For me, I feel as if he’s saying less about Kerouac, and more about the guys who name-drop Kerouac as a way of making themselves look smarter and more literary than they actually are.

There are genres within nonfiction writing that are just as escapist as fiction, especially memoirs, travelogues and essay collections. Some of my favorite books are not fiction/fantasy, but nonfiction works. I have also found that some fictional works are complimented upon, and improved by, reading nonfiction works related to their subject matter.

I read it when it first came out, and I found it genuinely disturbing, as did most of my friends at the time. Some of us even started having nightmares and paranoid experiences related to the book.

I’ve read it several times, and as I’ve gotten older, I find it not at all scary, in fact it’s a wonderful concept piece that satirizes academia research and media, explores typography, and delves into some interesting psychological realms. I also love the hidden messages, games, and cross-over with the author’s sister, Poe, on her album “Haunted”.

I do frequent underlining and margin notes with my poetry and theology/psychology books. Some ficiton books, I'll mark a sentence or paragraph in pencil if I'm particularly moved by it.