Everyone's heard of a classic. The books that are required to be read in a school semesters, the books that make us groan and say, "Why do we have to read this?" It's an old book and it's now. Besides, people don't like being told what to read, the book that teachers order us to analyze, to dissect, to experiment, to find the overall message and theme this book is trying to say, until at the end, it's not a book anymore, it's a lab experiment. At school, we handed down the greats: Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Salinger, Joyce, Golding, Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Lee, Twain, and need I go on? Lately, in my Language Arts class, we have been asking what makes a masterpiece a masterpiece. While I don't have an answer for that, something made these books stick around.
It even made me wonder, what will be our classics of today. We don't have any of these people in attendence. Everyone save Lee is dead and she is old. Let's just say that I've noticed that our perferences of books are changing. We have Harry Potter. We have The Devil Wears Prada. We have James Patterson, Mary Higgins Clark, Danielle Steele, Robin Cook, people who frequently churn out "popcorn" books. Whether these books are classics we can argue about some of these. And if you're reading this, you might question some of the books you've read lately that were no good and you wonder why they were evn published. The question is, will these books remain behind to the future?
I can't answer that. The reason is, like I said, our preferences in books are changing. The publishing world has become more industrialized, more commercial, more advertising, more competive. The book industry wants to make a profit and they want it now, not later. Hemingway in his day, never had to bother with blurbs. He never had to be interviewed for the message behind his books. He wasn't expected to go on a book tour to make people see they can read his book. Authors don't have much choice anymore. And if the book can't make a good profit, it's thrown in the trash, dismissed.
What does that mean for us? I don't know. Despite the competiveness, there has never been any wider variety of books than there has now. Fantasy and science fiction are newly popular books, they had their surge in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and of course 90s, due to Harry Potter. Horror too. There are more genres to pick from, more to read. What it may mean for the future, I'm not sure. What will we carry on? Will James Patterson live on? Maybe. Will Harry Potter be immortalized after the 2000s? Will Stephen King live on? Pretty good chance at that. Only time will tell.
Our expectations have changed completely. I would like to see what books last and what books we will be reading now we will read again in 50 years.
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http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
I have often thought about this as well. I can say that many books will be popular when the author dies, so it could be in the near or far future. For example, Mark Twain was hated when he analyzed racial discrimination in his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The people of his generation couldn't take the truth and they didn't agree with him. When he died, the new generation realized the truth in it. Perhaps there are some books out there that may not be liked, but they will be treasured when the author dies. Which reminds me, can you define popcorn literature? I never heard the term before. Another thing, do you think that Michael Chrichton's books might be considered a classic? Its safe to say that the boring books will survive, not the easy children/teen reads like Harry potter, etc. A popular book is popular because it reflects society and has historical or some other significance.
I'd say that Harry Potter actually has a pretty good chance at becoming some sort of 'classic', because it was such a huge deal when it was new (I'm using the past tense because the last book is out now, even though it's only been a couple months), and especially because of the religious controversy it sparked. The people claiming that Harry Potter teaches satanism and trying to ban it from libraries have certainly immortalized it in a way.
Also, are you calling Michael Chrichton's books boring? Because I personally really like them... or some of them... But I am rather odd. ^^ Within my little library, Jurassic Park and The Lost World are classics. I guess we'll see what the world thinks in 50 years or so (assuming we live that long ^.~ )
No, I wasn't saying Michael Chrichton is boring. I haven't read enough of him to form an opinion either way. All I was trying to say was that it's one of the authors that prolifically write popular books, something that has not been open seventy years ago. I was trying to say books have changed and so what we define a "classic". Will Harry Potter be with us in the future? I hope so. Will Michael Chrichton? I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine.
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Does anyone have an official definition of classic?
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Michael Chrichton is so NOT boring! And maybe Harry Potter could become popular because of all the supression. And the more something is supressed, the more people want it. ITs human nature. We want what we can't have.
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^
That was a really nice post!
As for future classics... I think, obviously, the current ones - Gone With the Wind, The Lord of the Rings, all the Jane Austen/Bronte sisters books, etc. Harry Potter really does have the potential to become a huge classic series. I mean, just see what it did to the world in 10 years!
I've never read Chrichton, although I've heard he's good. I really like James Patterson, but his style is so... cut and dry and not that interesting once you've read 5 or 6 books and realize they all sound exactly the same.
Now, Orson Scott Card, on the other hand... WOW. That right there is an AMAZING author. Ender's Game? Classic. Definitely. And even his newest? one, Empire. That was just... Jeez, I love that guy.
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
What genre books does ORson Scott Card write?
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^
Fantasy/Sci Fi. Ender's Game is about a society in the future training an army from childhood against an alien race called the 'buggers'. The rest of the series deals more with philosophy and religion, but it's set like 3000 years past the end of the war, and another alien race, whether they're friends or enemies.
~C
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I strongly agree that the Harry Potter series will become a classic. It contains numerous issues that real people face. Most of us don't face death at the hands of an arch enemy, but most of the readers could probably name instances when: they had been discriminated against, felt the need to overachieve to compensate for insecurities, been isolated from society, had fights with friends, surpassed obstacles because friends believed in them, had friendships with people generally shunned by society, felt awkward toward someone of the opposite sex, procrastinated for finals, or broken the rules. J.K. Rowling's fantastical world was so deeply intertwined with reality that readers could "channel" the emotions and situations of the book.
I believe there is other literature like this, the Left Behind series by LaHaye and Jenkins for instance. This is a fictional (as far as characters are concerned) account of what will happen following the biblical rapture, events that numerous religious believers are sure will come. The second coming of Jesus certainly seems to be something that will go down in history.
An infinite number of books have the potential to be classics and I think other likely candidates are: Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies, Lisa Bright and Dark by John Neufeld, Izzy Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voigt, The Other Side of Dark by Joan Lowery Nixon , Remember Me by Christopher Pike, Mick Harte Was Hereby Barbara Park, The Face On the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney, The White Mercedes by Philip Pullman, and Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry among others. These all share different reasons for being classic. Some deal with "taboo" issues, some have a startling open line, some relate well to human emotional conflicts, some are suspenseful, and some are presented in a unique way or viewpoint.
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Well classics don't become classics because of the reality of the books. No, its because of the writing style, diction, etc.
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^