Sometimes we just need a little bit of whimsical existentialism in our lives.
That's why this week on Dear Utol (2025): Doctor, Doctor I'm Sick Episode 41the MashReads Podcast, we read and discuss Kurt Vonnegut's book Cat's Cradle, a novel that defies description partially because of how absurd the plot is.
The book follows a journalist, John -- or Jonah, as he asks to be called -- as he investigates the inventor of the atomic bomb.
This investigation that leads him to discovering Hoenikker's eccentric children, the mysterious substance ice-nine, the secluded island San Lorenzo, a new religion called Bokononism (the basic tenet of which is that everything in Bokononism is a lie), all of which lead to the end of the world.
Sound crazy? We know!
Join us as we talk about Vonnegut's absurd storytelling, his feelings on science and religion, the genius of Cat's Cradle and whether the book counts as satire.
And as always, we close the show with recommendations.
Aliza recommends the new Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone movie La La Land. "It was beautiful and moving and amazing and I loved everything about it," she says.
Peter recommends Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think About Art, Pleasure, Beauty and Truthby New York Timescritic A.O. Scott. "It is just a very, very deep, extremely readable, fantastic book," he says.
MJ recommends GQ's completely bonkers profile of Tom Ford called Tom Ford on Sex, Death, and Penetration: "Talk about absurdism. This profile is crazy ... just hilarious and phenomenal."
Next week we are reading and discussing Cloud Atlasby David Mitchell. We hope you'll join us.
And if you're looking for more book news, don't forget to follow MashReads on Facebook and Twitter.
Topics Books
The Swamp Thickens
Watch this joyous pup jump into a gigantic leaf pile
The 'Stranger Things 4' ending, explained
The 'falling stars' challenge is the latest way rich kids are flaunting their wealth
Stranger than Fiction
'Wordle' today: Get the answer, hints for June 30
Spotify iceberg: How to get the latest viral music chart Icebergify
Most streamed movies this week (July 2) are rather strange
A Rich Fable
Check out this beautiful sky penis the Marines drew over California
Joe Ricketts, Media Destroyer
Will Ferrell had time to canvas for the midterms. What's your excuse?
11 burning questions for 'Stranger Things 4: Volume 2'
'Gold diggin' dog scams McDonald's customers pretending to be a stray, owner says
Summon Your Tech Kids to the White House Day
Angie Thomas' YA book 'On The Come Up': Watch the Paramount+ film teaser
Trump's indefensible response to the synagogue shooting draws outrage
The 3 best stats for 'Elden Ring' newcomers to use
Firing Lines
‘Stranger Things 4’ Creel House is a big ol' horror homage
'Hollyweed' guy strikes again with a massive antiLove Kate and Meghan? 6 novels about royalty to read nextFacebook updates its controversial facial recognition settingsApple will announce new iPhones and Apple Watches on Sept. 10Bridget Trump's Diary: I went to the Women's March and it was so overratedWhy Hurricane Dorian slowed down to 1 mphMan fights off Twitter scammer by vowing to marry her in a 'Hindu mosque'Why Hurricane Dorian slowed down to 1 mphRoku is making a soundbar, and honestly it makes a ton of senseFrustrated kid politely lets everyone know how he really feelsYouTube removes more than 100,000 videos for violating its hate speech policyWatch Mattel's adorable new 'Dads Who Play Barbie' campaignThis bin that looks like Donald Trump has sparked a glorious Photoshop battleWhat Google, Amazon, and Apple were doing 20 years agoNew 2019 Social Good Summit speakers announced: Katie Couric, Mara HoffmanShuri of 'Black Panther' is getting her own novel'Steven Universe: The Movie' admits Rose has been a villain all alongDonald Trump's favorite new picture gets even the simplest detail wrongSpanish version of WhiteHouse.gov goes dark in Trump's AmericaShia LaBeouf gets in fight with troll on day 3 of his 4 Donald Trump's tweet to the Iranian President is over 200 capital letters of pure rage Audi A6 Avant e 'Get me a Coke, please.' People are losing it over this moment in the leaked Trump tape. Ivanka Trump's fashion line is dead ¯\ An intriguing defense of millennials, based on the raucous students of 1700s Google Maps outage means finding directions elsewhere Telegram is blocked in Brazil because it didn't check its emails Russia officially bans Facebook and Instagram Best TV theme songs: The Unskippables March Madness bracket 'Severance's opening sequence secrets revealed Jeanine Pirro complains that Whoopi Goldberg treated her 'like a dog' 'Wordle' takes over TikTok 'X' movie review: Ti West's hot new '70s slasher can't escape old tropes The star of NASA's megarocket reveal isn't the big rocket Why regulators are handcuffed when it comes to actually policing Amazon ‘WeCrashed’ review: Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway wear insufferable well in Apple TV+ WeWork drama You still can't block followers on Spotify, and users are not happy Google's 'delete last 15 minutes of search history' feature comes to Android early Elon Musk is working on a new master plan for Tesla This 'Fortnite' rescue attempt went very wrong, very fast
1.8224s , 10106.9609375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Dear Utol (2025): Doctor, Doctor I'm Sick Episode 41】,Pursuit Information Network