On the Bookshelf // Valley of the Dolls

Ever since I took on my no spending challenge (which yes, I'm still trying to abide by for the most part), I've also been on a bit of a purging kick. I talked about it a little before, noting how good it felt to be able to let stuff go and simplify your life.

This week, I attacked my bookshelf, which was an especially tough one for me. I  haven't switched over to an e-reader yet (and honestly, don't know that I ever will), and building a book collection is something that has always been important to me. I like the physical quality of a real book, and more than anything, the ability to pass it along and lend it out once you're done with it. So though I wasn't looking to completely wipe out my book collection, I did want to edit down the titles I do own and pass along books that don't hold any special significance to me or that I would never recommend to a friend.

Of course, as always with a purge, I stumbled across a few titles that I may have forgotten about, which served as inspiration to start a new feature highlighting a few of my favourites.

Heartbreaking and addictive, Valley of the Dolls is easily one of my all time favourites, the perfect guilty pleasure read set against the glamorous backdrop of New York City in the 60s. The entertaining trash classic follows three showbiz girls who are struggling to make it, and find themselves wrapped up in drama involving sex and sleeping pill addiction (the "dolls"), showing the other, not so pretty side of fame and fortune.