I’m geeking out over the original “On The Road” manuscript at American Writers Museum

Just as much as I love traveling, I’m also a total bookworm. I even had an internship at Curtis Brown Literary Agency back in the day because I was obsessed with Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead. I spend a lot of time going through old bookshops (which sadly keep closing), but the American Writers Museum in Chicago was a fun welcome since it has the original “On The Road” manuscript by Jack Kerouac.

Ok, so I love books. I have pretty impressive, first-edition hardcover book collection (In True Blood! The Bell Jar! A signed copy of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers!) and I’m constantly reading — George Saunders’ genius collection of short stories, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline is what I’m currently toting.

I love books so much, I get sad when I hear about things like Pierce Brosnan losing a first-edition copy of James Joyces’ Ulysses in a house fire. UGH. There’s so few of those left on this planet (and thankfully nobody was hurt).

Anyway, I was excited to check out the new American Writers Museum that opened in Chicago last week. There’s no other museum in the world like this.

I got a private tour, which was excellent, and I was a big fan of the exhibits (historical, educational, informative) that revolved around “dead authors.” The most exciting exhibit was the original, typed manuscript of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. Guys, this is not something that you see often in public display, so if you’re a huge book lover like me and appreciate unique and rare things, GO VISIT NOW.

Terrible photos below (the light wasn’t great on my phone) but here’s what it looks like.