I understand now why Kurt Vonnegut would be an author whose writings were banned in the 1970s. Although I have yet to read "Slaughterhouse Five" or any other more popularized work, I recently found myself attracted to the provocative title, "God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian." I picked up the slim hardcover at my library while doing the requisite shelf reads my job requires. In accordance with my resolution this year to read as many slim books as possible to increase my overall reading stats, this one fit the bill for length, while also giving me deep pondering content to satisfy my dramatic side. I saw in this book my chance to see what all the literary fuss was about Vonnegut. Having grown up in the 80's and 90s, I became acutely aware of Dr. Kevorkian at a young age. The strange, dangerous-sounding name was blasted all over the sensationalist news as "Dr. Death." As I entered adolescence and young adulthood, I started thinking hard about the concept and process of death, observing my beloved grandparents and other community elders succomb inevitably. ( )

This is a humorous look at the after life and near death experiences from someone who believed in neither. The people he encounters were real people, which added to my enjoyment reading it because I ended up Googling a lot of them and learning about their lives. ( )

Tiny book that is fun. ( )

It's an excellent collection of fictional interviews that end as soon as they begin. Vonnegut's trademark humor seeps through every word and it's a very fun, although short, read. Can't recommend enough, especially if you're a Humanist (oops... humanist). ( )

I saw this recommended on Litsy, checked it out from the library, and listened to it all within the space of 24 hours. It's only 50 minutes long, and a gem, so I think I'll probably listen to it again before I return it. It's a shame that Mr. Vonnegut didn't read this himself, since these essays started life as radio pieces for public radio in NYC and the collection was published well before he died, but the reader did a good job with it nonetheless. Very witty and insightful. ( )