Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
All characters reduced
The Town and the City - A Novel - cover

The Town and the City - A Novel

Jack Kerouac

Publisher: Open Road Media

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

A quintessential American family is pulled apart by war and the rapidly changing tides of society in Jack Kerouac’s captivating first novel Published seven years before his iconic On the Road, Jack Kerouac’s debut novel follows the experiences of one family as they navigate the seismic cultural shifts following World War II. Inspired by Kerouac’s own New England youth, the eight Martin children enjoy an idyllic upbringing in a small Massachusetts mill-town. Middle son Peter, a budding intellectual and promising athlete, most strongly feels the lure of the future. When war breaks out, the siblings’ lives are interrupted by military service; their parents must sell their house after the family business goes bankrupt; and Peter, eager to see the world, voyages overseas as a Merchant Marine. After returning home, Peter is drawn to the kinetic energy of New York City and the progressive, bohemian ideas springing from its denizen young poets, writers, and artists. His new friends are fictionalized versions of Kerouac’s contemporaries: Allen Ginsberg (as Leon Levinsky), Lucien Carr (as Kenneth Wood), and William Burroughs (as Will Dennison), and other members of the Beat Generation. Seen by Peter’s parents as hoodlums and junkies, the Beats challenge conventional American ideas of everything from authority and religion to marriage and domestic life.
Available since: 03/22/2016.
Print length: 499 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • Opening Wonders - cover

    Opening Wonders

    Rajnar Vajra

    • 0
    • 1
    • 0
    Countless un-parallel universes intersect in a place where science and magic function perfectly. A Crossroads World. A world that holds a fantastic and deadly secret. An ultra-advanced species, the Common, govern this world and invite other advanced species to set up enclaves where the planet's extraordinary properties draw an assortment of gods and demons like supernatural moths to a flame. The first human allowed there, Professor David Goldberg, is secretly tasked by Earth’s governments to observe the Common.But Goldberg’s mission might not be as secret as he thinks. Someone or something with unknown motivations sends truly terrifying monsters bent on taking him down. Opening Wonders. Fantasy, science fiction, mythology, adventure, mystery, rich history—and more.
    Show book
  • The Lycanthropy Files - An Urban Fantasy Thriller Box Set - cover

    The Lycanthropy Files - An Urban...

    Cecilia Dominic

    • 0
    • 1
    • 0
    If you like hair-raising mysteries, complex characters, and stories that blend science and magic, then you'll love Cecilia Dominic's Lycanthropy Files series.
     
    Book One - The Mountain's Shadow
     
    Life as she knew it is over. At the next full moon, the real trouble begins…
     
    Joanie Fisher is one breakthrough away from curing Chronic Lycanthropy Syndrome. But when suspicious events sabotage her career, she's forced to continue her life's work in the estate of her missing grandfather. Deep in the Ozark Mountains, Joanie's research at Wolfsbane Manor takes a turn when a real-life werewolf asks her for help.
     
    As she continues the search for a cure, missing local children and a chilling family curse collide. When Joanie discovers the truth, it may be too late to stop a devastating threat that could destroy the entire world…
     
    "THE MOUNTAIN'S SHADOW is a complex, sometimes chilling paranormal. Author Cecilia Dominic has you so deeply involved in this story that you cannot put it down." - Fresh Fiction
     
    Book Two - Long Shadows
     
    This time, being true to herself could be a deadly mistake.
     
    Lonna Marconi likes to solve problems. The hard kind. A social worker by day, P.I. in her “spare time,” she’s figured out how to handle her little “werewolf problem.” After a dose of wolfsbane, her physical body stays safe in bed while her wolf goes spirit walking. If only she didn’t have a mind of her own…
     
    Deep in the Appalachians, Lonna learns a family secret that means she’s unique, even among werewolves. Now she’s pursued by a rogue sorcerer with poisonous intentions, other wizards who’d like to throw her in a gilded prison, and a band of ghostly wolves thirsting for her blood.
     
    Worse, there’s only one man who can protect her, and even he demands a price: her heart. Even though his own may be forever beyond her reach.
     
    Book Three - Blood's Shadow
     
    The disease has teeth…but the cure could be deadly.
     
    As Investigator for the Lycanthrope Council, Gabriel McCord went above and beyond his official title to keep werewolf kind out of the public eye. Now he has a new challenge as the liaison to the Institute for Lycanthrope Reversal, advocating for humans turned werewolf against their will.
     
    The Institute’s controversial “treatment” is generally accepted – until one of the project’s scientists is found murdered at his desk.
     
