[fromnovascotia]

Er...what's interesting is some of the books mentioned here were not bestsellers but "Nosellers". Moby Dick I think was self-published and much more interesting than the modern bestsellers. Shakespeare too published almost nothing in his lifetime. The odd thing (that the original article talks about) is that most bestsellers are unreadable and will be forgotten soon. If you go through some old magazines you'll see ads for bestsellers of yesteryear and with the obvious exception of "Gone with he Wind" they are all incredibly obscure. (Beowulf was of course a fantastic bore from the beginning. It has bored the soul out of generations og students).

[Bernard Marx]

Classics vs. best-sellers. It's sad you have to point it out.

[altair]

Shakespeare too published almost nothing in his lifetime.

It's a mistake to judge Shakespeare by his writing. His work was meant to be performed and watched. It's similar to reading the script of an action movie and thinking you're getting the whole experience.

[Xenalyte]

Beowulf was of course a fantastic bore from the beginning. It has bored the soul out of generations of students.

However, for an adult, Beowulf is a helluva read. I mean, how many heroes rip the arms off their adversaries and beat 'em to death with the bloody stump?

The poetry is a bit off-putting, but get yerself a good prose translation, and I promise you'll like it better.

[Lurking Libertarian]

what's interesting is some of the books mentioned here were not bestsellers but "Nosellers"... Shakespeare too published almost nothing in his lifetime.

Shakespeare's plays were wildly popular in his lifetime, as plays. Scripts of plays were virtually never published in book form in Elizabethan times (just as movie or TV scripts are not usually published today). It was only because of Shakespeare's great popularity that his plays were published at all (I think either late in his life or shortly after his death).

[Future Snake Eater]

(Beowulf was of course a fantastic bore from the beginning. It has bored the soul out of generations of students).

True, true. However, have you read Grendel? It retells portions of Beowulf, as well as parts preceding it from the viewpoint of the monster Grendel. Fantastic book, can't recommend it enough.