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From: Caro.PA@PARC-MAXC.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Merit Survey Results
Message-ID: <12003@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 26-Sep-83 14:23:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.12003
Posted: Mon Sep 26 14:23:07 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 29-Sep-83 09:23:34 EDT
Lines: 29

''In that time I have read an enormous amount of science fiction, but
there are few authors whom I have read all of. We're supposed to
categorize the best of the authors?''

Well, obviously one can say nothing about books one has never read.  But
of the books you have read, which INDIVIDUAL works struck you as having
great literary merit?  This was the (obvious, or so I thought,) point of
the survey.  No where did I say that ALL authors must be surveyed, nor
did I require that all of an author's works be read.

''So the question of which books are classics is difficult to answer for
at least two reasons: The research most people have put into the
question has been spent over a prolonged period of time, with little
note taking, and with various other details coming into the researcher's
life to play havoc with his memories...''

Does one have to take notes to remember that "The Man in the High
Castle," was unforgettable?  Do I have to go back and re-read "The Lord
of the Rings" to convince myself that indeed it was a classic?  In point
of fact, I have read "The Lord of the Rings" exactly once, and that was
12 years ago!  Tolkien's work had such a profound impact on me that I
can still remember certain passages almost word-for-word.

It seems to me that the "classic's" are the works that you remember
without any effort.  That is at least one criteria I use to define a
"classic."


Perry