Popular Now/Classic in the Future
Harry Potter
Stephen King: Carrie
The Alchemist
The Hunger Games/Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic novels
Not Popular/Classic in the Future
Piers Anthony
Ayn Rand
Eragon
Pillars of the Earth
Life of Pi
The Kite Runner/A Thousand Splendid Suns
Ann Brashares
Popular Now/Not Classic in the Future
Twilight
Fifty Shades of Gray
Stephen King
Game of Thrones
Classic Now/Classic still in the Future
The Great Gatsby
Jane Austen
The Bronte Sisters
1984
Ferdinand the Bull
Sherlock Holmes
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit
The Chronicles of Narnia
Many of these books are revered by our society today. It is kind of hard to believe that Harry Potter might not make the classics list when it is called the "series that got a generation to read (myself included)." At the same time however, Eragon isn't the most mainstream book series and it is possible that someday it may be considered a classic as well (which I really hope it won't be cause as far as main characters go, Eragon isn't the brightest...I would even go so far as to say that his dragon is a thousand or more times smarter than he is. Then again people who aren't me seem to enjoy the books more than I do.) I really do think that books like Lord of the Rings and Sherlock Holmes will continue to persist (hey, it has had a following since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first started the series which makes it one of the longest running fan bases ever). Over all I mostly agree with our placement of these novels. Sure we missed a few like Fahrenheit 451 and Lord of the Flies, but I am sure those books will continue to persist through out time. Heck, if our society does become like the one in Matched, maybe they will be lucky enough to be included in the 100 works that are kept while everything else is burned.
I love how in class we discussed this topic. It is true what you say that Sherlock homes might continue. I believe that tastes will change and we will have a generation that will surprise us with a new way of thinking and the books we so value now will no longer be seen the same. I do look forward to the day that our reading will change. There is so much in various books and some have been hidden in libraries growing dusty and people do not check them out.
ReplyDeleteI agree--that was an interesting discussion, and it'll be interesting to follow your choices, Alyssa.
ReplyDeleteAs we went through these lists in class I began to wonder, “what makes a memorable story?”. Many of the novels we have today that are said to have “literary merit” I could honestly careless about. Moby-Dick, I am sorry but I hope to NEVER see the likes of you again. My hatred of the novel will help to make it live on, just as my love for books such as Wuthering Heights. Could it be that when a novel brings about a strong emotion, good or bad, that it lives on? Books have power that few care to see. Even though I hate Moby-Dick, Melville has reached around the world with his whaling stories. For the novel Matched that you mention I believe that this is why the government controls what one is able to read. Control what one reads, and control how one thinks. Ideas, themes, and beliefs are carried on over large spans of time due to literature. Imagine where we would be without some of the authors that have affected the world so. (super random I know)
ReplyDeleteI've never read Matched, but I was intrigued after your description of it; a society with only 100 books chosen by the government? This made me think of the 100 books I would choose to keep if I could keep only 100. Obviously, this probably isn't the premise for the book- they probably chose books they deemed appropriate for the society they wanted to create. However, after all the conversation we had in class, and after writing an entire blog post about the merit of a novel and what makes something worthy of being called a 'classic' I have to wonder what books we all hold at highest value- are they the books with characters we love, or values from which we learned the most, or pages we just couldn't stop turning for the excitement? Or is it the memory of the first time we read that book? I remember the moment I read the conclusion to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and it's a bright memory. I also remember when I read The Lord of the Flies, and I absolutely despised it. Does that mean it shouldn't be a class? I don't know. I don't ever want to read it again, but perhaps that book I detested so greatly is the same book that makes someone love reading, as Harry Potter did for me.
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