I was an English major. And I read (and devoured) the Twilight books. My friends insist these things ought to be incompatible. I’m supposed to believe in standards! The Oxford comma! And the canon! And I do, but along with all of teenage America, I like Twilight too. And I’m completely unashamed ...

Another day, another Twilight headline. Today, Prospect.org has an interesting article in which writer Sady Doyle (who defended Megan Fox on The Frisky) points out how books in Stephenie Meyer‘s Twilight series are a smash hit (Breaking Dawn, for example, sold 1.3 million copies on its first day), but they get a hell of a lot of flak from ... well, everybody.

Did you know that, every now and then, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer writes about non-vampires? Last year, she released “The Host,” which was billed as her first adult novel, though it apparently has about the same set of readers. And while it’s not about vamps, there is still some parasitic feasting on pretty girls, this time by an alien species that is romantically overwhelmed by said girls’ capacity for emotion. The book didn’t get nearly as much play as anything “Twilight”-related, but that all may change now that “The Host” is being turned into a movie.

Despite the fact that Stephenie Meyer‘s books are public service announcements for saving yourself ‘til marriage, some elementary and middle schools in Australia are banning the Twilight series books for being too racy. Man, I don’t know what Twilight books these peeps were reading, but the one I read was 544 pages of agonizing blue balls. Though, in a roundabout way, fretful grownups could be doing these kids a favor, as one school librarian told Australia’s Daily Telegraph about the censorship, “We wanted to make sure [the students] realize it’s fictitious and ensure they don’t have a wrong grasp on reality.” Good point. In reality, Bella would’ve ripped the clothes off a hottie like Edward and boned that vampire ass, stat.

Inevitable, right? Stephenie Meyer, the Twilight scribe, designed three tee shirts and skateboards, based on her first novel, The Host , for Hobo Skate Company. (Who knew she was a sk8er gurl?) Generally, we’re so over celeb/model/everyone-and-their-dog clothing designers doing their own lines, but at least Meyer is using her fame for good, not evil, by teaming up with a company that’ll donate some of the proceeds to charity. Hobo Skate Company will give a portion of their sales of the $25 tees and $50 boards to the Hobo Foundation (Wait, wtf is up with that name!?—Editor] to support homeless families. Honestly, they’re underwhelming—the three designs are “X-Ray,” “The Cave,” and “Body & Soul.” We think she should stick to writing vampire erotica light, but tweeny Twilight obsessives will probably love anything Meyer does. And, hey, at least it’s not a handbag line. [MTV]