One of the most consoling reading experiences I had at the end of 2020 was starting Anthony Trollope's 'The Chronicles of Barsetshire' series. The wonderful thing about reading a prolific 19th century author for the first time and greatly enjoying his work is that I now have his whole back catalogue to discover! I'm excited that I have four more books in this series to read as well as an entire other series (the Palliser novels) and all his many other books as well. This is certainly enough to keep me busy but I'm always eager to see what other classic books I might strongly connect with if I give them a chance. Every year I like to make a list of classic books I want to read (or reread) so I've chosen 21 books I'm hoping to get to in 2021. Some of these books are centuries old, some were written by 20th century authors and some are more recent books that publishers are putting forward as new classics. You can watch me discuss my choices here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDg-Vh88cnE
There's no set criteria for what makes a classic book. Who decides which books can be labelled classic? Is it scholars, literary critics, publishers, editors, book prizes or the general reading public? Some age-old books might fall out of fashion but find new relevance like Giovanni Boccaccio's “The Decameron” has in the past year because of the pandemic. Some books might be lauded at the time but their ideas, style of writing and sensibility might not continue to be relevant as the years past. The syllabus of literature courses is always changing. Just because a book wins a major award doesn't mean it will continue to be reprinted and read in the years to come. A book might be published to relative obscurity but find a champion who brings the book's importance to the attention of the public who newly embrace it many years after it first came out. Regardless of what makes a classic, I've always been fascinated by the concept and like to playfully consider what books being published today might still be treasured centuries from now. I'm looking forward to discovering both older and more recent classics this year.
