Read to Win the War discussion

Hello readers! Our July selection is also our book club's first novel: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. It's a well-known classic, but that doesn't diminish its power and relevance. And of course Vonnegut is one of the best American writers ever. Whether you've already read it, or if you're a newbie, this month's discussion will be worth your while.

We have a very special event lined up for this one. I will be joined on live webinar by two experts: Kim Guise, Assistant Director for Curatorial Services here at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans; and Chris Lafave, Curator at the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library in Indianapolis. Kim specializes in POWs which is very pertinent to this book, and Chris works with everything Vonnegut, including an entire exhibit on Slaughterhouse-Five. And of course, all three of us are big Vonnegut fans, so it should be a great discussion!

The Slaughterhouse-Five webinar will be on Friday, July 31, at 11am CT. Mark your calendars now so you don't miss this impressive panel discuss an all-time classic!

In the meantime, we will be posting some contextual materials and links to get the discussion started. To start you off, take a look at this virtual museum tour of the Slaughterhouse-Five exhibit at the KVML, led by Chris Lafave:
https://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/aiovg...

Please join in the conversation on our discussion board at any time, and remember to attend the webinar on July 31. Thanks and read on!

Hello readers!
I'm looking forward to our discussion on July 31. This will be
The National WWII Museum's second open discussion of one of my favorite books. Our first book discussion on Slaughterhouse-Five took place on June 11, 2013, during the run of an exhibition on POW life in Europe which I curated, “Guests of the Third Reich: American POWs in Europe.” On the companion website, you can see images of pieces featured in the exhibition, see German propaganda footage of captured Americans, and also flip through several original diaries kept by American prisoners of war. The title of our exhibition was drawn from one of the diaries, that of Major Newton Cole, who was held in Oflag 64. Many of these firsthand accounts in the Museum’s collection contain a dark humor that would not be out of place in a Vonnegut work. Read Newton Cole’s diary and others at Guests of the Third Reich. I would love to hear what you think and can’t wait for our Vonnegut web discussion on the 31st.
Thanks,
Kim Guise

Kimguise wrote: "Hello readers!
I'm looking forward to our discussion on July 31. This will be
The National WWII Museum's second open discussion of one of my favorite books. Our first book discussion on Slaughterh..."

Thanks Kim! The Guests of the Third Reich website is amazing, I just watched the newsreel of US POWs and flipped through some of the diaries, powerful stuff. Gives you an idea of what Vonnegut may have gone through when he was captured. There's so much content, I could spend all day going through it!
Also wish I could go back in time to visit the exhibit. Appreciate you posting this, and looking forward to our discussion on July 31!

Readers, what do y'all think of the Guests of the Third Reich website? Does it give you more context for reading Slaughterhouse-Five? We'd love to hear from you, so chime in here!

Attention readers! Our live webinar discussion of Slaughterhouse-Five is tomorrow, Friday July 31, at 11am CT. We’ll be joined by Chris Lafave, Curator at the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library in Indianapolis, along with the WWII Museum’s very own Assistant Director for Curatorial Services Kim Guise. Use this link to attend the webinar:
https://zoom.us/j/94203444009

Post all your questions and comments for Chris and Kim here on the discussion board, and we'll include them in our live discussion.
Hope to see you all there!

ARGHHHH!!! Got distracted at work and completely missed this today. Is the discussion available to view now?

Janice wrote: "ARGHHHH!!! Got distracted at work and completely missed this today. Is the discussion available to view now?"

Hi Janice, no worries! I just posted the recorded video of our Slaughterhouse-Five discussion in our goodreads videos section, or see below for the link. Glad you were looking for it, and hope you enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StmkS...

Hi readers! For anyone who missed our Friday discussion of Slaughterhouse-Five, I just posted the recorded video in our goodreads video section. And here is the direct link as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StmkS...

Remember the discussion is ongoing, so let us know what you think in this discussion board. We'd love to hear your feedback on this talk, or anything about the book club in general!

Also, stay tuned for an announcement about our next book. Read on!

FINALLY got around to watching this and really enjoyed it! Makes me want to read the book again with all this new insight...but I need to read Maus so I'm ready for our next session. Thanks so much!

Janice wrote: "FINALLY got around to watching this and really enjoyed it! Makes me want to read the book again with all this new insight...but I need to read Maus so I'm ready for our next session. Thanks so much!"

Hi Janice, I'm so glad you enjoyed the Slaughterhouse-Five talk! Chris and Kim really know their stuff, makes me want to tackle the rest of Vonnegut! I'm also glad to hear you're anticipating our next book Maus. Sorry I haven't posted anything about it yet, still working on programming but we're hoping to have something fun lined up for September. I really appreciate your participation and stay tuned!