Time for a couple of book reviews, methinks.

I'd like to say I'm making an effort to expand my literary horizons by actively seeking out and reading the sort of classic stuff that keeps appearing on 'My favourite/Most influential etc' booklists, but no, the 'right' books falling in to my hands is more serendipity than anything else. For example, I spotted Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray in an op shop, and as it was one of those things I've been meaning to read like, forever [valley girl head toss] I picked it up.

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[spoiler warnings, perhaps?]
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What an interesting little story. It was terribly coy about Dorian's 'evil' indulgences - except for the mentions of opium - and as for how he ruined all those women, and men...? Hmmm. My slash-heavy imagination was happy to fill in the blanks. I felt like smacking Henry, though. Self-indulgent git.
The abrupt ending threw me, I have to admit. Having vague memories of a couple of dodgy film versions I knew how it was going to end but still, I was expecting more of a debriefing. Though the abruptness did - and is still - keeping me happily occupied contemplating what might have happened next so perhaps that's not such a bad thing.

Next: Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls. (This one I spotted on a library shelf...)
It's trash, but it's historical trash. Not a favourite read - it bounced me between boredom and frustration. Boredom cos the 'plot' was very predictable and, omigod, het is sooo dull. As a seasoned purveyor of smut it really was quite tame though I could see why it was controversial in the '60's.
And frustration because narcissism and the consequent blaming of everybody else for your problems but yourself gets right up my nose. All right, yes, it was made abundantly clear in the text why this was happening (stress + drugs + being forced by the 'industry' to maintain an impossible ideal of youth and beauty ÷ fragile personalities) but even so... [grumble]
It was disappointing, too, cos the story started out with a promising feminist slant, but alas, all too soon it degenerated into, well, just another trash novel. I can see where Jackie Collins got her inspiration... :)

Coming up soon: My Class Presentation and How it Could've Been Better...