My first exposure to Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was not through reading his books but from watching the movie Slaughterhouse-Five, based on his novel of the same name. It was put on heavy rotation in the 1970’s on our local NBC affiliate television station, so I ended up watching it multiple times. Our hero, Billy Pilgrim, survives the World War Two firebombing of Dresden and goes on to marry and have children. At some point he ends up in a zoo on the planet Tralfamador. It is a quiet, thoughtful movie that tends to stick with you. When I figured out the movie was connected to a book I wanted to check out the author, and I’m glad I did. He didn’t only write science fiction, employing dark humor and satire in his novels. Themes of religion and war run through much of his work, as does pathos and religious hypocrisy. Reading Vonnegut for me is like sitting down to visit with an old friend and catching up with what has been going on. There is both familiarity and anticipation involved, but the main feeling is you are going to enjoy it. If you have not read him Slaughterhouse-Five is a good enough place to start as any. You might just make a new friend.