Audiobooks by Kurt Vonnegut

'2 B R 0 2 B' is a science fiction short story by Kurt Vonnegut, originally published in the digest magazine Worlds of If Science Fiction for January 1962, and collected in Vonnegut's Bagombo Snuff Box (1999). The title is pronounced '2 B R naught 2 B' and references the famous phrase 'to be, or not to be' from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. In the story, the title refers to the telephone number that one dials to schedule an assisted suicide with the Federal Bureau of Termination. Vonnegut's 1965 novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater describes a story by the name and attributes it to his recurring character Kilgore Trout, but the plot summary given is closer in nature to the eponymous tale from Vonnegut's short-story collection Welcome to the Monkey House. The setting is a society in which aging has been cured, individuals have indefinite lifespans, and population control is used to limit the population of the United States to forty million, a number which is maintained through a combination of infanticide and government-assisted suicide. In short, for someone to be born, someone else must first volunteer to die. As a result, births are few and far between, and deaths occur primarily by accident.

Kurt Vonnegut (Author), Peter Coates (Narrator)

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Love, Kurt: The Vonnegut Love Letters, 1941-1945

A never-before-seen collection of deeply personal love letters from Kurt Vonnegut to his first wife, Jane, compiled and edited by their daughter "If ever I do write anything of length-good or bad-it will be written with you in mind." Kurt Vonnegut's eldest daughter, Edith, was cleaning out her mother's attic when she stumbled upon a dusty, aged box. Inside, she discovered an unexpected treasure: more than two hundred love letters written by Kurt to Jane, spanning the early years of their relationship. The letters begin in 1941, after the former schoolmates reunited at age nineteen, sparked a passionate summer romance, and promised to keep in touch when they headed off to their respective colleges. And they did, through Jane's conscientious studying and Kurt's struggle to pass chemistry. The letters continue after Kurt dropped out and enlisted in the army in 1943, while Jane in turn graduated and worked for the Office of Strategic Services in Washington, D.C. They also detail Kurt's deployment to Europe in 1944, where he was taken prisoner of war and declared missing in action, and his eventual safe return home and the couple's marriage in 1945. Full of the humor and wit that we have come to associate with Kurt Vonnegut, the letters also reveal little-known private corners of his mind. Passionate and tender, they form an illuminating portrait of a young soldier's life in World War II as he attempts to come to grips with love and mortality. And they bring to light the origins of Vonnegut the writer, when Jane was the only person who believed in and supported him supported him, the young couple having no idea how celebrated he would become. A beautiful collection, adapted for audio and interspersed with Edith's insights and family memories, Love, Kurt is an intimate record of a young man growing into himself, a fascinating account of a writer finding his voice, and a moving testament to the life-altering experience of falling in love.

Kurt Vonnegut (Author), Edith Vonnegut, Lucas Hedges (Narrator)

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2 B R 0 2 B

2 B R 0 2 B is a satiric short story that imagines life and death in a future world where aging has been 'cured' and population control is mandated and administered by the government. In a future where sickness and disease are a forgotten memory, and death itself has been cured, population control requires special consideration, and the concept of 'Life for Life' has a new definition. In short, in order for someone to be born, someone must first volunteer to die. As a result, births are few and far between, and deaths occur primarily by accident.

Kurt Vonnegut (Author), John William (Narrator)

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2 B R 0 2 B

To Be or Not To Be 2 B R 0 2 B is a satiric short story that imagines life and death in a future world where aging has been 'cured' and population control is mandated and administered by the government. In a future where sickness and disease are a forgotten memory, and death itself has been cured, population control requires special consideration, and the concept of 'Life for Life' has a new definition. In short, in order for someone to be born, someone must first volunteer to die. As a result, births are few and far between, and deaths occur primarily by accident.

Kurt Vonnegut (Author), Thomas Brown (Narrator)

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The Big Trip Up Yonder

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was known for blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction, and that is exactly what he does in this story. The story takes place in a future in which the population has grown so huge, due to an anti-aging product, that generations are forced to live together in crowded apartments. The family in this story is ruled by a dictatorial grandfather, the owner of the apartment and oldest of the clan.

Kurt Vonnegut (Author), Tony Ponting (Narrator)

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Pity the Reader: On Writing With Style

The art and craft of writing by one of the few grandmasters of American literature, a bonanza for writers and readers 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 thirty-seven 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-fourteen 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 readers and Vonnegut fans everywhere.