    The suspect list is long: purists who believe lycanthropism is a non-returnable gift; wolf-borns who want the cure for their own; and the ethereal Selene Rial, an Institute psychologist who’s lost her most precious possession to a secret society dedicated to the annihilation of werewolves.
     
    If Gabriel fails to solve this case, the fragile peace between wizards and lycanthropes could shatter, and his friends’ lives could be ruined. But even if he succeeds, he has to face the consequences of his heart being pulled in a dangerous direction – a woman whose secrets could destroy them both.
     
    "Book three in The Lycanthropy Files series, is a compelling page- turner filled with vivid descriptions and well-rendered characters..." - Romantic Times
     
    Bonus novella - A Million Shadows
     
    Witches, werewolves, and murder - oh, my!
     
    “I have read everything in this series, and this book was the best one yet! I loved Kyra and Jared, and I really felt the chemistry between them.” – 5-star review
    Show book
  • Wolf Submission 1 - 3 - cover

    Wolf Submission 1 - 3

    Arya Hucovv

    • 0
    • 1
    • 0
    In this bundle, you will find innocent young submissive humans submitting for Alpha werewolves in every way imaginable.
     
    Ruined Innocence
     
    Anna is eighteen when she meets the man she's supposed to love for the rest of her life. The self-made millionaire is older, more experienced, and a lot bigger than her. She is even more intimidated when she realizes that he is a werewolf. She's heard stories about werewolves sharing their lovers and how huge they can grow. She isn't prepared for him to be so kind and gentle with her, taking his time to make sure she is comfortable with every little development in their lives. Little does she know that he is only conditioning her to accept the changes to come...
     
    Massage Therapy 
     
    When Savannah is asked to accompany her brother’s fiancée to a spa, she thinks of it as an opportunity to relax from her strenuous college classes. What she isn’t expecting is for her masseur to be a werewolf who’s not only ready to massage all the stress from her body, but also introduce some other form of relaxation. Just what kind of spa did her brother’s fiancée bring her to?! She finds out quickly that her future sister-in-law to be into some seriously kinky stuff. 
     
    Mating Moon
     
    Emma has just celebrated her eighteenth birthday, which means she is no longer under the protection of her foster werewolf pack. She is expecting things to be done the proper way, for proposals to be sent her way and she can sit comfortably in front of a crackling fireplace and flip through all the werewolves interested in her as she sips a mug of hot cocoa. Instead, she is driven out the woods and set free like some sort of misbehaving pup. She does the only thing she can and runs, werewolves hot on her trail. 
     
    This supernatural romance bundle has werewolves that aren't just generously endowed in all the right ways. They're downright savage when it comes to claiming what's theirs. Go ahead, take a peek inside...
     
    ~~~~~ Excerpt ~~~~~
     
    Excerpt from Mating Moon: 
     
    They had blindfolded her in the car on the way to the forest, like they were worried that she would find her way back if they didn't take precautions.
     
    She rolls her eyes at the thought. The more she thinks about it, the less sorry she is about them giving up on her so easily.
     
    The new pack, the one that had challenged her current caretaker for her, had rattled them so completely that she had caught them discussing with the authorities a late that evening, asking if they were in any danger. She had been so naive then, thinking that they are worried about her safety when all they were worried about was their own.
     
    It should have warned her. She could have had a head-start if she had started running when she overheard them. Instead, she had gone on blind faith that they would keep her safe for longer, that they would wait until the government officials come for her in the morning.
     
    She had been so stupid, and now she's paying for it.
     
    A rumbling snarl echoes through the trees and she stumbles in her surprise. Her heart jumps up her throat like it's trying to escape through her mouth. She yelps, and steadies herself with a palm on the forest floor. It comes away damp with mud and she has to make herself to get back up and continue running.
     
    The wolf is close. She needs to run further.
     
    Howls respond from all around her, some closer than others. The entire pack is coming for her. The forest isn't large enough for her to hide in, not when she's stinking of fear and anticipation.
     
    She draws a deep, shuddering breath and keeps running. She is curious to meet her new pack, but not curious enough to stop and let them have their way with her.
     
    She needs to run.
     
    It is at times like this that she wishes she was normal. That she wasn't a human born with the ability to carry werewolf pups. Werewolves lost the ability to carry on the genetics that allows them to shift into werewolves decades ago, or to pass it on with a mere bite. The only way for a werewolf to have children that are like them is if they have a human companion. It is what makes them so special. It is also what makes having them dangerous. Only the strongest packs have human companions because only the strongest packs can keep them.
     
