Quote:
Originally Posted by astra_lestat
Now I feel embaraced for writing sooo much.
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Nah, you've said some interesting things.
I'd start off by suggesting that you two are probably talking about totally different things. I'd classify them as "Great Literature" and "Good Books."
Great Literature would be things that have a strong influence on the path of the literary world, such as Dickens' work or as you pointed out, astra_lestat, Tolkien's
Lord of the Rings series. Both of them changed the way folks looked at literature, both in writing and in reading. That can be generally agreed upon, because the effects can be clearly seen in later works. For instance, most modern fantasy is built on Tolkien's views of things like elves, orgs, goblins, etc. That's something that can generally be agreed upon. (Not
everyone will, but most folks familiar with the area will see it that way)
Good Books on the other hand are books that we enjoy, hate to see end, and want to read over and over, when we're not telling all our friends how much we enjoyed them. What makes a Good Book will vary from person to person, because as you observed, everyone is different, so the things that interest and appeal to us will vary.
Sometimes a piece of Great Literature is a Good Book, and sometimes it's not. The two aren't the same things, but they're not mutually exclusive either. For instance, I can't abide Hemmingway, but he is generally agreed to have had an influence on the literary world, so while
A Farewell To Arms probably
is Great Literature,
I'd never call it a Good Book.
That bit you're talking about where you notice more detail and get more out of the story on the second read -- I consider that a sign of a well written book, if there's not more than is immediately apparent, then it's probably not a candidate for Great Literature status.
By the same token, I'd suggest that if you were to read, say
Jane Eyre multiple times, you'd notice that you get more out of it with each reading, even if you didn't particularly
enjoy the book. No book can be Great Literature (in my opinion) unless it has more to offer than just what you get out of the first reading.
I didn't understand that for a long time growing up, but then I got old enough to have read some books I liked on my own more than once, and I started to notice for myself that what others had told me was true, there's more to a Good Book, and to Great Literature than you can get in one read through. :smilie: