Twilight

When Harry Potter madness infected the world I foolishly resisted.  What sane adult would read a children's book about a wizard school?  Inevitably, curiosity led me to read "The Philosphers Stone".  From there my desire for a good book drove me to read the rest of the series.  J K Rowling is a superb writer and for the most part I enjoyed the series greatly.
Imagine then my interest when Twilight began to tread the path that Harry Potter had forged.  A series of books rabidly consumed by teenagers, followed by incredibly hyped movies.  My curiosity was again stirred; my wife and I borrowed the entire series and read it together. 
Unfortunately Meyer is no Rowlings.  I'll admit the premise of twilight is intriguing, and the storytelling aspect of her writing is competent if not enthralling.  But in the words of that great man Stephen King, she can't write a darn.  Her sentence structure is monotonous.  Her descriptions are workmanlike and unimaginative.  She repeats herself.  I felt like I was trapped in a Kevin Rudd press conference.
Technical snobbery aside there is more to dislike in Twilight.  The central characters appear to be drawn directly from the DSM-IV.  Bella Swan is grotesquely self absorbed while Edward pathologically tortures himself.  I still don't know why they like each other, although she does seem to have a fascination with marble.  In the "Most annoying character in the world race" these two are even odds winners.  While Jacob is more likeable Meyer rarely treats him fairly, lumping him with the rest of the Twilight characters who are obviously only there to revolve around planet Bella.
The popularity of this book scares me.  What does it mean when most of the teenage female population identify with Bella Swan?  Perhaps a generation of depressed checkout chicks await us.