What Makes a Book a "Classic"?

Read Like A Writer

There are two ways to learn how to write fiction: by reading it and by writing it. Yes, you can learn lots about writing stories in workshops, in writing classes and writing groups, at writers' conferences. You can learn technique and process by reading the dozens of books like this one on fiction writing and by reading articles in writers' magazines. But the best teachers of fiction are the great works of fiction themselves. You can learn more about the structure of a short story by reading Anton Chekhov's 'Heartache' than you can in a semester of Creative Writing 101. If you read like a writer, that is, which means you have to read everything twice, at least. When you read a story or novel the first time, just let it happen. Enjoy the journey. When you've finished, you know where the story took you, and now you can go back and reread, and this time notice how the writer reached that destination. Notice the choices he made at each chapter, each sentence, each word. (Every word is a choice.) You see now how the transitions work, how a character gets across a room. All this time you're learning. You loved the central character in the story, and now you can see how the writer presented the character and rendered her worthy of your love and attention. The first reading is creative—you collaborate with the writer in making the story. The second reading is critical.

John Dufresne, from his book, The Lie That Tells A Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction

What Makes a Book a "Classic"?

It is a simple matter to ask what makes for classic literature, but answering the question is not so easy. Some people define a classic in terms of the effect it has on you subjectively. For example, If you think you know a book by reputation, and then you read it and find it to be more innovative, original, and unexpected than you anticipated, it's a classic. If you read or reread a book and see more in yourself when you finish than there was before, it's a classic.

However, classic novels also have widespread appeal. In other words, they produce similar effects on multiple individuals over many years. Not everyone agrees all the time about which literary works qualify as old classic books, but most people generally agree on the qualities that make a book a potential classic:

Universal Appeal: Classic books appeal to some of the most basic human emotional responses by exploring themes of death and life, love and hate, that are relatable to everyone.
Valuable Insights: While classic literary works have universal appeal, they can also offer insights that you might not have gained otherwise by providing you with a completely new perspective on familiar themes.
Staying Power: Because classics deal with universal themes, they remain relevant to the human experience decades, and even centuries, after they were written.
Intertextual Connections: The study of a classic reveals influences by other writers and literary works that came before. The more literature you study, the more you can learn about one work by reading another. Not only that, but more modern classics eventually serve as inspiration for future writers. Because this is true, there is even value in studying books that you don't particularly enjoy, at least in moderation.

People tend to think of "classic books" as old literature, but while age can be a component of a classic, it is not the defining characteristic. Not all vintage books are classics, and some classic novels are relatively newer. Some books that were once considered classic literature have now been all but forgotten, while other bestselling classic books were initially ignored by audiences only to be rediscovered to great acclaim years later. Amazon offers a wide range of free classics waiting to be experienced again or enjoyed for the first time.

The definition of a classic is fluid. This is a good thing because it means that more books can be considered classics and more people can access insights offered from a selection of classic novels that is more inclusive and representative than the traditional literary canon.