I'm reminded of Twain's quote on classic books:
I don't believe any of you have ever read PARADISE LOST, and you don't want to. That's something that you just want to take on trust. It's a classic, just as Professor Winchester says, and it meets his definition of a classic -- something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.
Yup, I love that Twain quote.
I’ve never met anyone who dislikes Paradise Lost.
I’ve enjoyed Paradise Lost Immensely.
There is beautiful precise writing now too. I was an English lit student for years and read a lot of classics. So I enjoy books today either for their plots (I consider Rowlings a good plotster who can’t really write) or for their writing. A current genius in beautiful writing is the Australian writer who wrote The Book Thief. His words are delicious.