounds like something he’d do. Thanks for commenting and that’s a great story!

Thanks! I’m finishing a new Vonnegut series in the edit right now. It’s going to be really fun. And sad. Pretty par, really.

Loved Unstuck In Time! Probably the most definitive look into his life and personality over so long a period of time. Crazy that it's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" Robert B Weide, too. I'm curious about that Vonnegut's America, so thanks for the suggestion. I'm editing another one right now for the channel, but I might start looking through a book of his letters I got last holiday season. Maybe I'll do a video with a selection of dramatic readings like Letters Live, which I think had Cumberbatch reading one of his letters.

In the Midwest we had a book hour too with Garrison Keillor reading chapters. I’m glad I can bring that memory back for you, and thanks for the comment!

@@rongabaldon9206 That was the show I was remembering haha

Yeah, he mentions Laurel and Hardy a lot in other interviews and I think in Palm Sunday, too. There’s a sweet kind of underdog quality to how much he likes them. I’ve got another book mostly recorded and I’m editing now, so expect to hear more soon. This next one is a real riot of voices and I want to keep them all consistent.

Thank you!

Thank you! More to come!

Hey, thanks! That is very encouraging and makes me happy to be doing this. I’ve got another book ready to record and I think it’s going to be a real fun one!

Thanks! The little stars to signify a person who is about to die deserved something in the audio, I felt. The strum seemed a perfect mix of tragic and bright, like a soul leaving the body.

Thanks for that! I’ll take some time to organize these playlists, especially since there’ll be more KV book readings coming soon.

One thing I really like about Vonnegut is that I feel like I always learn something from each book. Labor relations in America is an interesting subject to me and, like Vonnegut mentions in the prologue, these subjects are mostly taboo in that we don’t teach them in school or bring them up in conversation lest we offend anyone. But I get that some people don’t have the patience for Kurt’s prologues, so skip to Chapter 1 for the off beat, strange connections and enigmas.

@@rongabaldon9206 I'm taking back my comment, and giving it another chance. Thanks for your suggestion!!👍

Thanks! I was thinking about it this weekend and Jailbird is really one of his more grounded novels. It exists in a reality we all share and know, as opposed to the time travel, space trips to mars, and general weirdness of a lot of his work.

Hey, I get it and I’m sorry for the long reply, but you bring up a good point. When I first started re-reading his books and then recording them I was struck by how many “he said” “she said” there were in the text. But I’ve come to see it as part of his charm and humor. In particular when the narrator will say something superfluous like ‘“Um,” I said.’ There’s an exchange in Jailbird where Walter F Starbuck is talking to Leland Clewes and the end of their dialogue is just a bunch of short lines of “Take care” and “I will” and it’s just hilarious to me now. But I realized that in works like this everything has an intention. It’s all there for a reason. I did record an exchange without the signifiers, and it made the dialogue boring and meaningless, especially with such simple, natural language as “Hello” or “I see.” I think Vonnegut really wanted the reader to clearly know who is talking and it’s funny to him to include that even in simple commonplace exchanges like hellos and goodbyes. So I kept them in because it’s funny to me, too. Thanks for listening and commenting, and I hope you continue to enjoy these recordings even with the “saids.”

No, he wouldn't, every word Kurt wrote was deliberate. Why would you ruin the tone for one person who is mildly annoyed and can't be bothered to fully write out "you" or complete sentences, I said.

Well done, that just made my day.

wrong!

​@@ambarv-s1054is not smart enough to get vonnegut. Have fun with Harry Potter

Hey, thanks. I don't know about president, but I'd probably make a good Comptroller. If I knew what a Comptroller did. The local level seems to be where a lot of the rot is occurring. Over in Glendale (I live in LA) they're trying to take over the School Board there with the Prager U playbook.

@rongabaldon9206 I heard about that nonsense talk about psychotic! I live in Florida where old Ronnie is trying to set us back 100 years.. Why can't we all just get along and let things be?