Define Classic

[Meghan]

1. Could you please define what this group considers a "classic"? Not so much for the older books, but how recent do we accept authors as being contributors to literature? And can one book by an author be considered a "classic" while others not? (For example, Handmaid's Tale, I would consider a modern classic. However, Oryx and Crake, I would not. Both are written by Margaret Atwood.)

2. Can I get the excel list? Is Jane Eyre on it? I didn't see it on the bookshelf.

[Arctic]

Thanks for making a topic for this discussion Meghan. It will be good to have it clarified. I was curious about the classification of Swann's Way (pub. 1913) myself.

Jane Eyre is on page 7 of the list. It's referenced in episode 1.08, "Love and War and Snow".

[Sera]

I'm also struggling a bit with the definition of classic for our book club purposes. For example, would Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar be considered contemporary?

Heather, you GG maven! I appreciate the citation

[Sarah]

This is a great question, because I'm never sure if books by authors like Hemingway and Fitzgerald (and Steinbeck for that matter, though I don't think he's on Rory's list) are considered classics.

EDIT: Of Mice and Men is on Rory's list, but it's the only Steinbeck. In case you wanted to know. :)

[whichwaydidshego, the sage of sass]

We did have this discussion before here. Really, just go with your best judgment.

Mary voiced the best definition on that other thread when she said:
I think of the term "classic" as applying to books that are widely read, highly influential, and widely considered to be part of the canon. This includes modern classics like Hemingway, as well as classics from the ancient world and everything in between. Of course, which books qualify as "classics" is always up for debate among scholars and common readers alike. I don't think "contemporary fiction" and "modern classics" are synonymous, nor are they mutually exclusive, which makes it difficult to pin down a distinction between the two. Many books are both.

So if you think it's a classic, then there you go. We trust you.