Literary Tourism: Vonnegut in Indianapolis

My family went to Indianapolis for Spring Break, and while we were there, we visited the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library. I'll be honest - I'd never read anything by Vonnegut. I heard so much hype about him in creative writing classes and grad school that I actually thought he was overrated. But Will loves him, and I love libraries and anything book-related, so I had no problem stopping at the Memorial Library.

It's basically two rooms in a downtown Indianapolis building. You walk in to a large, open space - inviting and well-lit, even on a rainy day. Some of Vonnegut's sketches are framed on the walls, as well as Vonnegut-inspired prints by other artists. A large touchscreen plays interviews with Morley Safer and other friends on a loop, and you can sit on a bench and listen for awhile. The next room has memorabilia from Vonnegut's military career, personal items like glasses and his last pack of cigarettes, and his original typewriter.

You can sit at a replica of Vonnegut's writing setup and type a message. He wrote on a typewriter, set on a low table, from an even-lower chair. It looks cozy and uncomfortable at the same time.
The library is an actual lending library, and there are more than just Vonnegut books for checkout. This is, however, a collection of signed books, first editions, and tickets to a speaking engagement that never happened, due to Vonnegut's death.

A touchscreen computer in this room allows you to read some of Vonnegut's unpublished works, plays, and letters. Oh - and rejection letters! Some of them are pretty funny, though I'm not sure if they're supposed to be. It was humorous to me, knowing what little I did about Vonnegut's risque subject matter, to see a rejection letter from Woman's Home Companion.

The Memorial Library is definitely worth a visit if you're anywhere near the area - this coming from someone who wasn't even a Vonnegut fan. Those who think it was crazy of me to visit a memorial library for an author I don't know might be pleased to note that as of now, I'm reading Look at the Birdie, a collection of previously unpublished short stories, and really enjoying them.

Our Reading Lives: From Birth

I didn't have a baby shower for my son for one main (selfish) reason: I hate being the center of attention. It's the same reason my husband and I eloped and never had a reception. It's why I haven't had a birthday party since I was six.

The second reason was because we didn't need anything. We had the crib, changing pad, and rocker. We had a stack of hand-me-down clothes for every few months. We didn't want the house to be cluttered with clothes that would be worn once (if at all) or toys that would easily break, or not be enjoyed until the babe was older.

That being said, we did need want books. We have four bookcases filled with books; still more volumes are stacked in and on our nightstands. Reading is our solace and our escape. It's comforting to see so many different worlds and characters stacked around us. We wanted our baby to grow up in this same environment.

I've seen a lot of people ask for favorite books as baby shower gifts. I've seen cute bookplates on the table next to the refreshments, so you can sign your name and paste it into the book you're passing along to baby. I love the idea of knowing everyone's favorite books, period, but their favorite books from childhood? Those have so many memories tied in: who read them to you, what they made you imagine, which you requested night after night.

Even without having an adorably-book-nerdy baby shower, we've still built up an awesome book collection for our babe. We read to him in the morning, after naps, and before bed. We read to him when we get home from the library with a stack of books, or when his new Imagination Library book arrives in the mail. And we keep a GoodReads account for him the way some people make Facebook accounts for their kids. Because how cool would it be to have a record of every book you've ever read? Call me a nerd (a fact we've already established...), but I think it's awesome. We record the date and how he reacted to the book, text, and illustrations. It's informal, and we don't do star ratings because, hey - that's personal opinion, and one a ten-month-old can't yet share with us!

But I hope he appreciates the record-keeping. And who knows - maybe some of the books will become favorites, will be given high star ratings by him personally, and will one day be gifted to another at a baby shower.