What Books Should Be Classics of the Future?

[Jonathan]

I'm really liking the writing style of The Prestige right now and wondering whether it might possibly be named a classic in the future...

[Urban]

How about some works of Paulo Coelho?

[The Pirate Ghost]

I think Declare by Tim Powers might become classic at some point. It's a wonderful style of weaving a fiction story around real events. (I liked it)

[Nicolle]

I think The Secret Life of Bees

[Jennifer]

I do think that Harry Potter will become a classic, it's already getting some literary scholarship, and I think it will stand the test of time. I think what really makes a classic is that is remains valued, read, studied, and loved for years to come, something I see happening with Harry Potter, but maybe not so much for Twilight which seems more a good escapism book to me. Like Tolkien's work, Harry Potter is being studied academically, though I haven't heard of a college course on Harry Potter yet. I'm hoping the Discworld books become classics I'm not really sure what other books will enter the literary canon, but it will be interesting to see.

[Jonathan]

I've heard of a uni course which uses Harry Potter for academic study. Both as children's literature and supernatural literature.

[Carrie]

I agree with you. I think the Harry Potter series will become a classic, Twilight, not so much.

[The Pirate Ghost]

With the overall hype and circumstance that comes with the modern entertainment industry, I'm not sure we can tell what books will be classics. We'll have a higher guess percentage if we look at things publised ten or twenty years ago (Some of which may already be considered "ascended").

Entertainment lives too much for the next big thing and often they stomp on their own last good thing when they are working the crowd for enthusiasm. I think it has to make it a decade and still be memorable before we can put it in the, "these have potential" catagory. For some books that decade may come years after it was published (think Mobey Dick. It took a long time for anyone to care enough about that one to elevate it's status to classic).

[Nicolle]

Yes, that is something we seem to forget when considering what it to be a classics. Most books of today we don't relate to the classics we know of like Dickens, the Brontes ect but the fact is we just can't...times are changing and similar to films, things move on, our interests change, things are less censored these days too. We are not afraid to imagine something really out there.

[Gaylinn]

People of the Book by Geradine Brooks is one of my favorite reads. I have not seen it on anyones TBR list or seen anyone post about it. Has anyone out there read it?

[Nicolle]

I personally have never heard of it Gaylinn.

[Jonathan]

I do think though that despite styles changing writers can still create popular and powerful books using the beautiful prose of the past. The fact that those novels are so enduring tells us that it is something that lasts. So I do think that while novels written today that will become classics may not be like Dickens' or Austen's works and may instead be more contemporary I still think some work will echo the past writers and still be popular.

[Book Concierge]

Gaylinn wrote: "People of the Book by Geradine Brooks is one of my favorite reads. I have not seen it on anyones TBR list or seen anyone post about it. Has anyone out there read it?"

People of the Book is still on my (mountainous) TBR .... I hear wonderful things about it from many friends who have read it. I really enjoyed the other books by Brooks that I've read, but I just have not gotten to this one ... Yet ...

[Carrie]

Gaylinn wrote: "People of the Book by Geradine Brooks is one of my favorite reads. I have not seen it on anyones TBR list or seen anyone post about it. Has anyone out there read it?"

This sounds great! I just added it to my ever-growing list. Thanks! :)

[The Pirate Ghost]

Four Plays by Conor Mcpherson Includes "Rum and Vodka." It's a one act, one man play that, when peformed well, is amazingly powerful. It could be a classic in a few years. (Right up there with "Death of a Salesman")

[The Pirate Ghost]

I thought I should add, if Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon isn't already considered a classic, I think it should be. It's a wonderful read. Better than the stand in my opinion, though not older.

[Nicolle]

Michael wrote: "I’m new to the group and agree Harry Potter should be considered a new classic. it should stand the test of time, but has the movie killed it. Will Fledgling: Jason Steed become a cl..."

I too wonder what the reading experience will entail in year to come. Maybe we will thing of classics as something different.

[Nicolle]

Recently reading Room, I thought it was very well written and a very interesting read. This could very well become a classic.

Also I'm not sure if we've mensioned The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. To me this book gives an unusual insight into the mind of an Asperger's sufferer and deserves all the merit it can get.

[Cecily]

Nicolle, I recently reread The Curious Incident, and although I think it’s an excellent book (I gave it 5*, http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...), I’m not sure I’d class it as a classic, though I can’t quite pinpoint why not. Incidentally, although it seems clearly about Asperger’s, Haddon himself is not happy with the label and never uses it – even though the first edition quotes neurologist Oliver Sachs using it on the cover.

