Interestingly enough, those who wrote works which many regard as great literature were only setting out to write works which would entertain. It's usually others who apply the label "great literature" to those works.
For many people, though, reading is not something they do at any level other than the TV Guide or possibly a newspaper. Those are the people who were scared off from reading by high school teachers who failed to try to light a fire of enthusiasm for reading, by forcing their students to read works which were never intended to be meaningful to teenagers.
And those people who were scared off and never got interested in reading often in later years, especially when their kids get enthusiastic over books like the Redwall series when they're younger or Harry Potter when they're a bit older, are the ones for whom a course such as the one which started this thread can help.
As long as the teacher espouses JSWolf's philosophy, which is one I heartily agree with -- great literature is that which a person enjoys reading and can take something away from, even if it's just the thrill of having enjoyed the story.
But many people need help in getting started.
They're not likely to have invested in a Sony Reader, though, so any thoughts on reading as being a great thing are sort of like preaching to the choir on this forum, aren't they?
