The Books canon

Sourced and shelved.

Every book chosen by hand and annotated for why it matters.
Browse all 1,178 books or filter by subject, era, place, and author.
1 volume
SortEditorial Year Title
Subject·Worldly success✕clear
Fiction · Autobiography and memoir

Big Sur

Jack Kerouac
1962 · 190 pages

Fame arrived and Kerouac could not survive it. His narrator retreats to a friend's cabin above the Pacific to dry out, drinks instead, and comes apart in a night of delirium.

★ 4.8