[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

On the subject of classics. Yes, the term does mean of a certain age and of a level of quality and importance that enough people still know the book and will nominate it and vote for it. There is no such thing as an “instant classic.”

WRONG! Harry Potter is an instant classic. The series is important enough that it's managed to get a lot of kids and adults back to reading. Lots more people will know of Harry Potter then say AK (May's book). The quality of some of the old classics is a lot worse then any of the Harry Potter books so really, quality is not a tell-tale sign of a classic based on what is called classic these days.

That's just a book someone really likes a lot and thinks will achieve the status of a classic. In the early 1970s Jonathan Livingston Seagull sold millions of copies, but looking back at it know it would be an embarrassment to read. I'd say to be a classic the book should have been published at least 50 years ago. I like the idea of two months devoted to classics or I think we will find the book club selections will be dominated by recent books. Robinson Crusoe is considered to have been the first of the novel genre, meaning we have at least 300 years of literature to draw from.

I do think Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a classic. But to you, it doesn't hold up well over time. A lot of what are called classics do not hold up well over time. This is why is a really bad category for even one month a year. The definition is too broad and then it gets a poor definition to shrink it down, it fails big time.

I would not mind including an children's/YA category, but then to my mind that includes some very good books an adult could also enjoy. Laughing Boy by Oliver LeFarge, Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, and Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith come to mind of the top of my head. I read these the first time in late grade school, but after just completing Riders of the Purple Sage here as a monthly selection I see no great incongruity there.

If we did have YA as the December category, there would be no reason not to nominate any of the books you've mentioned.

Looking at the list of monthly categories I do have a comment. July Fantasy (trees/magic) why the trees/magic qualifier? Surely fantasy extends far beyond just that?

I think that (trees/magic) is there to help differentiate fantasy from science fiction. We don't have to nominate just fantasy books about trees and/or magic.

Anyway looking at the list it does not look at all broken. If I was to suggest a new category it would be a category for plays, that is works originally written for performance on stage. That could include everything from Shakespeare, through Tennessee Williams, to Mamet and beyond.

The list is not completely broken. But when we struggle one month with Classic, why then have to struggle yet again. It's the worst category and it's not properly defined. A classic is not just a book written by a dead author. It's not just a book that is in the public domain. It is not a book written at least 50 years ago. The Harry Potter example I posted above is true. Harry Potter is a classic series. The only criteria it don't meet (given your definition) is it's not 50 years old. Many classics are dry and dull. I recently read the classic Rendezvous with Rama By Arthur C. Clarke and found it dry and not all that interesting a story. But I did enjoy Harry Potter much more. I also feel that Harry Potter would keep better over time. I also feel that a book like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a classic. A classic doesn't have to be an old book. There are such things as modern classics.

As for plays, I do think that could be a difficult selection.