A book that is a classic is one that you love and enjoy and keep going back to read because your level of enjoyment doesn't diminish at all even if you've read it many times...and in fact, reading the book multiple times brings you an increasing amount of joy.I love this definition. We don't have to rely on a list somewhere of classics as they are defined by other people or society at large. Maybe you love a book to pieces that none of your friends have even heard of, and to you, it is a classic. And maybe you really do love a book that other people judge to be just a fad of sorts - good for media attention for a while but after that people argue that it just doesn't stand on its own. Point is, we define what the classics are for ourselves, and it is very refreshing to realize that others have this same privilege.
I remember when she said this I immediately thought of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. I'd read that book probably 3 times through by the time I was 16 that year, and every time I read it my desire to have the same seemingly carefree Southern summer as Jean Louise Scout Finch just grew and grew. I wanted to be a little girl in a ham costume, to have scary things happen around me but feel safe. To me, it was and is a classic.
I don't think I've read To Kill a Mockingbird since high school now and I'm a little sad to admit that. But it is one of several books that if I picked it up right now I would love to read through it. Now the book longer than a children's book I have probably read the most times through is actually the Book of Mormon. Why is it a classic to me? Here I return to Mrs. Hines' definition: I love it because it brings me joy, and that joy improves my life tremendously. Has everyone read the Book of Mormon? Certainly not - but that does not lessen the power it has had in my life or in the lives of any who have read it.
I love reading books with my kids that I read over and over as a child because I know that I will still love them. Today I read Jumanji by Chris van Allsburg before naptime and had an amazing time showing the cool drawings to Jacob and trying to get him to say the author's name: "Christmas Osbur," and helping him understand the truly timeless magic that can exist in just one book.
Classic books are books that you love to read, and reconnecting with the classics can be much like catching up with an old friend you haven't seen in a while, where a bond is still there and it empowers you, even if it has been awhile since you last sat down and had a nice chat.
What book is a classic to you and why do you love it?
5 comments:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I love it for many of the reasons that you love To Kill a Mockingbird. It makes me long to be a poor child of dysfunctional parents in early 1900s Brooklyn. And I can read it time after time without getting tired of the storyline.
Along those lines, it is the only novel that I really feel the need to own. Speaking strictly of novels (not picture books), I really don't like keeping them around. I'm not the type to have to own every book that I enjoy reading. I see the merits of owning books, but I don't like storing things and I don't like moving things. We take huge advantage of our public library and between the girls and me, we have fifteen to twenty books checked out at any one time. Is it weird that I don't like to own them? What are your thoughts?
Animal Farm. It is amazing.
I like this quote from Maxwell:
I am excited to report to you that I am enjoying the scriptures more than ever. I have read a lot in my life--thousands of books, I'm sure. But rarely do I encore reading except for the holy scriptures. Therefore, I am even more anxiously engaged in the restored gospel than ever because the restored gospel is so engaging. It really does get a grasp on our minds, and there is no end to the exploration that one can make of it. It is, as I said from this pulpit years ago, an "inexhaustible gospel." To be anxiously engaged really does mean that we are engaged intellectually as well as spiritually, and life in the kingdom, as you all know, is also very engaging. So although some people at my stage of life might say, in effect, "Been there. Done that," not I. I feel instead this sense of anxious engagement in something that I have yet to take the full measure of. As I look back across the sweep of this century, I feel that very strongly.
Little Women, Lord of the Rings, and To Kill a Mockingbird. I have actually only read To Kill a Mockingbird once, but it left a major impression. The others I have read at least twice however, and love them so much. Lord of the Rings especially, not to sound like a fantasy nerd, but it is amazing. I feel like Tolkien had this incredible understanding of human experience and emotion, and knew how to describe it well through a make believe world. I think there are few books that are more beautifully written. I'm secretly hoping there is a Lord of the Rings heaven somewhere where I can meet the characters that I consider my friends. As for Little Women, it is totally one of my comfort books. I love to curl up in bed and open to almost any part of it. It is poignant, wise, entertaining, and warm like a cup of hot chocolate. And To Kill a Mockingbird, I can't say it much better than Stacey, except I would add it made me want to be a better person. -Brittany
Bridge to Terabithia is definitely a book that I consider "a classic." I remember when Jamie (and possibly you as well :)) suggested it to me when I turned 10, and then she went on and bought it for me as a birthday gift. This story of friendship really meant a lot to me as an elementary school student and even a few months ago when I reread it again for probably the 10th time.
Along the same lines as Bridge to Terabithia, a great classic to me has been Numbering the Stars (I was introduced to this book in the same way!). The characters (while fictional)displayed the courage and bravery that thousands of heroes did during the time of WWII. This story also portrays what true friendship is, and each time I read it, I am amazed by the strength and spirit of the characters.
I was thinking of this the other day when I was thinking about the books that I have read and which ones were "classics." I love your definition of a classic. It makes me feel better about my book choices.
My classic, would probably be The Book of Mormon. It has definitely changed my life. I am having a hard time coming up with something non-spiritual, but just remember enjoying reading so many of these books that have been mentioned. It makes me want to go back and read them again.
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