--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What makes a book great, a so-called…" description: "\"What makes a book great, a so-called classic, it its quality of always being modern, of its author, though he be long dead, continuing to speak to each..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/lawrence-clark-powell-27650_book_what-makes-a-book-great-a-so-called-clas_2260393.jpg" --- # What makes a book great, a so-called classic, it its… ![“What makes a book great, a so-called classic, it its quality of always being modern, of its author, though he be long dead, continuing to speak to each new generation.” quote by Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/lawrence-clark-powell-27650_book_what-makes-a-book-great-a-so-called-clas_2260393.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/lawrence-clark-powell-27650_book_what-makes-a-book-great-a-so-called-clas_2260393.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/lawrence-clark-powell-27650_book_what-makes-a-book-great-a-so-called-clas_2260393.jpg) > “What makes a book great, a so-called classic, it its quality of always being modern, of its author, though he be long dead, continuing to speak to each new generation.” [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A classic stays relevant when it speaks to each new generation. **In simple terms:** Great books remain modern across time. Key Takeaway Seek timeless ideas that resonate today. Themes timelessness literature relevance Mood thoughtful nostalgic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - teaching literature - book clubs - personal reading Key Concepts cultural continuity authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - What makes a story feel timeless? - How do you connect past ideas with present life? A Different Perspective Some classics may feel dated to modern readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) ## Related quotes > [By the eighties, a lot of radio stations had started playing "Sixties" music. 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I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) ## More by Lawrence Clark Powell > [I can speak of my own criterion for judging whether or not a book is good or bad. I ask of it a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/i-can-speak-of-my-own-criterion-for-judging-whether-or-not-a-book-is/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [The good writer, the great writer, has what I have called the three S's: the power to see, to sense, and to say. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/the-good-writer-the-great-writer-has-what-i-have-called-the-three-s-s/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [We are the children of a technological age. We have found streamlined ways of doing much of our routine work. Printing is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/we-are-the-children-of-a-technological-age-we-have-found-streamlined/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [Books, books, books in all their aspects, in form and spirit, their physical selves and what reading releases from their hieroglyphic pages, in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/books-books-books-in-all-their-aspects-in-form-and-spirit-their/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [Unless their use by readers bring them to life, books are indeed dead things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/unless-their-use-by-readers-bring-them-to-life-books-are-indeed-dead/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [We all think were going to be great and we feel a little bit robbed when our expectation aren't met, but sometimes our expectations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/we-all-think-were-going-to-be-great-and-we-feel-a-little-bit-robbed/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [ \[A writer\] must try to think clearly, to feel deeply, to write honestly. If he is fortunate he will make a living, but his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/a-writer-must-try-to-think-clearly-to-feel-deeply-to-write-honestly/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [No university in the world has ever risen to greatness without a correspondingly great library... When this is no longer true, then will our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/no-university-in-the-world-has-ever-risen-to-greatness-without-a/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [I can speak of my own criterion for judging whether or not a book is good or bad. I ask of it a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/i-can-speak-of-my-own-criterion-for-judging-whether-or-not-a-book-is-2/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [Reading books is good, Rereading good books is better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/reading-books-is-good-rereading-good-books-is-better/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [Believers and doers are what we need - faithful librarians who are humble in the presence of books… To be in a library is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/believers-and-doers-are-what-we-need-faithful-librarians-who-are/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [A book is one of the most patient of all man's inventions. Centuries mean nothing to a well-made book. It awaits its destined reader,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/a-book-is-one-of-the-most-patient-of-all-man-s-inventions-centuries/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/write-to-be-understood-speak-to-be-heard-read-to-grow/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [Books are islands in the ocean of time. They are also oases in the deserts of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/books-are-islands-in-the-ocean-of-time-they-are-also-oases-in-the/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [Books themselves need no defense. 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