When it comes to classics, it's easy to just read what everyone else says is a classic instead of remembering that, to become a classic, a work must win over individual upon individual upon individual, not just a few ivory tower intellectuals. For me, any work fifty years or older, which as of this moment means a publication year of 1970 or earlier, is fair game, regardless of how many lists it does or doesn't appear on. Now, I know myself too well to think I'm going to love everything on this particular list of mine, but I'm looking forward to learning something from all of them nonetheless, perhaps even recommending some brilliant, yet severely underread, work to those who have run out of the Modern's and the Time's and the 1001's and want something a little more...interesting.
