Theme Cult Classics

I'm going to refer to my previous posts here, and reiterate that any book that has a devoted fan-base that connects with it on a visceral level, can be considered a cult classic.

 

Really important observations. Thank you for chiming in.

 

We have brushed the edge of one point here, but not really explored it in this conversation. What creates that devoted fan base? I previously mentioned Frank Herbert's Dune. It is one of those books where you discover new aspects to the story with each rereading. Is that what caused it to become a cult classic, or was it some other aspect?

 

That may be part of it, but more than that the reader connects to the book in a very personal way. In post #13, I gave my experience with one book that had a huge impact on me:

 

I think a way to say it (that works for movies and books both) is that these feel like they weren't just cranked out to the usual industry standards but made as a labor of love by someone who really cares for the subject matter and was willing to take a lot of chances to make it really special, rather than playing it safe to appeal to the broadest possible customer-base. It's when the artists get their way over the bean-counters and manage to make something that really works (it doesn't always happen that way, often the artists end up making garbage). At least it works for the devoted fans.

 

And that something "special" is something that connects to the very core of who the reader is.

 

But what about Steel This Boo by Abbie Hoffman. This was surely what I would think of as a cult classic during its time. Of course readers will connect with a book for it to gain any kind of popularity. Perhaps, a cult classic speaks more to a generation of readers in an unfamiliar way to get that sort of status.