I thought I’d pause for a moment and reflect on the news I just read about Kurt Vonnegut’s passing away. His novels, like those of Bradbury and Heinlein, lined the shelves of my father’s study. Just looking at the tattered cover of the image here brings the musty smell of his office, that of damp wool and cigarette butts, freshly into my senses. I was encourage by he and my mother to explore these books, and although I fell head-first into Bradbury’s works, I never made it to Vonnegut. Perhaps that’s the curse of an alphabetized book shelf. I wish i’d had the foresight to have done so and perhaps had even further connection to conversations we’d have shared about the stories and subtext. Just the author’s name alone, and the knowledge that his passing would have been a noteworthy occurrence for him makes his passing of significance to me as well. I’ll have to see if my mom still has any of the books around still. It’ll be worth cracking the cover for the smell alone.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
So It Goes
I thought I’d pause for a moment and reflect on the news I just read about Kurt Vonnegut’s passing away. His novels, like those of Bradbury and Heinlein, lined the shelves of my father’s study. Just looking at the tattered cover of the image here brings the musty smell of his office, that of damp wool and cigarette butts, freshly into my senses. I was encourage by he and my mother to explore these books, and although I fell head-first into Bradbury’s works, I never made it to Vonnegut. Perhaps that’s the curse of an alphabetized book shelf. I wish i’d had the foresight to have done so and perhaps had even further connection to conversations we’d have shared about the stories and subtext. Just the author’s name alone, and the knowledge that his passing would have been a noteworthy occurrence for him makes his passing of significance to me as well. I’ll have to see if my mom still has any of the books around still. It’ll be worth cracking the cover for the smell alone.