sure, totally fair.

and i'm not upset - i just like to drop a lot of f-bombs.

why don't i like kerouac?

well, a few years ago i was chillin with these mexicans (whom i first became acquainted with on a friday night when i was feelin low and unsatisfied with my white-middle-class luxuries, i wanted something more, i wanted something real) who lived down the street in an old abandoned building (i once heard that the building had been previously inhabited by a family of upper-middle-class sensibility and i must say that the new occupants were much more worthy of such a grand abode) that i'm almost positive they squat in but understandably never asked them about it - i respected their lust for life and didn't want to question their way; i, in fact, wished their lives were my own and the mexican boy who i'd admired from afar since meeting him recommended on the road by kerouac, which i'd never read but had heard many great things about - and thus, so greatly admiring my band of dark-skinned brothers and sisters i stole a copy from the bookstore downtown (of course i did have the money to purchase it, though i thought stealing it would be much more romantic) - with high hopes i read the novel and to my dismay, i didn't understand why he who i yearned for had spoken so highly of it and i asked him and he said, "because keroauc is cool, man".

hope that answers your question for ya.

i just don't dig it man.

that's what i'm sayin!!

nah.

how 'bout you blow me?

jeeez, that one guy ruined it for you? did you finish the book?

i dont know, maybe i just found him at the right time; i was about to take a trip across the country to some places i'd never been, et cetera.. jazz, highways, and booze. im into it.

fuck you too then.

that story was a complete fabrication, i've never wished to be anyone except for who i am.

i think that kerouac did - and i don't like that.

i've read the subterrenians and the dharma bums.

haven't read on the road and i doubt i ever will.

literature appeals to all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons.

i'm a pretty big fan of william blake and i by no means assume that everyone else feels the same way i do about his work.

i'm not even quite sure where i stand on this debate, but i have to admit, that was pretty preceptive and LOL.

i guess i like the IDEA of kerouac and the lifestyle he always wrote about is of interest to me, but when it comes down to it the actual writing and the stories are not satisfying enough to me. maybe i'm just a boring traditionalist who knows.... i like beginning, middle, end, and theres something to learned from it.
i'd watch a biography channel doc about his life rather than read one of this books at this point.

that is my favorite book.

you either feel it or you dont.

you cant force yourself to like something you dont get.

yeah, it's not really a matter of me "getting" it necessarily, it's just that, i've read a lot more now and i'm enjoying the book, but i lack the understanding of why people think that it's such a great book.

maybe i'm not "getting" it.

I loved the Dharma Bums, it inspired me to volunteer with the forest service two summers-one in the Okanogan, not far from Mt. Hauzomeen.

Still day dream about hopping a freight- probably never will.

it inspired me to research Buddhism more thoroughly but realised that misery aint my thing. Buddhism is really depressing.

Perservere! I found on the road a bit of a sludge myself, but carried on (as I can't leave books unfinished) and the feeling I got after I'd finished reading the whole thing was well worth the journey.

ginsberg
ginsberg
ginsberg
ginsberg

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I think he fucked a hole in everything. I love the writing but he was a little manslut, as alcoholic pisces men tend to be.

Desolation Angels is my favorite book of his. It seems a bit darker than the rest of them, especially the first section when he's alone on the top of a mountain. I also love the dharma bums and the subterraneans. But he's a love him or hate him author. I like the stream-of-consciousness style, but some people hate it, have a hard time understanding it, or get frustrated and want it to make sense and have a plot. If you don't like the style now you probably won't get into it.

I've read the first chapter and some excerpts from it, and some parts were less than exciting, but I found it rather intriguing. (On The Road)

I flicked through that in the library last week and was tempted, but I have a huge pile of books beside my bed already. It'll have to wait.

I tried to read On the Road a few years ago and never really got into it. I think I got bored reading the immensely over-long introduction and then everything after that was a halfhearted attempt. I hate not finishing a book, but I can shift the blame because someone else wanted it from the library. I might pick it up again sometime when I'm not worrying about other things, like exams, like I was when I got halfway through before. Maybe this summer.

Come on, that does sound a bit superior...although I don't know your tone, so forgive me if I've got that completely wrong.

i tried reading on the road about 5 times before i actually got into it. i think you really have to be in a certain frame of mind to enjoy/get it.

well, i'm getting further and it's getting better. i'm way more into it then when i started this thread, and *shock* it's getting interesting. still long and drug out, but interesting.

Maybe i'll give it another go. Ive got it out of the library about 4 times. first 3 times, never got round to even looking at it, and then i finally tried it, got to chapter 3 or 4 i think and didnt pick it up again.

agreed. you definitely need to be in a certain mindframe. I got through on the road pretty well in all mindframes.
but to read visions of cody? I had to be a bit dreamy/hazy/lost.

I have this documentary called "what happened to kerouac", it's really good, has interviews with everyone (ginsberg and burroughs included). I like when it shows him on tv interviews and he's obviously had a few, he was just a funny fucker. plus tv shows back then were funny anyhow.

it seems i can only get into it right before bed. or when i'm stoned. i need to be very chilled out to get into it, but yeah i read another 30 pages or something yesterday and totally got absorbed.

The last two days I've been listening to On The Road read by Matt Dillon on CD.It sounds a lot better and is easier to fallow when it is read by someone
who knows how to read outloud very expressivly.

dude, begbie does that in the novel Trainspotting.