Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was an American writer known for his unique novels that combined memoir, humour, satire, cynicism and science-fiction. Vonnegut fought in World War II where he was captured by the Nazis and as a POW, witnessed the fire bombing of Dresden – an event which profoundly affected his outlook on life. Vonnegut and his fellow prisoners were forced to recover dead bodies and clean up a city that he said resembled the surface of the moon. He described the events in his brilliant book Slaughterhouse-Five (which I highly recommend). Vonnegut had a talent for condensing profound humanistic opinions into concise and simple words, like the quote above. I’ve discovered his work quite recently and besides Slaughterhouse-Five, have only read Cat’s Cradle (the two books Vonnegut himself said were his best). What others do you recommend?

– I got my first dog two years ago, a miniature schnauzer named Vayda, and what you see above is her routine whenever my wife or I arrive home. I think she’s the cutest dog in the world and I’ll fight anybody who says otherwise.

– Here’s a great article at The AV Club featuring Vonnegut’s top 15 quotes.