Yeah... it's an interesting premise but the execution is not so great.

I am planning to watch the adaptation; I assume it has all the book's strengths with none of its weaknesses.

>What writer who doesn't read tell classic stories that stand the test of time? None.

I have to disagree with you there, however--Asimov has stood the test of time quite well. He is considered a seminal author in the sci-fi genre. His name is practically synonymous with sci-fi.

Foundation isn't his strongest work, but as you pointed out, it was also among his earliest work. His chops grew significantly the more he wrote.

Also, um...

>I'm a writer myself, and if write a book like this and send it off to traditional publishers, it will be rejected. Better books than this have been rejected or panned, so how does Asimov's book become a classic?

Have you read (or tried to read) Ready Player One? It's fucking abysmal, and yet it not only got published, it was turned into a HUGE hit. It makes Foundation look like Lolita. My point is that traditional publishers put out terrible garbage all the time. They don't make their decisions about what gets published based on merit; they make those decisions based on marketability. Source: I'm a writer, too--a pretty successful one, in fact.