A favorite book of mine, and one that I've read more than once over the years is Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse Five or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death', his beautifully honed reminiscence of surviving the 1945 Allied firebombing of Dresden as a POW captured during the Battle of the Bulge sheltered below the city streets in Schlachthof Funf, remembered through the prism of science fiction and the philosophy of intergalactic Tralfamadorian visitors:
'The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral. All moments, past, present, and future, always have existed, always will exist. ... When a Tralfamadorian sees a corpse, all he thinks is that the dead person is in bad condition in that particular moment, but that the same person is just fine in plenty of other moments. Now, when I myself hear that somebody is dead, I simply shrug and say what the Tralfamadorians say about dead people, which is "So it goes."'
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Posted by MynamehereAnyone really into reading apocalyptic fiction right now?
Posted by AmelieMatisseMy latest read. I really though I was well informed about this era. Sadly I was not.
Posted by AmelieMatisseI went to a lecture by author Richard Rothstein. If you are interested in learning how our government segregated this country, you will find this book fascinating
Posted by Marcie1974This made me giggle
Posted by Marcie1974This made me giggle
Posted by snytiger6With the current trend of the far right moving into the forefront of many countries aroudn the world, perhaps it is time for people to rediscover the book "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis.
Posted by AmelieMatisseAnyone who is an art lover will enjoy this book. And if you are anywhere near Baltimore MD a trip to the Baltimore Museum will get you the chance to see the Cone sisters amazing collection for free
Posted by AmelieMatisseJust finished a biography on Frederick Douglass and this seemed like a good followup.
Posted by GuyKeithAnyone here like Joseph Heller? You may be familiar with Catch-22, but have you read his other books, especially Something Happened? If anyone has read it, let me know. I would like to discuss it.
Posted by ninjarider1Well, one can always hope!
Posted by ninjarider1I "check out" when I read!
Posted by ninjarider1Twenty five percent? I'd say more than that!
Posted by snytiger6Instead of powering it up...
Posted by KodiamusCurrently reading
Posted by MoonTigerA REAL Read Head!
Posted by ninjarider1Any science fiction fans here?