8 Qualities of a “Great Book”

Fred Sanders explains how they choose their Great Books Curriculum at Biola’s Torrey Honors Institute:

1. The book has to speak from an important original setting.
2. But a great book is one that is not trapped in its original setting.
3. A great book is well crafted.
4. A great book is one that provokes excellent discussion.
5. A great book is inexhaustible, so no reading of it is the final reading, and no discussion ever runs it dry.
6. A great book is time-tested.
7. A great book is weird.
8. A great book is smarter than the best teacher, but within reach of the average student.

Read the whole thing to see his explanation for each.

HT: Joe Carter