The Twilight Saga : Another Societal Addiction ?

Without showing any disregard to Stephenie Meyer's novels or her caliber as a writer, I would like to believe that the Twilight series owed its success, atleast partially, to trend followers, if I'm allowed to call them so.

I've great respect for any author, popular or not, but I'm appalled at the fact that anybody should read a series of novels having the same theme written by the same author, and nothing else at all. I know some friends of mine whose reading list include nothing other than Harry Potter novels, with only the new avatar, The Twilight Saga, at their rescue ! I can bet most of them never actually ventured out hunting for good pieces of literature, relying only upon 'Top Charts' and friend review. After all who would want to be left behind when their snobbish friends have all read them? I like the following quote --
"Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye."

I think it has been unfortunately misconstrued. Can you imagine how much it hurts when somebody says that the only novel they've ever read, cover to cover, since childhood is Harry Potter and the half blood 'son-of-a-.....' ? Sorry for the expression of anger, rather despair......I may sound like an unsuccessful, disgruntled author who knows nothing but pouring vile into others' brain, but I'm sorry, can't help. I'm no author though.

But I am a reader, and a connoisseur of good books too. And I respect the 'Art of Reading'. I'm ready to read anything and everything under the sun if it is a good read and the writer believes in his or her work. I don't care loading my bookshelf only with popular works, simply for showing off the heavy arsenal of books I've read. I'm actually troubled by the reading habits of children these days. Comparing my grandpa with my cousins I find the younger generation living their lives out of cocoons. Their day start and end with Orkut or Facebook, with Second Life to live out their dreams, and Twilight or Harry Potter thrown in for some flights of imagination. Reading should not be like wearing the latest fashion in clothing; there should be one's individualistic choice of reading that reflect one's orientation towards literature. Richness in literature lies in its abundance and variety.

But I would like to add that I like the choice of the book cover for Twilight. Stephenie Meyer has stated that the apple on the cover represents the forbidden fruit from the Book of Genesis. It symbolizes Bella and Edward's love, which is forbidden, similar to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, as is implied by the quote from Genesis 2:17 that is quoted at the beginning of the book. It also represents Bella's knowledge of what good and evil are, and the choice that she has in partaking of the "forbidden fruit", Edward, or choosing not to see him.

I hope the readers understand what I'm trying to imply.