There are some books that are just so good that they become classed as classics. Most classic books tend to have been published a while ago, so that time has given them a fair jury but equally there are plenty of modern classics.

In the best books section of our website we have outlined some of our favourite classics, but in reality there are just so many great books out there that it is an impossible task to list every classic. Equally you should not restrict yourself to reading books that are well regarded by critics and other readers- one of the greatest delights of reading is to find new books by different authors and to see what you think of them. Occasionally you may come across a hidden gem of a book that really deserves a far better reputation than it has (if this is the case you might like to share your views with other readers in our book forum) or you may even find yourself reading a book that will become a classic in future years- reading it before everyone else has is very satisfying.