Making it Up As I Go

I started reading the book my friend loaned me and was a page in when I got distracted by Valley of the Dolls on TV. I’d had minimal interest in reading the book or seeing the movie until I saw a probably made for TV movie about the life of Jaqueline Susann, and was enthralled. Very interesting woman. Anyway, I watched the movie and decided that I really needed to read the book instead of the one was reading. We went down to the bookstore at about 5, I started reading it about 6, and finished at around 12:30. By the time I realized I should go to bed I was so close to finishing I just had to stay up. 6 1/2 hours for 442 pages- slightly less than a page a minute- not bad.
I can see why it stayed on the best seller list for the insane amount of time it did- it’s trashy, but not too trashy, sexy, but not too sexy. You feel for these characters, get to know them, experience life with them, and Jaqueline Susann doesn’t pull her punches. At the same time, theres not the intimidation factor- its a long book but you know you’re not going to be overwhlemed with symbolism; anyone could pick it up and enjoy it without feeling like they were missing something.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I liked the ending of the movie better than the book, more empowering I think.

Book Count: 3
Just Finished: Valley of the Dolls by Jaqueline Susann
Next Up: Sarah by Orson Scott Card, Paths of the Dead by Stephen Brust, or Tokyo Suckerpunch by Issac Adamson – I haven’t decided.