How do you define a classic?

[Owuamanam Eberechukwu]

I feel that the Classics refer to a list of books that were written a set time ago and are still memorable to date. But is that really what a classic is? How old does a book have to be to be considered a classic? Is a book written in the 1980's not a classic whereas one written in the 1970s is one? Will great books of modern time be considered classics after 20-30 years?

I think so too. But what makes a classic book for me is the meaning and relevance. A book is considered a classic if one finds more satisfaction in rereading them. The more you read it, the more sense it makes. And the tend not to outlive their relevance.

[Meenahhhh]

To me, it's an old book, written many many years ago but yet still popular till today. Sometimes they form a part of pop culture.

[Marsha JJ]

I do think of classic books as those that feel "timeless" and will be enjoyed at any point in time. I appreciate the term "modern classics" as that can be used to help differentiate from those older books to ones that are more current, but also classic in the lessons they convey.

[Penny Ann Criswell Johnson]

A classic to me is a book that was written a long time ago and it’s still talked about today, taught in school and has stood the test of time. There are also classic writers like Hemingway, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Dickens, and Shakespeare.

[Michael Villanueva]

I think classics is defined by genre. When it comes to literary classics, it typically goes back to the early 1900s and before. When you are talking about fantasy, the genre classic would be The Lord of the Rings with the trilogy not coming out until the mid-1950s. The timeline gets even later with the sci-fi genre, where the "Big Three" classic authors of Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clark publishing many of their works through the 1980s.

Anne Rice's "Interview with a Vampire" was published in the 1970s but to me it isn't a classic, Dracula is the classic horror novel. However, the Dune novels are classics within the sci fi genre even though many of them were published after Anne Rice's vampire series.

[Ayesha Ameera Memon]

To me a classic is a mix of a few different things. It's old and timeless, but at the same time charming and easy to re-read, something that makes you nostalgic and reminds you of maybe your childhood or something.

[Loniya Chabili Mubanga]

Wow! This is something I've never actively thought about. I've always thought of a classic as book written a long time ago before I was even in the discussion of being born. And it has to have English I can't automatically decipher. With petticoats of course.

[Amberly Ayra]

For me a classic is a book that has stood the test of time. That is why a book that is ten years old is not a classic for me. But if I were 30-50 years old it would be different. Because then you have surpassed one or two generations of people.

[Onyinyechi Orji]

A classic is something you can read a good number of times despite the period and still never get bores

[shilpa khanom]

This topic is definitely an intricate one and is defined differently according to who you ask, I guess. The answer I settled on connects classics to national literary canons which are normally decided by educational institutions but also the publishing industry (think of Penguin Classics for example). I think a lot of the time what becomes a classic depends on dominant ideas at the time so for example pushing for patriotic fervor or pushing for a specific value to be adopted etc. The same process for the opposite instance which is what books are banned.

[Arthur Bukosia]

For me age and reader ratings define a classic. For a book to make its way into this genre, it must have written in the 19th century going backwards. The book also, must have had a great number of readers and the readers must have rated it higher, used it in plays or drama, used it in public and academic lectures and to some extent, must have received a great deal of international impressions or audience. Classics are timeless and when read address issues affecting the society now, one reading relates with the book in a way.

[Isaac Oh]

To me, any book that is worth re-reading is a classic.

[IgnisRhapsody]

For me a classic book is one that stands the test of time. It is that story that shows a timeless lesson, be it good advice or a warning. That is why they will always be recommended. I think that a classic book should be at least 50 years old, because that way we know that it is a book that has lasted for two or three generations.

[Valeria Rotaru]

To me, a classic means an author that writes laconically, profoundly, and regardless of the literary movement to which he/she adheres, remains authentic in all periods of time.

[Ashna Tibrewal]

Classic would be a book that lasts through a long period and still serves to relate and invoke new ideas and thoughts.