As a person who has trouble keeping attention but has an overactive imagination it can be really hard to choose a book to read, I walk into Waterstones, or any other bookshop and begin reading blurbs and cutting halfway through books to get a sense of the writing style, the reality is that the classics section is jam packed with absolute gems. Why on earth wouldn’t I try to read all of them?
In fact I would go as far as to say that there are so many classic books that are available (including modern classics too) that I could spend a lifetime reading them. I don’t really see the downside to this.
It’s commonly accepted that these books are excellent and worthy of praise and adored worldwide, they are classics because they contain thrilling plots, unbeaten structure and great and relatable characters.
I have nothing against those who want to read the next best thing of course, I understand the position of those (like my mum) who prefer those light crime thrillers and such.
But when I talk about how I just read crime and punishment, or animal farm, or pride and prejudice I get this sort of sense from avid readers that they are at least internally rolling their eyes at me, like I have committed this sin of reading common books. And I simply refuse to believe these people have read every classic they could get their hands on, including the ones I mentioned.
by JimDodd0
8 Comments
It’s usually not the fact that people only read classics that annoys others. It’s the fact that these people tend to act like they’re better people than others because of it. They tend to feel superior to people who only read popular fiction. This personality type is so common amongst people who read a lot of classics and feel the need to talk about it, that it’s just an easy assumption to make until proven otherwise.
I read a lot but a lot of people who solely read classics would say I’m not ‘well-read’.. I almost exclusively read scifi and fantasy because that is what interests me. Forced reading at school killed my drive to read most of the classics to be honest.
I don’t care what anyone else reads but I have faced criticism for my preferred reading. It’s why I tend to shy away from the academic types who look down their nose at me.
There are perfectly nice people who read classics but a lot of the people I’ve encountered who solely read that genre have been unkind and condescending.
There’s nothing wrong with only reading classics. If that’s someone’s taste, then there’s nothing wrong with that. There does seem to be a tendency amongst people who only read classics to have an air of superiority about modern books, and by extension, people who read modern books. Whether that’s an actual tendency or just a bias I have, I don’t know. But, it reminds me of people who say “nobody makes good music anymore, it’s all just shitty pop or mumble rap” and they only listen to classic rock or something. It just feels very pretentious, even if maybe it’s an unfair bias on my end.
I’m not sure if what you’re perceiving is actually what’s happening. The three books you listed are commonly taught in American schools. When you are forced to read something that an authority tells you is brilliant and important, it’s a totally natural teenage response to have a really rebellious attitude towards it. Those impressions rarely, if ever, go away.
Ignore other people.
Do your thing.
I say live and let live. You’re reading for your own enjoyment, so read what you enjoy. And classics are awesome.
I look down on people who refuse to engage with contemporary media. Classics are great, and there’s obviously plenty to be learned from the past, but you can’t actually live there. You live here, in today’s world. This is the society you have to operate in, and it’s absolutely worth your time to engage with it via the media it produces and consumes.
And frankly, many classics are only seen as culturally significant because they’ve been placed in that category after the fact, not because they actually have that much to offer. For instance, as a huge fan of Jane Austen, I think it’s silly to suggest that her books really have that much more weight than anything in contemporary drama fiction.
As someone with a degree in literature who has read many classics, people who only read classics tend to think they’re better than everyone else. They think of the classics as the best literature has to offer. Being considered a classic doesn’t mean they’re the best written books, or offer some profound piece of knowledge. They’re just noteworthy and manage to entice audiences to pick them up.
These days, I rarely pick up classics. I prefer romance, urban fantasy, and thrillers.