    She scoffs. 
     
    A sharp howl goes up right behind her, so close that she can feel it vibrating through her bones. She freezes and twists around to stare in the dark. The forest is too thick for her to see anything. "Who's there?" she calls out, not really expecting an answer. She jumps when she does.
     
    "Stop running, little lamb…"
    Show book
  • Gangbanged by dogs 6-pack - cover

    Gangbanged by dogs 6-pack

    Penelope Liksit

    • 0
    • 8
    • 0
    6 erotic tales that involve women taking on a whole load of dogs all at once!
     
    These are just the kind of hot stories that you know you can't resist!
    Show book
  • Monstrous Penetrations Volume 2 (Monster Erotica 4-Book Bundle) - cover

    Monstrous Penetrations Volume 2...

    Nixie Fairfax

    • 0
    • 13
    • 0
    Four more toe-curling tales of sexy young women being roughly taken by insatiable, hugely hung monsters.
    
    Volume 2 includes:
    “The Ultimate Sensation” – Pleasure-seeking heiress Jasmine is spending the summer living it up on the tropical island paradise of Vilau, whose jungles are said to be home to the Panlopa, a shockingly well-endowed Sasquatch-like monster-man. Jasmine scoffs at the stories, but when the natives decide to offer her up to the Panlopa to be its new mate, she soon learns how real the monster is…and she finally finds the ultimate pleasure she has long sought!
    “Caught” – Emmaline’s special bond with canines has always served her well in her job as Tucks Mills’ dog catcher. But that bond sends her life spinning in an unexpected new direction when she meets a handsome stranger who captivates her like no other man she’s ever met. What she doesn’t know is that he’s a werewolf on the hunt for just the right woman for him and his two packmates to mate with…and Emmaline is clearly the one! After catching the dog catcher in a trap of their own, the three virile, well-hung werewolves roughly have their way with her, one after another.
    “Intrusion” – Married scientists Monty and Nerissa think they’re about to make history with a new invention that offers glimpses of alternate dimensions. But during the device’s trial run, a hulking monster appears in the lab, and when it lays eyes on Nerissa, its only aim is to have its way with her. After his attempt to stop the alien intruder leaves him pinned beneath a piece of heavy equipment, Monty can only watch, helpless and horrified yet strangely aroused, as the hugely hung brute claims his wife…and in the process gives her pleasure light-years beyond anything she has ever felt with her nerdy husband.
    “Orced Raw” – After finding evidence of orc activity near the border of her forest homeland, Elara the elvish ranger sets out to investigate. When she recklessly gets too close to their lair, the petite warrior is captured and taken to their arena, where she learns that she has been chosen to become the tribe’s latest broodmare and must now face off against every healthy male orc of the tribe in a battle/mating ritual. In the process, it emerges that her hatred of the orcs masks other, more shameful feelings, and as the brawny, well-hung monsters overwhelm her and roughly have their way with her, she finds herself wracked with bliss the likes of which she has never felt before.
    Show book
  • The Spark - cover

    The Spark

    Vi Keeland

    • 1
    • 4
    • 0
    A new, sexy standalone from #1 New York Times Bestseller, Vi Keeland.Before I even met Donovan Decker, I knew his shoe size.You see, I’d gone away for a few days, and in my haste to get out of the airport, I’d grabbed the wrong suitcase.After checking out the expensive footwear and tailored clothes, I dialed the number on the luggage tag hoping maybe Mister Big Spender might have my bag.A deep, velvety voice answered, and as luck would have it, he had my suitcase, too.Donovan and I met at a coffee shop to do the exchange.Turned out, it wasn’t just his voice that was sexy. The man holding my luggage was absolutely gorgeous, and we had an immediate spark.He got me to admit that I’d snooped in his bag and then convinced me to make it up to him by letting him buy me coffee.Coffee led to dinner, dinner led to dessert, and dessert led to spending an entire weekend together. Donovan wasn’t just handsome with a panty-dropping voice. He was also funny, smart, and surprisingly down to earth for a man who wore seven-hundred-dollar shoes.Did I mention he also did my laundry while I slept? Definitely too good to be true.So what did I do to repay him for his kindness?I waited until he was in the shower, then ghosted him.My life was too complicated for such a great guy.In the months that passed, I thought about Donovan often.But New York City had eight-million people, so what were the chances I’d run into him?Then again, what were the chances I’d run into him a year later…when I’d just started dating his boss?
    Show book