Below is a post from Melissa Chan on Why I Love the Classics. I have fallen in LOVE with her site Literary Books and Gifts. She is offering a discount code for Becky's Bookshelves Readers. It is at the end of this post!
Why I Love the Classics
When I was young, I spent a lot of time in a used book store.
There were calendars of the year, CD's so scratched that they no longer played,
and dime store paperbacks, but what this store had was a great deal of was classic
novels. My family and I would spend many Saturdays trading in our used books
and boardgames in, racking up credits to be spent in the store on other books.
I'd spend long hours in the stacks searching for new titles that I could bring
home and later swap again. The local library still constituted most of my
reading material but there was just something different about these books. The
covers, the leading, the typography, the overall look and feel. They had
travelled such a far distance to be there, at that time, in that bookstore, for
our enjoyment. This, I believe was the beginning of my lifetime love of classic
novels, literature, and everything about them.
Here are just a few reasons why I love classic literature.
The physical copies themselves
New versions of books, eBooks, and audiobooks are all fantastic
ways to distribute, consume, and share the stories within the novels. Their low
cost and efficiency makes them a great option for many. Classic novels in their
original formats will often have lovely and antique physical copies that match
the stories. Sometimes printed during the time they were written, but often
many years after, they will look and feel different than newer glossy covered
books. I love old book covers and their artwork. Sometimes weathered with time
and slightly distressed with age. I'd often remove a plain looking dust jacket
only to find gorgeous cover artwork laying beneath, as if finding a box of
treasure. Like watching a period piece film, original copies of classic novels
give off the same notion, and one I cannot seem to get enough of while browsing
old copies of books.
The historical context
Just like the physical copies of a book, no matter how lovely do
not effect the story itself, the history behind a book does not either. However
this does not mean that it does not have an effect on the book after it has
been published. Since the classics were published such a long time ago, their
authors have had a chance to live and exist throughout history. No reading of
William Shakespeare's works is complete without at least a few facts
surrounding his life and how he lived. After reading Edgar Allan Poe's unique and intriguing
work, one might wonder about who he was as a person and perhaps pick up a copy
of a biography on his life. History has the ability to give context above and
beyond the pages of the book, I love that practically every classic novel comes
with it's own backstory for further reading.
My favorite books tend to be classics
Maybe I'm a little biased, but Moby Dick by Herman Melville is
one of my favorite novels. Recently I have been reading a great deal of 20th
century literature and have found many new favorites there, but previous to
this most of the books I have enjoyed best have been none other than classics.
Reading Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley and Dracula by
Bram Stoker was my first introduction into the horror genre and I'm glad I
picked them up from the classics bookshelf first.
Classics have long been the choice books of many readers. I'm
glad that they were written and have accumulated over time so that readers such
as myself have the option to pick them up and try them out.
Do you read the classics? Do you enjoy them? Let me know in the
comments below.
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