Reading the Classics: Why it Matters

Photo Credit: Abee5

I am a bookworm. If I'm not tackling the neverending piles of laundry, cooking, or tending to children, my nose is in a book. But I'm picky. I don't like bestselling fiction and haven't found any Christian novels worth reading except for Francine Rivers' Redeeming Love (by the way, that's a classic).

I prefer classics; mysteries; nonfiction with a focus on food, child-rearing, and Christian living; and anything by C.J. Sansom (think Matlock circa Henry VIII).

But as a recovering PhD student, I miss reading really good classic literature. And none of this modernist/postmodernist stuff either.  Call me a snob, but when I read, I want to be inspired, moved, prompted to change and grow. Sure, I like some escapist literature every now and then {enter Sansom}, but when I really want to expand my sense of self and enlarge my worldview, I turn first to the Bible and then to Jane Austen or Agatha Christie.

 

But What is a Classic?

What makes a book a classic is, I think, entirely dependent on the reader. What I value as a reader is writing that stirs my emotions, that takes me outside myself, that refreshes but also agitates me.

To me, a classic is one of two things:

(1) A book I should have read in a high school or college English class, a work that is considered part of the Western Canon, a text that distinguishes the intellectuals from the common man {Do I sound snobby and elitist yet?}, a book that has a Cliff Notes' version for those needing some elucidation; and/or

(2) A book that I did read and not just once but over and over again because of its relevance to my life, identifiable characters, mass appeal. Something about these books resonates with me.

Classics have stood the test of time. They appeal to a wide range of readers from diverse backgrounds, and can be read, enjoyed, interpreted, and analyzed on many different levels. These books are read, reread, and read again because of their universal themes of love, hate, beauty, and death. They're found in libraries, marked up with notes, highlighted, and eventually passed down to our children for their enjoyment.

 

Why Should We Read Classics?

Italo Calvino wrote that “A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." That is, in each reading, something new and beautiful can be gleaned from it.

Classics have a way of speaking to us regardless of our educational background, socioeconomic status, or geographical location. They open our eyes to different perspectives, points of view, and ways of thinking.

Classics like Moby Dick or Of Mice & Men do more than keep us up all night reading; they inspire us to be more empathetic toward others, they challenge our perceptions of beauty, they make us get us outside ourselves.

We can read scintillating books like Fifty Shades of Gray {not a classic and certainly not recommended} that inflame us with passion and motivate us to buy the next in the series, but do we grow in any useful way by reading them? Most likely the answer is no. But read a classic like Beowulf and learn what 8th Century England was like all while fighting sea hags, dragons, and hairy monsters.

When we incorporate good literature into our regular reading repertoire we choose to grow, not only as readers, but as people.

 
If you are interested in catching up on the classics you missed in school or want to read some excellent literature, I would love it if you joined me in The 2013 Classics Catch-Up Challenge at the Quirky Bookworm. We'll be starting in January with Anna Karenina and Wuthering Heights (your choice or read both).

Do you read the classics? If so, what is your favorite?

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Linking up with: The Better Mom, Raising Arrows, Time-Warp Wife, Artful Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesdays, Top 10 Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Leaving a Legacy, Women Living Well Wednesdays, Raising Homemakers, Cozy Book Hop, Raising Mighty Arrows