What do Wuthering Heights and Alice In Wonderland have in common? They are both considered classic books, even when they are so different in tone and genre. Let's look at what makes something a classic.
My observations on what makes something a classic are one, that popularity at the time of publishing doesn't seem to matter (for example, the Bronte sisters didn't do so well in their own time period) and two, that what does matter is whether a book stands the test of time. Other than that, I have no idea what makes a classic count as a classic. Let's dive into this together. A coworker asked me what a classic is and I'm genuinely curious.
What Is A Classic?
Apparently, Reddit threads don't find this question easily answered. It looks like I'm not the only one asking what the classic book standard is.
One source proves one of my observations right. It is defined as a novel that stands the test of time and is beloved years after its release. It has to have a certain depth and originality to remain popular for years. Some were popular after their time, too, so standing the test of time can mean being rediscovered later on, then being beloved. Cult-classic novels were not always appreciated at the time of release (nor are all cult-classic movies, like Scott Pilgrim Vs The World).
Does every classic need to be from the 1800s? No, James Bond is a classic and it was written in the 1950s. Marlowe mysteries were written in the 1940s and those are classics. You have probably read a classic and not known it. Narnia? Harry Potter? Both classics. Laura Ingalls Wilder books? That's a classic. Nancy Drew is also a classic from 1930s to the present. Let's take a moment to appreciate that not all classics are wordy and intimidating.
Put simply, think of them as old famous books and newer famous books. If you've heard of it or it hit your school curriculum at some point, you've read a classic. Some of my collected books count as a classic. One Reddit user noted that classics are books that stay interesting. There is no official measuring stick. While some critics can rave on a book, if it is never read by the majority of the public it is not a classic.
It also has a lot to do with impacting an era. For instance, Victor Hugo, Ian Fleming, and Jane Austen made a big impact on their society. Many classics have movies attached, too. It is far too broad a category and it expands through all genres. There is no exact standard. If you want one person's 14 defined points on a classic, click here. Italo Calvino's points touch on the fact that it can be reread over and over, as well as how it discusses the current society.
Easy Reads, Intermediate Reads, and Downright Hard Reads
Here we have some examples of books that are easy and quick reads, books that require at least some brain power, and books that are notoriously hard to finish. This is a good guide for what kids can handle, too, since I'll put kid's classics in a paragraph by themselves.
I need to define some things before giving examples. I also need to clarify that I'm an avid reader and not everyone is at the same reading level (or age) as me. I'm putting easy kids and easy adult classics in two categories. Easy is defined as a quick and fun read. Intermediate is a longer read that requires some brain power to read (big words, archaic words...), and hard reads are notoriously long and require lots of study to understand - not to mention they are usually notoriously hard to get into.
Easy kids' classics include Alice In Wonderland, Through The Looking Glass, Wind In The Willows, Winnie The Pooh anything, Anne of Green Gables, a lot of Roald Dahl novels, the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, To Kill A Mockingbird, and The Chronicles of Narnia. I'll also add both the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series for kicks and giggles. These are delightful for all ages. I would say these are generally safe for kids to read, in comparison to the adult easy classics. A more modern classic can include Harry Potter, even, so don't discount popular characters.
Easy adult classics include The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, any Agatha Christie novel, James Bond as a whole, Of Mice and Men, Rebecca, Frankenstein, the Philip Marlowe series, The Great Gatsby, Little Women, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Ben Hur, and A Christmas Carol (other books of Charles Dickens are much longer than this). It's hard to say if "easy" is the best description for some classics. Look at the genre before you pick it up. Treasure Island and The Three Musketeers are also good ones. Depending on whether you consider 1984 easy to read, I'll put that here. Animal Farm was on my high school reading list, thus I'm adding that to this category. 
Intermediate will include more archaic words and longer books. We have anything by Victor Hugo (months of reading), anything by the Bronte Sisters, Charles Dickens books (minus Christmas Carol, which is far shorter), and Jane Austen books (as some sentences you have to read with your brain turned on). There are quite a few that are also intense like Fahrenheit 451. Intense books are intermediate books. Wuthering Heights is just on example of why. Lord of The Rings would also go here.
Hard books are harder to define. It might be hard for you to read more than 500 pages in a book, or you could be used to intense fantasy that goes into 1200 pages and long classics are not even intermediate. These are only my suggestions. I'm putting Shakespeare here because it requires study - thus "no fear Shakespeare" that purposely appeals to students. Anything that takes more than just a dictionary is going here. Don Quixote, Bleak House, Moby Dick, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, and Dune were all on a list that I'll link here. Canterbury Tales was on my high school curriculum and was really hard to understand, so it sits right beside Shakespeare in my mind.
An Overview
This was not as concrete as I originally thought it'd be. Classics might shift as time goes on, one person might consider a book a classic while another doesn't, and there is no set standard. Throw out the idea that classics are all boring, because I can tell you Ben Hur isn't. James Bond is considered classic and he's still very relevant, along with Nancy Drew and Alice In Wonderland. Our definition of a classic being "boring" is wrong. We watch classics on TV and don't know it. Christmas Carol is a play that keeps playing every Christmas and is shown on every TV from November to January. It has multiple versions. Let's redefine classic.
A classic is a book that keeps being relevant despite changing times, different generations, and different political climates. It entertains multiple generations of readers and gets movies, multiple versions, and retellings. Classics are stories that never die, it's that simple.
Sources;
30 Easy to Read Classics You Won't Want to Put Down | For the Joy of Books
What makes a classic? - Pan Macmillan
What makes a classic - classic? : r/literature
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