HP on Sparknotes.com

[Steve]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "ats_fhc3" <the.gremlin at v...>
wrote:
> So I'm looking up stuff on Sparknotes.com when I come across 
> SparkNotes (for those of you who may not know, SparkNotes are an 
> online version of Cliffs Notes...kinda) for all four Harry Potter 
> books! Now, I've always that SparkNotes does literature, but can the 
> Harry Potter be categorized under the term 'literature'?
> 
> ...edited...
> 
> That's my definition, anyway.
>  
> Just thought I'd share...Any thoughts?
> 
> -Acire, who is reading the SparkNotes because she wants to know how 
> they'll analyze everything...

bboy_mn:

I think we are up against the 'I say potAAto and you say potAHto' syndrom.

You say-

literature
and
fiction

I say-

Classic literature
and
Contemporary literature

By definition and in the sense that you are using it, literature must
have artistic merit, so the daily newspaper is not literature, Time
magazine is not literature. 

On the other hand, the term is used very loosely in our society. I
could call up a company and ask them to send me some product
literature, and they would know what I was talking about, however
brochures for engine parts would not have artistic merit.

So, I'm guessing there is no absolute answer to your question. You
clearly mean classic literature when you use the word, but the word
has a much broader definition. In the end, it comes down to what
SparkNotes considers literature. 

Just a thought.

bboy_mn