Sharing Thoughts about Books with Others (STBO) discussion

Recommend classic books to read in this topic. Thank you.

What is a classic? It's a very subjective term. Perhaps a good definition would be from the author, Italo Calvino. I found this very useful article online. He had fourteen definitions of what a classic entailed:

1. The classics are those books about which you usually hear people saying: 'I'm rereading…', never 'I'm reading….'

2. The Classics are those books which constitute a treasured experience for those who have read and loved them; but they remain just as rich an experience for those who reserve the chance to read them for when they are in the best condition to enjoy them.

3. The classics are books which exercise a particular influence, both when they imprint themselves on our imagination as unforgettable, and when they hide in the layers of memory disguised as the individual's or the collective unconscious.

4. A classic is a book which with each rereading offers as much of a sense of discovery as the first reading.

5. A classic is a book which even when we read it for the first time gives the sense of rereading something we have read before.

6. A classic is a book which has never exhausted all it has to say to its readers.

7. The classics are those books which come to us bearing the aura of previous interpretations, and trailing behind them the traces they have left in the culture or cultures (or just in the languages and customs) through which they have passed.

8. A classic is a work which constantly generates a pulviscular cloud of critical discourse around it, but which always shakes the particles off.

9. Classics are books which, the more we think we know them through hearsay, the more original, unexpected, and innovative we find them when we actually read them.

10. A classic is the term given to any book which comes to represent the whole universe, a book on a par with ancient talismans.

11. 'Your' classic is a book to which you cannot remain indifferent, and which helps you define yourself in relation or even in opposition to it.

12. A classic is a work that comes before other classics; but those who have read other classics first immediately recognize its place in the genealogy of classic works.

13. A classic is a work which relegates the noise of the present to a background hum, which at the same time the classics cannot exist without.

14. A classic is a work which persists as a background noise even when a present that is totally incompatible with it holds sway.

Perhaps most poetic is Calvino’s 11th definition, bespeaking the idea that there is room for subjectivity even in a term as deterministically universal as a “classic,” and offering a witty answer to the nitpicky reader: “‘Your’ classic is a book to which you cannot remain indifferent, and which helps you define yourself in relation or even in opposition to it.”

I find those definitions interesting. In consideration of the social upheaval we are experiencing in the US, there have been calls to eliminate some classic literature from required curriculum of students. This includes Shakespeare, Orwell, Huxley, Chaucer, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Lee, and Salinger amongst others. I think with the way that children learn, within the context on these classic novels, they will be able to find literary value and also distinguish between acceptable themes of the times when such literature was composed. If we deny access and exposure of complicated themes that make us uncomfortable, that doesn’t mean they fail to exist or go away. Secrecy elevates their status and students would suffer the consequences of lacking the opportunity to read excellent literature and formulate their own opinions and ideas related to the themes presented.

Those definitions provide an interesting view of what could be considered a ‘classic’, and I love that. There is no strict limitations on what can be a classic, however the term ‘classic’ does invoke a certain category of books to most people.
One of my favorite classics is ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte, it is quite possibly my favorite book and it holds a special place in my heart. Other classics I recommend are ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley, ‘Invisible Man’ by Ralph Ellison, ‘Anna Karenina’ by Leo Tolstoy, and ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

If you prefer novellas or short stories, I would recommend ’The Awakening’ by Kate Chopin, ‘Heart of Darkness’ by Joseph Conrad, and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson, and ‘A Rose for Emily’ by William Faulkner.

This is not a full list, but it is some of the stories I have enjoyed, however, as it is for every reader, my taste is subjective, so you might not like any of these, and that’s okay. I’m by no means the most qualified person to be recommending classics, but hopefully these books are a good place for you to start looking.