Goethe as Light Reading

I thought I should take a look at Goethe's Elective Affinities, since Toyen did title a painting after it, but after going through a bit of it I decided that the basic idea was clear to me and reading the book itself fell more into the category of something that could be read on the bus (on those occasions when fellow passengers are not too distracting, which some of them can really be to the point where you wonder why the bus driver isn't wearing earplugs).
John tells me he is currently using Werther for much the same purpose, although he is much better than I am at always having something to read on the bus.
We aren't sure what Goethe would have thought of this use of his works, however.
Or what Goethe would have thought of Toyen's painting.