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Friday 5 March 2004

1984... [brit]

Sitting on the tube this morning, I ended up people / tunnel wall watching, since I'd forgotten to grab my current read from work on the way out. As people shuffled on and off, I was amazed to see the sheer number of fellow travellers clutching various books; 7 in 10 had a book of some description tucked under their arm or in hand.
Then an old boy gets on, sits down and pulls out a very battered and very yellowed copy of George Orwell's 1984. I remember thinking 'ah, a classic', and reflecting briefly on the absolute crap I generally plough through on my daily tube journeys. It did however get me to thinking; what makes a classic? What other truly classic books are there that everyone *should* read at least once; if not have a copy tucked away on their shelves at home?
The sad fact is, I can't for the life of me offer any suggestions of my own beyond perhaps Animal Farm and Death of a Travelling Salesman; and I fear both of those are more to do with the fact my A Level English Lit & English Lang exams were based on them... so long ago.

10 comments:

  1. Farenheit 451 and Brave New World spring to mind.

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  2. It's a taste thing innit? I mean I'd consider Lord of the Rings a (predictable) classic, but if you didn't like wizards and obbits you wouldn't like it eh? I don't see why everyone *should* read anything.

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  3. I think Brit's not suggesting that. There has to be certain criteria that makes a book a classic, regardless of whether you enjoy it or not. e.g. Groundbreaking - was it the first of it's kind or has the style never been used before. Influence - on 'people''s thinking / society, Originality - does it bring something genuinely new to an existing genre. Popularity could be used as a measure but not exclusively so.
    Ekcetela,Ekcetela,Ekcetela as the king of Siam was fond of saying :)

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  4. Whether or not you like wizards and hobbits, LOTR is still a classic because it is one of the great epics of English literature - it's simply massive in its scope, tying several different plotlines together over six novels.
    In a similar vein, though perhaps less popular: the original 'Dune' to me will always be a classic - it combines aspects of politics, intrigue, action, and analysis of the human condition into one (long!) compelling story, set in a rich and detailed universe.

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  5. classics are the ones that keeps readers over time, that never dies. so they have to be popular. but i dont think there are books that you need to read. but if there are, i think its the big religous shit. bible, koran & co. course, they are all so full of shit its almost impossible.
    i miss how it was when i was a kid, every fucking book i read was great, instantly transporting me into some weirdass world.
    without drugs it just cant be done these days :)

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  6. I never figured you for the reading sort. However, because of you, I have inserted a line into my current novel that goes 'I fight you!'. That's because of you Hans, without you it never would have happened. It brings a tear to my eye I tell ya.

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  7. Which eye I ask ya?

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  8. I enjoyed Machiavellis 'The Prince' for the first time recently. Not necessarily an entertaining read as such but definitely very interesting, and also happened to teach me quite a bit about the development of 'Italy' a few hundred years ago.
    If you like Sci-Fi in any form, I strongly reccomend the Kim Stanley Robinson 'Mars' trilogy.

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  9. Hmm well blog 181 would surely be the definitive exploration of that genre.

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  10. Hunter S. Thompson 'Better than sex'
    just have to love it

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