book classic

Why, What, When Classic?

Full disclosure: these ramblings are entirely the private thoughts of this book fanatic. I have read a lot of classics though. One of my mother’s accidentally brilliant moves was when she bought a bunch of very cheap anthologies and left them in my bedroom when I was a teenager. My parents also had an extensive collection of The Great Writers Library classics. I have always been a sucker for pretty books and this was pre-mobile phone so it wasn’t long before I read my way through all the anthologies and many classics.

So anyhoo…what makes a book a classic? Why are some books more classic than others? Who decides?

Well the obvious, short answer to the last one is the publisher. But I suspect it’s not as simple as that. I would imagine for modern classics it’s a combination of cost of rights, popularity and critical success. What about books past the copyright expiration (70 years after death of author)? Do they automatically get classic status because people today read more into them than was intended? When first published, Austen’s work was viewed like today’s chick lit and disparaged as such. Eighty years from now, will Bridget Jone’s Diary be classed together with Pride and Prejudice as a critical indictment of society’s treatment of women of the late 20th century?

Yet just like movies, what makes a book a classic is very much subjective. One person’s Godfather is another person’s Top Gun. Similarly I get that not everyone will love Wuthering Heights like I do.

So here’s what I think. I think everyone should get to choose their own classics. If you think Bridgerton should be read through the ages, then you go right ahead and recommend it to everyone you know.

This means that no one is allowed to diss anyone else’s reading habits. This includes those fusty old books from a century ago that make for great soporifics for many.

I will always be grateful to my parents for their passive force feeding of the classics because I honestly don’t have the time or patience to read them today except at 1.5x speed on audio. I tried to listen to War and Peace as a reread of it, but even that was just…too…slow…. So my point is that if your current life journey means it gives you more stress than pleasure to give the classics the time they deserve, then you shouldn’t feel pressured by anyone to read anything you don’t want to.

However, if you do have the time and inclination, I would highly recommend giving them a try. The language can be stilted and there will be a lot of descriptions (I skipped an entire chapter of a description of the view of Paris from the roof of the Notre Dame in The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and also more philosophising (also skipped a lot of that in War and Peace). But it is totally worth it.

There are “lighter” ones that read more easily. Wilkie Collin’s mysteries are highly readable even today. Or more modern ones like Hemingway, Steinbeck, Maugham or Burgess. They span all genres as well and even children will read Verne. The best part? Many of them are free of copyright and widely available online in full.

Need recommendations? Drop me a line! Or check out some of the previous blog posts with book lists. Coming soon will be a list of books “ahead of their time”.

Classic Review - Treasure Island

One of the best things about the book community is how accepting we are of diverse opinions. Books, like all other art forms, are subjective to the consumer. There is not a single work of art that is universally loved. I’m sure even the Mona Lisa has haters.

So it is with classic books. Here are two diverse opinions of our February 2023 Classic pick - Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

2.5 ⭐️
I really wanted to love this book. I love a high sea adventure as much as the next guy, but this was so incredibly hard to connect with. Perhaps it was choosing the audio format rather than reading the physical book, or perhaps it would have been the same no matter how I read it. It just wasn’t for me.

I found the narration was sort of diary like and felt quite dry. The “I went here, he went there, I did this, then he did that” style of writing should have made it easy to follow along and visualise, but instead, I found it hard to focus. There was a lot of action happening and I wanted to be swept away, but I just couldn’t feel anything in it. With all that was going on, I still found myself bored and unable to grip onto the action.

I’m truly disappointed that I didn’t end up liking it as much as I thought I would. I was really excited when I first received it in my Classics Subscription because I hadn’t ever read it - or seen any adaptions, including the Muppets (unpopular opinion, I don’t like the Muppets 😬). I think I’ll put it down to a lack of emotional connection to the story. I’ve seen such good reviews for this one, so I think I’m in the minority.

Better luck next time, Classics!

-@thebookishkimmy (thanks to Kim for the photo above!)

5⭐️

I love a good swash-buckling adventure tale, particularly one that involves dastardly pirates, mutiny, treasure and sword fights.

I first read Treasure Island as a child and also watched the movie. It left an impression on me and I’ve since had a fondness for the morally grey yet lovable character. Long John Silver is all that though I did wish he was described more like Luke Evans. 😜 Who BTW, reads an abbreviated version on Audible. 😁

Listening to the full cast audio version was like a combination of reading and watching it. It was action-packed from the get go and I enjoyed followed young Jim’s adventures. The characterisation is a bit cliche but I feel like this was the book that originated the cliches so that’s excusable.

It helps that it is short and easy to digest for a classic.