Books like On the Road, The Dharma Bums, The Subterraneans

Well, now I know what the "Beat generation" was all about. A bunch of egomaniacs that spent all their time trying to impress others with their "intellectual, creative weirdism" literature that we sould all try to figure out the deep meanings of. They were all high on chemicals, or deeply depressed (on other chemicals). For me, On the Road was a poetic study of a bunch of bums who had no respect for women or even themselves, who go back and forth from New York to California searching for something they never found, and end up writing some books about. Dharma bums was more interesting to me because the drug scene wasn't as repulsive. It was more toned down and I enjoyed reading about the beauty of the outdoors. The Subterraneans was really depressing, with a loser druggie alcoholic guy that literally uses a beautiful, young woman with true intellectual possibilities. He spends all his time destroying any kind of a meaningful relationship they could have and when she gives him the boot he goes and cries in the same railroad yards he hangs out in bumming around the country. The only reason I could finish these books is because Kerouac has such a poetic gift, that he made it possible for me to read about a bunch of people I couldn't stand. With all their faults, they were a fascinating bunch of weirdos.