I guess On The Road is a classic because it catches the atmosphere of a group of people at the time... a type of people who were subsequently very influencial. It's not really a story of things happening so much as a description of an outlook about life. Anyway, I heard you mention the 1001 books list. I guess as you know about the list, you're aware of the 1001 Books spreadsheet and have a copy of the new v4 edition, right? If not, head over to the spreadsheet page on Arukiyomi (http://johnandsheena.co.uk/books/?page_id=1806).