Today in Bookish and Literary History, September 5

1957 "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac 

"On the Road" chronicles Jack Kerouac's years traveling the North American continent with his friend Neal Cassady, "a sideburned hero of the snowy West." As "Sal Paradise" and "Dean Moriarty," the two roam the country in a quest for self-knowledge and experience. Kerouac's love of America, his compassion for humanity, and his sense of language as jazz combine to make "On the Road" an inspirational work of lasting importance.

1958 "Doctor Zhivago" novel by Boris Pasternak published in US 

The classic story of the life and loves of a poet/physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution.

2023 The Fraud by Zadie Smith (UK)

It is a historical novel based on the Tichborne case.

2023 Holly by Stephen King 

Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King’s most compelling and resourceful characters, returns in this chilling “exploration of grief and delusion, just pure undistilled evil” (New York magazine) as she uncovers the truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.

2023 Dearborn by Ghassan Zeineddine

A sharp, tender, and uproariously funny portrait of the lives of Arab American community members in Dearborn, Michigan.

• Winner of the 2023 Khayrallah Book Prize
• Finalist for the 2024 CLMP Firecracker Award for Debut Fiction
• Shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing

2023 The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by a shocking murder, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances in this dazzling novel, an instant New York Times bestseller and “a work of art” (The Denver Post).

• An Edgar Award Nominee

2024 Gabriel's Moon by William Boyd

William Boyd offers his most exhilarating novel yet, following a reluctant spy drawn into the shadows of espionage and obsession