I think there's just not a big reason to read Kerouac
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Except if you're young and you're not ready for the heavy stuff yet. Early Henry Miller is much more fun. If you're into the booze and drugs stuff, you can go with Bukowski or Burroughs. v and The Recognitions both cover the 40s/50s outsider scenes and are much funnier. And then if you move outside US literature, you realize that there's plenty of bohemian stuff that's much more entertaining to read. Like, Kerouac is a good gateway writer for kids that are being fed Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry and A Separate Peace in school, but he doesn't hold up once you start exploring.
Diane Di Prima is the equivalent of Varda in the Beat scene, arguably.
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