Classic Doesn't Always Mean Good

I’ve tried reading classic books, especially SF books. Most of the time, I don’t like them. I guess I’m a product of the modern age. I like the here and now. I’m sure literary critics will think it is a cardinal sin, but just because a book is considered a classic doesn’t mean I should automatically like it.

Sometimes it is the style it is written in. I have never finished The Lord Of The Rings or The Hobbit because Tolkien has such a dense style. Every sword has a name, and every race has three or four names depending on the which other race is talking about them. I like the story and the world building is phenomenal. But the books are a difficult read. It happens to me when I read Sherlock Holmes as well. Especially when the characters (usually Holmes’s clients) go into such extricating and poetic detail. Nobody talks like that. It’s really frustrating.

I have difficulty with old SF because of the old science. I’m not saying every SF books nowadays have to be accurate and fact checked 1000 times. But there are some old SF books where the science is blatantly wrong. I’m sure when it was written, the facts hadn’t been proven, but somethings just seemed laughable when I read them. Star Trek The Original Series is a little like that. Excellent stories, great characters, but I can’t get over the 60s-ness of the show. I love the classic crew but at the same time I’m laughing at costumes and music and science.

Not all classics are bad. I’ve read The Phantom Of the Opera, Treasure Island, Dune, and others and have enjoyed them. But it is okay not too like the classics. Just because you love vampires doesn’t mean you have to thinkDracula is the best vampire book written. Make up your own mind. Love what you want to love. Make your own list of ‘classics’ you’d read over and over. It doesn’t have to be the same as everyone else’s.

Thanks for reading.