Rating: 
Summary: Worthwhile Fluff -- pure reading enjoyment!!!
Review: If you've read any of my other reviews (click on my name above to see them!), you'll know I don't read "fluff". But I got a few laughs from the movie, and decided to give this book a go, without even having read the first, or Fielding's earlier novel, "Cause Celeb".All I can say is I laughed from start to finish. This book's terse diary-entry format and its guileless, often-clueless heroine reminded me of an Adrian Mole book more than anything else -- only all grown up (and yes, I KNOW there are "adult" Adrian Mole books, but I didn't enjoy them...!). Life can get pretty depressing on a steady diet of "literary" fiction and non-fiction. Sometimes, I need a break, and a book like this is the perfect opportunity to immerse myself in pure reading enjoyment. Since reading "Edge of Reason," I have reserved the first Bridget Jones book from my local library, and am waiting on the edge of my seat for (hopefully!?) the THIRD installment in Bridget's madcap adventures.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars -- leaning toward 4
Review: Bridget is back...and she's in rare form! Everything you liked about the first book is back for the second. As with Bridget Jones' Diary, I found myself laughing at myself through Bridget. She does and says many of the same things I do or say regularly, particularly in the 30-something singleton's pursuit of man. This is one book that will have you chuckling out loud. I found the characters in this sequel better drawn. Fielding really gives life to Bridget's mom (who is QUITE a character) and her friends Jude and Shazzer. Fielding makes sure we still don't really care for Mark Darcy (why DID she take him back? ) and that we cringe at Bridget's boss. The interview with the actor who plays Mark Darcy is downright hilarious....I could only hope to be as funny! While I did enjoy The Edge of Reason as I did the original, I will say that this one seemed to drag on in one particular spot, specifically the Thailand holiday. Had that whole section not been included, I'd say we have a winner. With the excursion out of London, this one goes on just a little too long. I can't decide if I was happy that Bridget goes home for her sake or mine! Overall though, this is another fun and funny piece by Helen Fielding. One can only wonder if Bridget is up for a third go!
Rating:
Summary: Even better then the first
Review: This book was even better than the first of the series. I loved this book. It was fun and easy to get back into the groove of bridget. I love her character and wish there was more of her.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!!
Review: I've just read the pair of books straight, and I must say that I'm amazed at some of the poor reviews of these books. Okay yes, Bridget is rather exasperating at times, but overall I can't imagine someone not being able to laugh at the "diary". Helen Fielding has a remarkable ability to create a well-developed character through her writing, with an acompanying cast of friends, relatives, and enemies. I think it's pretty hard to miss the obvious and intentional Jane Austen parallels (Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, etc), and Fielding is able to manipulate these themes to portray a modern story while still keeping the amazing qualities of Austen's literature. Now, on to the characters... Bridget!! Laugh out loud funny! I have NEVER laughed out loud when reading a novel, it's usually more of a smirk or giggle. However with this book, as well as the original, i was gaffawing and chortling and doing every other word that describes insane amounts of laughter. Bridget is a treasure! Mark...yummmm. Hahha, it sounds so lame to be so enraptured with a character in a book (I think it's in TEOR somewhere that being imaginary is definetly a flaw) but YAY!! Mark Darcy is the classic yummy-handsome-all-around-good guy. I'm so glad he was played by Colin Firth in the movie, and because I was already a die-hard BBC Pride and Prejudice fan, the Colin Firth interview had me LAUGHING/GAFFAWING/ETC for a full five or so minutes. (BTW, I very strongly suggest that everyone go out and rent/buy/borrow the mini-series on DVD or VHS.) After reading, and reminiscing over, the wet-shirt scene, I rushed over (book in hand) to watch it over and over again. Mark Darcy is simply wonderful. yummyyummyyummy!! (but awww...how sad...end of part 3.) Shazzers/Jude/Tom: Awwwww...they're the best friends. Although I can totally understand why they're still Singletons, they are very supportive of their fellow Singletons. Bridget should know that she is so lucky to have them. Rebecca: AHHH!! Just her name reminds me of that twisted horror movie with the same title (Rebecca). While Darcy is the classic hero, she is the classic b*tch-evil-thing, complete with simpering voice. Bridget's Mum and Dad: Wonderfully humourous and everything else jolly and good. Hmm. Think I am getting Brit-ified through reading of these books as have not said "jolly" since 2nd grade. Bloody fun! Daniel: Gratefully he only had a minor role. People like him are the reason for all the "emotional f**kwittage" in the world. Bridget's boss: GAAAH!! stupidstupidstupid. Poor Bridge. YAY!! SEE?? GREAT NOVEL!! :) And I must say that I really hope the movie stays as close to the novel as possible, though I heard that the interview scene wasnt going to be done. How sad, I guess it would be confusing to all those who haven't read the books though. PS: Was it just me or was Darcy (and Bridget of course) even better in this novel? :)
Rating:
Summary: Funniest book I've read in a v. v. long time!
