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Why do I love the Classics?

People have debated for years what exactly defines or qualifies literature as a classic. For me, I can honestly say that I don't have a specific definition for it, but in my mind I always think about authors such as Dickens, Austen, Bunyan, Alcott, Dumas, Carrol, Emerson and Twain. I also think of Homer, Shakespeare and Stevenson. I think of books that have been around and loved by many for centuries. I think of books that have been sitting in a dusty old bookstore that only get pulled off the shelf to be dusted or by committed and avid book lovers. I think of books that have stood the test of time and remain favorites for so many around the world.

I love those books. I have a special edition set of many of the loved classics sitting on my bookshelf from my great-grandpa. I love spending my time at bookstores looking at the various editions of some of my favorites. I love when I get to escape into the worlds of some of the most loved characters and settings. I love the Classics.

For me the Classics represent something that is good. Something that is different. Something that is timeless. Something that is real (even though it's fictional). The Classics are beacons of light to a world that is so often not fun to be in. I love to read the Classics because the characters, stories, lessons, and lives I read about are ones that I can often identify with or learn from. They are often ones that prove to be comforting when things just aren't easy in real life. They are often ones that remind me to enjoy the little things in life and to make the most of everything that comes my way. For me the Classics are a piece of history, life, faith and experience that anyone can connect to and be changed by.

I am participating in the Classics Club where I have chosen to read 70 Classics in 5 years. I have already read 9 off my list since starting in April. And a lot of the books on my list are from authors I am  familiar with. Now, I am not one to read a lot of new literature or authors I am not familiar with. I am careful about what I choose to read because I do hold literature up to some pretty high standards. I compare almost all literature to those beloved Classics (really the only literature I don't hold up to those standards include history, biography and Christian/missions). I am not one to read the latest New York Times bestsellers. I am not one to read some of the exciting new series that everyone raves about as soon as they come out. I can honestly say that the only new series I have read was Twilight and Harry Potter and both of those series were read quite a long time after they came out and took the world by storm... no Hunger Games for me at this point. Now, I am not saying that one day the Hunger Games or Harry Potter or Twilight won't be counted among the Classics. Who knows... in 100+ years maybe they will. But right now they are no where near the Classics in my book. And that's okay.

I love to read the Classics. I value the Classics and I hold literature up to high standards because of authors like Austen, Alcott, Montgomery, Dickens, Emerson and Whitman. I have no set definition of what Classic literature is. I just have my own personal opinion, my own personal thoughts. Just like a lot of other readers. But I certainly do love the Classics. And I always will.

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