A literary legend has passed. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. died last night. He was 84 years old. Slaughterhouse-Five, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, and Breakfast of Champions were my favorite books by Mr. Vonnegut. I happened to be re-reading Breakfast of Champions this week. Such a great book. Rest in peace to a great writer. He was such a great satirist influencing countless authors around the world, including another favorite of mine, Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club. His book, Slaughterhouse-Five is considered by many people to be the best anti-war book ever written and has won many awards.
GOODBYE BLUE MONDAY!
From the NYT:
Kurt Vonnegut, whose dark comic talent and urgent moral vision in novels like “Slaughterhouse-Five,� “Cat’s Cradle� and “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater� caught the temper of his times and the imagination of a generation, died last night in Manhattan.
Mr. Vonnegut suffered irreversible brain injuries as a result of a fall several weeks ago, according to his wife, Jill Krementz.
Like Mark Twain, Mr. Vonnegut used humor to tackle the basic questions of human existence: Why are we in this world? Is there a presiding figure to make sense of all this, a god who in the end, despite making people suffer, wishes them well?
For Christmas from my sister Lisa this year I received a great book entitled 
The book does not just focus on the big guys though, the last third of the book focuses on the micro-breweries that sprung up in the late 1970’s and 1980’s and discussed what made the succeed, fail, and pave the way for future micros. One of the most fascinating chapters is the chapter on Prohibition and how the brewers survived (selling soda pop, ice cream, and non-alcoholic “near beer” among other things). The book is a fascinating read if you have any interest in history, business, or just beer. I highly suggest you read this book. Now, I know what many of you are thinking, history books are boring. Not this one. The narrative is quick, concise, and entertaining. There isn’t anything boring about this book, it was perfect for a guy that lives in a beer town.