
Pity the Reader
On Writing with Style
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Narrated by:
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Karen White
About this listen
The art and craft of writing by one of the few grandmasters of American literature, a bonanza for writers and listeners written by Kurt Vonnegut's former student.
Here is an entirely new side of Kurt Vonnegut, Vonnegut as a teacher of writing. Of course he's given us glimpses before, with aphorisms and short essays and articles and in his speeches. But never before has an entire book been devoted to Kurt Vonnegut the teacher. Here is pretty much everything Vonnegut ever said or wrote having to do with the writing art and craft, altogether a healing, a nourishing expedition. McConnell has outfitted us for the journey, and in these 37 chapters covers the waterfront of how one American writer brought himself to the pinnacle of the writing art, and we can all benefit as a result.
Kurt Vonnegut was one of the few grandmasters of American literature, whose novels continue to influence new generations about the ways in which our imaginations can help us to live. Few aspects of his contribution have not been plumbed - 14 novels, collections of his speeches, his essays, his letters, his plays - so this fresh view of him, written by a former student, is a bonanza for writers and listeners and Vonnegut fans everywhere.
©2019 Trust u/w of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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American literary icon Kurt Vonnegut enjoys immense popularity - and an equally immense amount of critical praise - for such works as his absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five. A must-have for readers everywhere, Look at the Birdie adds further insight into the author's body of work with a riveting collection of his previously unpublished short fiction.
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Great stories and performances to match
- By Jeff Lacy on 05-30-17
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Zen in the Art of Writing
- By: Ray Bradbury
- Narrated by: Jim Frangione
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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"Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a land mine. The land mine is me. After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces back together. Now, it's your turn. Jump!" Zest. Gusto. Curiosity. These are the qualities every writer must have, as well as a spirit of adventure. In this exuberant book, the incomparable Ray Bradbury shares the wisdom, experience, and excitement of a lifetime of writing. Here are practical tips on the art of writing from a master of the craft - everything from finding original ideas to developing your own voice and style.
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Evocative fuel for any Muse!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-22-18
By: Ray Bradbury
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Deadeye Dick
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Deadeye Dick is Kurt Vonnegut's funny, chillingly satirical look at the death of innocence. Amid a true Vonnegutian host of horrors - a double murder, a fatal dose of radioactivity, a decapitation, an annihilation of a city by a neutron bomb - Rudy Waltz, aka Deadeye Dick, takes us along on a zany search for absolution and happiness. Here is a tale of crime and punishment that makes us rethink what we believe...and who we say we are.
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If I aimed at nothing..nothing is what I would hit
- By Darwin8u on 11-28-16
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Bagombo Snuff Box
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Alexander Marshall
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Abridged
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From the author of such classics as Breakfast of Champions and Cat's Cradle comes this collection of unabridged short fiction originally published in some of America's most popular magazines of the 1950s and 60s. Vonnegut himself selected his best early works for this collection, and he reads the preface and afterword to boot!
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Vonnegut rediscovered
- By Douglas on 03-21-03
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Jailbird
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Walter Starbuck, a career humanist and eventual low-level aide in the Nixon White House, is implicated in Watergate and jailed, after which he (like Howard Campbell in Mother Night) works on his memoirs. Starbuck is innocent (his office was used as a base for the Watergate shenanigans of which he had no knowledge), and yet he is not innocent (he has collaborated with power unquestioningly and served societal order all his life). He represents another Vonnegut Everyman caught amongst forces he neither understands nor can defend.
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a fool and his self respect are soon parted
- By Darwin8u on 11-18-16
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Eliot Rosewater, a drunk volunteer fireman and president of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation, is about to attempt a noble experiment with human nature, with a little help from writer Kilgore Trout. The result is Kurt Vonnegut's funniest satire, an etched-in-acid portrayal of the greed, hypocrisy, and follies of the flesh we are all heir to.
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Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth.
- By Darwin8u on 03-27-14
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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And So It Goes
- Kurt Vonnegut: A Life
- By: Charles J. Shields
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times best-selling author and biographer Charles J. Shields crafts this fascinating portrait of literary icon Kurt Vonnegut. The first authorized biography of the influential American writer, And So It Goes examines Vonnegut’s life, from his childhood to his death in 2007, and explores how the author changed the conversation of American literature.
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Probably only for die hard Vonnegut fans
- By Watery M on 12-22-12
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Armageddon in Retrospect
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Rip Torn
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The New York Times best seller from the author of Slaughterhouse-Five—a “gripping” posthumous collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s previously unpublished work on the subject of war and peace. A fitting tribute to a literary legend and a profoundly humane humorist, Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of 12 previously unpublished writings. Imbued with Vonnegut's trademark rueful humor and outraged moral sense.
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Vonnegut should get the nobel peace prize
- By CHARLES on 05-07-12
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Cat's Cradle
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Tony Roberts
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Cat's Cradle is Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a little person as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny.
