We all know that the meaning of 'classic' has been distorted from the original designation indicating the literature of ancient Greece and Rome. The focus here is not on music, art, or poetry, but on books. There were my old paperbacks, having been faithfully schlepped from apartment to apartment during all twenty-odd moves of my life so far, but these particular books had not been revisited. I was not overwhelmed, as I was thirty years ago, but I did find the book worthy of thought. It also caused me to think, about the experience of rereading, and the collaboration between writer and reader.
Writers work to a greater or lesser degree to control the experience of the reader.
How much control depends not just on the talent of the writer, but on the experience brought to the book by the reader. I was never really into Rocky and Bullwinkle, but I still remember the intense thrill of finding other Tolkien enthusiasts when I was 16, after two years of enjoying it with only one friend. I recently reread Pride and Prejudice again. Once I read for the skillful depiction of minor characters. Another time for manners, and assumptions make by the writer that the reader knew exactly what was going on.