I have Room, but haven’t read it yet – I read very conflicting reviews, which is intriguing in itself.

[Cecily]

Azfar, I think Harry Potter will have a huge problem, long-term: unlike any other children’s/YA series I can think of, the protagonists age considerably through the series, and the writing style, plot and physical size of the books does too. When they were first published, the audience grew up with Harry, and had to wait for the next book. Now though, a child who enjoys the first one or two is likely to find the later ones hard going and probably not as enjoyable (teen romance, not just the darker tone and more complex plots), while an older teen may find the early books too childish. Those who can ration themselves to reading one a year will get the most from them, imo, but will many have that degree of self-control?

[Cecily]

It’s fun to suggest what will be remembered and cherished long-term, but I think it’s almost impossible to do with any reliability – short of suggesting hundreds of examples, on the assumption that one or two will make it. And that applies to any art form, fashion or cultural artefact, not just books.

[Lucy Qhuay]

Harry Potter will definitely be a classic, just like the Chronicles of Narnia are now.

[Kathy]

I definitely believe that the Harry Potter books will be classics! There is no doubt in my mind! An I may be biased, but I think Stephen King will also. Someone mentioned The Stand perhaps being the subject of a class. I could see that....and I would take that! :)

[Kyle]

I think Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card will be a future sci-fi classic. The perspective, narrative, and thrust of the novel is too gritty and real and gripping to be forgotten long if it ever is by a generation or two.

[Jonathan]

I would have to suggest Cloud Atlas having just read it.

[Nicolle]

I already thought of that as a classic really.

[Jimmy]

Cloud Atlas certainly has an inventive aspect to it with the stories nested inside themselves, but I'm not quite sure that it will have the lasting effect to achieve classic status, that is passed on to the next generation.

That said, I know there is a film due for release; I don't know how they will achieve the same affect of interruption of stotylines that the novel has, but in this multi-media age feel that the success of the film will have a massive efffect on the lasting impact of the literature.

[Nicolle]

I hate that though, how people can ruin the book by making a rubbish film or the opposite.

[Jonathan]

Jimmy wrote: "Cloud Atlas certainly has an inventive aspect to it with the stories nested inside themselves, but I'm not quite sure that it will have the lasting effect to achieve classic status, that is passed ..."

If it's on a 1001 list of books to read I think it will remain in people's consciousness enough. And I agree that the film will have an impact on the book's continued existence also. I don't yet consider it classic as it has not been around long enough.

[Jonathan]

I had one of my brilliant thoughts about modern or future classics. I wonder whether schooling, and education as a whole, contributes widely to whether books in the future will be considered classics. For instance I don't like Cormac McCarthy's books that I've particularly read but his books will be considered classics and I think largely to do with the academic praise and reading of his work in higher education spheres like university. The Hunger Games may not be written in a way that makes us think it will be a classic but if it ends up being a compulsory part of future curriculum it may well end up as a classic. Does anyone else think schooling contributes to our ideas of what makes a classic?

[Cecily]

I think you're right, Jonathan. Acceptance and reverence of authorities becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. The books (or artworks or buildings) that are kept in print (or preserved) eventually become revered for their survival, which is just a facet of the fact that people in power liked them. That also means there is a somewhat random aspect that makes it hard for mere mortals to predict what will be regarded as classics. It's not just about quality (whatever "quality" means to you).

[[deleted user]]

Schooling definitely contributes to the definitions of what is or isn't a classic and why--it's one reason why there's been a push to add the works of minorities and non-western works into the academic canon. I think that's commendable; what isn't so commendable is the continued push to make accepted (academic) classics sacrosanct, which I think is at odds with art. Which could turn into a long rant, so I'll leave it at that. I would caution, though, that everyone who likes this or that book doesn't like it merely because they've been taught they should. I know that's not what you're implying, but it allows me to say that the world is full of coincidences, including ones that make English professors seem learned and prophetic. ;)

[Cecily]

That is a danger, though it goes both ways: some people like (or at least revere) particular books because they were told they should, but others take the opposite tack, whether consciously or unconsciously, for the same reason.

[[deleted user]]

If you mean by like or revere, holding up a book as a model for no other reason than to be ornery or supposedly different or out of pseudo-intellectualism, then I agree, there's a danger there, and it happens a lot. If we're talking about just personal taste, though, I'm not sure I'd consider it a danger so much as merely unfortunate, and it would be virtually impossible to accurately detect.

