the.com/classics
the books everyone cites and almost no one finishes past chapter three.
means works of art or literature that have survived long enough to be considered timeless, usually by consensus rather than vote.
from from latin classicus, meaning of the highest class of roman taxpayer — the term literally meant top-tier before it ever meant old and important.
original meaningclassicus described tax brackets, not talent
survivorship biasmost bad old books simply vanished first
canon shiftstoday's classic was often yesterday's scandal
unread ratemost owners stop before the halfway mark
for instance
moby dick — flopped in 1851, now required reading everywhere
the odyssey — recited orally for centuries before anyone wrote it down
pride and prejudice — published anonymously in 1813, now inescapable
the iliad — still assigned 2700 years after it was composed