I disagree with the statement ”the best modern works are less deep, less able to interest you, than the best past works.”. That might have been true for you, b

I disagree with the statement ”the best modern works are less deep, less able to interest you, than the best past works.”. That might have been true for you, but I don’t think it is a general perception for everyone. The problem I see is just of filtering. The best current works are a few among thousands of new works coming up every year. While the best past works are the only works that remain from the past. You see a good list of past books from some erudite person with similar perception of the world than you and you are set. While the same person doing a similar list from current works will be much more hit and miss. No one would have the time to read all that is published everywhere. While the past has a filter that allows you to be able to read such diverse great works as Kafka, Cervantes, and James Joyce.