[Shannon]

Raindropmelody wrote: "Haha, well i finally finished it yesterday after a week. And started watching the film straight after, but unfortunately fell asleep halfway through, it seems to be on a while, i'm not too bothered..."

I agree, the books are always way better, but if you are going to watch it, I highly recommend the Swedish version. It's much, much better.

[Shannon]

I really enjoyed Atonement and Never Let Me Go. I wonder if these may be classics someday. I definitely think Harry Potter will be and I'm 99.9% convinced that Twilight will not. That is just my opinion though. :)

[Cindy]

I suggest

[Chris]

I think Harry Potter was a well constructed story and was a trend setting series (vs Twilight which I just view as trendy).

Considering the success of the movies and theme park(s) (did I hear one was planned for Universal California too?)... I think the books will continue to be widely read for a considerable time...

[Slow Man]

anything by roald dahl

[Jonathan]

I can't help but wonder if Neil Gaiman's stories will one day be considered classics. At least some of them anyway. He's certainly a great writer with a style that sticks with you but whether they can last is another question...

[Keagan]

I just finished reading The Glass Castle for school and thought it was amazing. I would also agree with previous comments about Cloud Atlas eventually become a classic as well.

[Juliana]

Nicolle wrote: "Is the Poisonwood Bible any good? I have had it for years but never read it."

Amazing! You should definitely give it a try. It's not like anything else I've ever read.

[Riya]

These are the authors whose books (in my opinion) have a good chance of becoming future classics:

John Irving (especially A Prayer for Owen Meany)

Haruki Murakami (his books are amazing, especially: Kafka on the Shore, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Maybe even 1Q84?)

Jeffrey Eugenides (Middlesex)

I haven't read books by the following authors, but I hear the most amazing things about their work, and I WILL be reading their books very very soon:

Salman Rushdie
Cormac McCarthy
Paulo Coelho
Neil Gaiman
Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

[Riya]

Some might disagree with me, but I don't think books that are super popular now (especially the ones promoted by various bookclubs, oprah sponsored, New York times bestseller list) have much of a chance of being remembered 50-100 years from now.

I don't think books like Room, The Secret Life of Bees, The Help, The Lovely Bones, Twilight will ever be considered classics. I know that sounds kind of harsh and I hope I don't get flamed for saying this, but I think those kind of books are a fad and although they might be very good and entertaining to read in the present day, I don't think they will stand the test of time.

Yikes - I certainly hope that I sound snobby/elitist because I promise I'm not like that. Just as an example, I loved Shanghai Girls, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (the last made me cry for a good 10 minutes) but I don't think very many people will remember these novels even 25 years from now.

[Chris]

Mariya wrote: "Some might disagree with me, but I don't think books that are super popular now (especially the ones promoted by various bookclubs, oprah sponsored, New York times bestseller list) have much of a c..."

I agree! I think that about Dan Brown, really popular... but staying power seems unlikely...

[Nicolle]

Juliana wrote: "Nicolle wrote: "Is the Poisonwood Bible any good? I have had it for years but never read it."

Amazing! You should definitely give it a try. It's not like anything else I've ever read."

I have actually read it since posting that comment, and absolutely loved it! I recommend to anyone and agree it will be a future classic.

[Hyunghwan]

Veljko wrote: "Some recent authors whom I believe will be future classics:

Salman Rushdie
Umberto Eco
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Orhan Pamuk
Louis de Bernieres

But I am sure there are others more deserving I forgot..."

Among the authors, I only read 'One hundred years of solitude' by G.G.Marquez and Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk. I love both of them and also think they deserve their seats for ages to come. Oh, I also read 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco some 20 years ago, which I enjoyed so much then. I will add Salman Rushdie and Louis de Bernieres to my reading list.

[Squire]

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin is one that will become a classic. I think it will still be in print and read 50 years from now.

[John]

This is a reprint of a comment I made in another thread that happens to apply to this thread:

I know of one good indication that a book will have a good chance of being a classic in the near and distant future: Pulitzer Prize winners, Booker Awards, etc. tend to 'self-promote' a novel to become an accepted classic in school, academics, and among us book-lovers as well.

[Alexis]

I think that Harry Potter will be considered some kind of classic, or at least it should be. I also think that The Perks of Being a Wallflower will be viewed as a cult-classic, such as The Catcher in the Rye.