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KV at his best.
- By Robert on 06-22-12
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Fates Worse Than Death
- An Autobiographical Collage
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Kurt Vonnegut presents in Fates Worse than Death a veritable cornucopia of his thoughts on what could perhaps best be summed up as "anti-theology", a manifesto for atheism that details Vonnegut's drift from conventional religion, even a tract evidencing belief in the divine held within each individual self--the deity within each individual person present in a universe that otherwise lacks any real order.
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Vonnegut is profound
- By Sarah on 02-03-20
By: Kurt Vonnegut
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Bluebeard
- The Autobiography of Rabo Karabekian (1916-1988)
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet Rabo Karabekian, a moderately successful surrealist painter who we meet late in life and see struggling (like all of Vonnegut's key characters) with the dregs of unresolved pain and the consequences of brutality. Loosely based on the legend of Bluebeard (best realized in Bela Bartok's one-act opera), the novel follows Karabekian through the last events in his life that is heavy with women, painting, artistic ambition, artistic fraudulence, and as of yet unknown consequence.
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Kurt Vonnegut explores the arts
- By Darwin8u on 12-28-17
By: Kurt Vonnegut
What listeners say about Pity the Reader
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- Anonymous User
- 12-09-20
Loved it!
Great advice and encouragement for writers. Write because you love it, be happy with what you've created for you have created something that no one else on the earth could.
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- ian
- 02-09-23
Buy the hardcopy or Kindle version
The knowledge, insights, and anecdotes are great. The narration is absolutely horrendous. Like a primitive android doing a parody of a New England snob. Insane that this was released like this. But the content itself is mostly very good, particularly if you are familiar with Vonnegut’s work and interested in creative writing. I recommend getting a non-audio version to better enjoy the content.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Michael F.
- 02-15-20
The best book for the most people’s benefit. According to my assessment.
The greatest book on the craft for the greatest number of people of all trades. The representative of the writing trade instructs all the trades by describing the method of creation itself. Suzanne McConnell dances her melodies with Kurts melodies like two jazz master buddies riffing with a band.
Suzanne perspective as an editor, writer, and coconspirator with ‘Kurt’ .
Thank You Suzanne for bringing all of Kurt and students’ of Kurt’s knowledge and humorous wit, wisdom, knowledge, & harmony to life in this book.
Funny Welcoming Joyful Encouraging as hell, like having a friend in the car with you exploring the intelligent creator in every one of us.
Anyway I really like this book ok?
And if you even scarcely like Vonnegut’s books you will notice how good it feels to dig into the mud with this book.
MFW
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1 person found this helpful
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- Wen Shi Wei
- 12-01-23
Brilliant
Valuable insights to an important writer, and well narrated . And here is the 15 words minimum …. So much for brevity
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- Eric Yarbrough
- 11-19-20
Annoying narrator
This information might have been useful but I had to stop halfway through because the narrator was making my skin crawl with their over stylized way of speaking.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 01-05-22
Overall pretty nice and full of useful tips
Overall pretty nice and full of useful tips on writing – now I really want to dig more into Vonnegut's books as well – but it was so hard to listen to. Painfully hard and I applaud everyone who made it to the end of the book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- John W
- 05-27-20
Learning through story telling
There are plenty of good tips for writers in here, and many of them come to you through the stories of Kurt's life and the author's life, as she learned from Kurt. It's about how writing is a way of life, a way to express yourself and work through the details and plot lines of your own life. To do that, the author demonstrates the lessons, and how they played out in the life and times of Kurt Vonnegut. I took some notes, but much of was just absorbed through listening.
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- Dana
- 04-16-23
McConnell makes this Exceptional! White 👍!
Wow! If I had a writing class like this…. They couldn’t have made a better choice, than to let McConnell take this ball, and run! And, run her ass off she did! She is a force to be reckoned with!
She brings both Vonnegut, and herself to the table! A Gloves-off Feast! White puts the Cherry on Top with narration balls to the wall! 🥰 Loved it!
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- Jason McClure
- 09-11-23
Please re-record this
Excellent book and advice but the performance was halting and oddly robotic. Someone commented that it sounded like an android, and I agree! I would suggest re-recording this book to do it justice
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- Sil A.
- 01-03-21
Like a Good College Class
Imagine taking a creative writing course in college focused on what we can learn from celebrated author Kurt Vonnegut. Imagine the course being structured and taught by a competent professor who is herself an author and was a student of Kurt’s. If this appeals to you, you will love this book. It is filled with direct quotes from Kurt’s writings and interviews and excerpts from his books put in context. I believe most writers and lovers of Vonnegut’s work will enjoy this. Now, if you are looking for a book directly written by Kurt Vonnegut this is not it. I enjoyed the course in audio book form and recommend it.
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3 people found this helpful