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I'm going to talk strictly about entertaining writing here. If I start veering into writing aimed at teaching/learning... I'll just never stop talking.
I've always found the subject of "good writing" to be very interesting. I think it's a more interesting topic than "good movies" or "good television programs" or even "good video games". Looking at all of these, you can say that they are all forms of entertainment, and that "good" is relative to your interests and tastes.
Writing, though, is more than entertainment in many ways. It's a more active form of entertainment. Instead of having a story told to you, like in a movie or television program, you tell YOURSELF the story by reading it, and you bring to the table all of your prior experiences, opinions and personality. Any piece of writing can engage you, inspire an emotional response, spin you off into some crazy thought train.
I would say the ones that are GOOD are the ones that engaged you without you needing to put forth any effort. If you read a book and felt emotion without needing to TRY to feel it, you've read a good book, regardless of how you felt about the subject matter/type of book.
So to answer the OP's subject line - If it inspired feeling in so many people... it's arguably a good book. Even if you hate vampires and whiny teenagers. Just because it's a good book doesn't mean everyone has to have a nice opinion of the subject matter.
I'm preeeetty sure this is an unpopular view, though.
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