Kurt Vonnegut, Suzanne Mcconnell (Author), Karen White (Narrator)

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The Public Domain's Greatest Hits: 50 Amazing Stories - Volume 1

'When you read (or listen to) a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you.' ~ George Saunders Here you will find 50 of the greatest public-domain short stories ever written, as curated by the staff of The Bookquarium, all performed by Frank Marcopolos. ('Thee perfect voice for audiobooks--it is so listenable!' said one reviewer.) Some of the greatest writers in history are included in this collection--Ernest Hemingway, Ayn Rand, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack London, William Faulkner, Kate Chopin, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Stephen Crane, H.P. Lovecraft, Willa Cather, and Edgar Allan Poe among them. Frank Marcopolos Bio: Frank Marcopolos founded 'The Whirligig' literary magazine in 1999, which has been called 'a landmark, demonstrating the power of the literary underground.' One reviewer said that 'you get this true lion-roaring sense that Editor Frank Marcopolos knows what he likes, and how to read, and how to publish, and he has guts, and eats insects on Wheaties with bleach.' Frank's long-form fiction has been reviewed with such praise as 'thorough-goingly entertaining' and 'highly readable...recalls the style of Michael Chabon or John Irving. A literary gem that should not be missed.' A broadcasting-school graduate, Frank's unique literary-audio work has been featured in movie trailers, scholastic environments, underground mixtapes, and on YouTube, with one of his audiobooks achieving over 100,000 'views' there. He lives in Pittsburgh, PA, without a dog, and records at The Bookquarium Recording Studio. The stories included are as follows: My Old Man by Ernest HemingwayAnthem by Ayn Rand The Most Dangerous Game by Richard ConnellThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott FitzgeraldAn Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose BierceThe Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins GilmanTo Build a Fire by Jack LondonBartleby, the Scrivener by Herman MelvilleLanding in Luck by William FaulknerThe Fly by Katherine MansfieldThe Kiss by Kate ChopinThe Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel HawthorneThe Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan PoeThe Lady, or the Tiger? by Frank R. StocktonThe Open Boat by Stephen CraneYoung Goodman Brown by Nathaniel HawthorneThe Gift of the Magi by O. HenryThe Dead by James JoyceThe Gun by Philip K. DickThe Big Trip Up Yonder by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington IrvingThe Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan PoeThe Door in the Wall by H.G. WellsOn the Gull's Road by Willa CatherThe Story of an Hour by Kate ChopinThe Last Leaf by O. Henry2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.The Picture in the House by H.P. LovecraftThe Monkey's Paw by W.W. JacobsA Dark Brown Dog by Stephen CraneAraby by James JoyceThe Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan PoeThe Luck of Roaring Camp by Bret HarteThe Interlopers by Saki (H.H. Munro)Up in Michigan by Ernest HemingwayWilliam Wilson by Edgar Allan PoeThe Street

Anton Chekhov, Ayn Rand, Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack London, Kate Chopin, Katherine Mansfield, Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, Various Authors, Willa Cather (Author), Frank Marcopolos (Narrator)

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2 B R 0 2 B

Kurt Vonnegut was a groundbreaking American writer, the author of such classics as Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle. In a future where sickness and disease are a forgotten memory, and death itself has been cured, population control requires special consideration, and the concept of 'Life for Life' has a new definition.

Kurt Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Author), Matt Montanez (Narrator)

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2 B R 0 2 B

Kurt Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Author), Phil Chenevert (Narrator)

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The Big Trip Up Yonder

Kurt Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Author), Phil Chenevert (Narrator)

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Timequake

According to Kurt Vonnegut's alter ego, the old science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, a global timequake will occur on February 13, 2001, at 2:27 p.m. It will be the moment when the universe suffers a crisis of conscience: Should it go on expanding indefinitely, or collapse and make another great big BANG? For its own cosmic reasons, it decides to back up a decade to 1991, giving the world a 10-year case of deja vu, making everybody and everything do exactly what they'd done during the past decade, for good or ill, a second time. As a character in, and a brilliant chronicler of, this bizarre event, Kurt Vonnegut casts his wicked wit and his unique perspective on life as he's lived it and observed it, for more than seventy years.

Kurt Vonnegut (Author), Arthur Bishop (Narrator)

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Sucker's Portfolio

Available to readers for the first time, Sucker's Portfolio showcases a collection of seven never before published works from Kurt Vonnegut, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. Short, sardonic, and dark, these six brief fiction stories and one non-fiction piece are consummate Vonnegut with piercing satire and an eye for life's obscene inanity. Also available for the first time is an unfinished science-fiction short story, included in the appendix. These stories trace trivial human lives and mundane desires, which is precisely where Vonnegut's inimitable perspective as a humanist shines, illuminating his alternating hopeful and dismal outlook, although undoubtedly focusing on the latter. Here as in his greatest novels, Vonnegut's writing takes us to the darkest corners of the human soul and with wit and humor, manages to remind us of our potential to be something greater.

Kurt Vonnegut (Author), Luke Daniels (Narrator)

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