Review: The "Edge of Reason" is the best. It is absolutely hysterically funny. Between Magda and Jeremy's phone calls, Pam Jones's fascination with Africa, the Madonna songs for the prisoners and the Colin Firth interview at "Adrian's tomb" in Rome, I was laughing so hard, I almost lost consciousness. I am in awe of Helen Fielding. I'm reading "Cause Celeb" right now and it's hard to believe the same person wrote these books. Thanks to Ms. Fielding, the entire Mr. Darcy, Mark Darcy, Colin Firth connection finally clicked. I felt compelled to buy the Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice DVDs in order to fully appreciate Bridget's need to pop the Pride and Prejudice video in her machine at all times of crisis. Wow! The Bridget Jones girl may be stupid, but she certainly knows a thing or two about Colin Firth. In all seriousness, I now understand what a truly gifted actor he is. I'm still wondering what all the fuss was about his wet shirt, but what he does with just his eyes should be illegal in 50 states and all U.S. territories. I can't wait for the movie version of Edge of REason and I fervently hope Rene Zellwegger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant will reprise their roles.
Rating:
Summary: Bridget's back!
Review: I read the first book a couple of years ago and really loved Bridget, the lovely and neurotic singleton that all of us root for. And before the second film comes out, I wanted to read the second book and get my own take on it before the film makers produce their version. While "Edge of Reason" is not as good as the first book, it still holds a lot of humor and charm for the reader. While Bridget has her man, there are lots of bumps in the road...naked chinese boy in Mark's bed, being stuck in a Thai prison and her Mum's new friend, Wellington, met while she and Una made a trip to Africa---to name a few. You can always count on Bridget to get in some pretty bizarre but funny predicaments. A good and easy read. Make time for it and you are guaranteed some laughs!
Rating: 
Summary: Good - but very much based on Persuasion!
Review: I've reaslised HF has lifted much of her second books from Jane Austen's Persuasion which I've just finished. For example: The scence where MArk is writing a letter at a party whilst Bridget is saying that if you love a man you cannot get him out of your system. Lifted straight from the Anne, Captain Wentworth scene. The scene where Bridget is telling Giles about self help books at dinner party. Lifted straight from the bit at Lyme where Anne consoles a captain who has lost his wife by referring to comforting literary texts. The scene where Rebecca jumps from the bridge = the scene where Louisa falls from the cob - I could go on. It spoiled my enjoyment of the original classic no end! Helen your books are really funny anyhow, I'm sure you could have managed without such clumsiness! Or is literature like pop music now and you can get away with it under the guise of a tribute?
Rating:
Summary: ME LOVE BRIDGET
Review: I just love that woman, and her relashionship with Mark Darcy...and in this book...it takes a funny turn for a while...the kind that makes you got "what" and smile!
Rating:
Summary: Ditto!!! (What most everybody said)
Review: Am literally aching with laughter!! Never read "B.J.'s Diary", but thoroughly enjoyed the movie, although don't usually enjoy comedies. Can't remember ever being so convulsed with laughter from a book. The situations in which Bridget finds herself are so humorous, and well, hey, it could happen!
Find myself wishing I was 30-something again and Bridge was my best friend. Except, wait, I want Mark Darcy too, maybe he has a twin brother?
BTW, when will this diary-style writing/speaking go away??
Hope there's a sequel - "Bridget Jones Goes To California".
Thank you, Helen Fielding.
Rating:
Summary: More of the same, but strangely less enjoyable than original
Review: People have compared this story to Jane Austin's Persuasion, which I haven't read (yet). Personally, I was struck by the similarity to "The Importance of Being Earnest." Bridget and friends are like the diarists in that play - nothing is real until it has been shared with the diary and with phone calls to friends. No wonder Mark Darcy feels he's being disected! The basic plot - Bridget and Mark, who got together just at the end of Bridget Jones's Diary, hit a crisis a few weeks into their relationship (one of those easily resolvable movie-type crises that could be solved in two minutes, but then how would you fill up the rest of the time?). They split up, and it's a foregone conclusion they will reunite, but the fun is in the journey. This book seems to be every bit as fun as a the first, and yet I was left, at the end, feeling like the journey wasn't as interesting. It's partly because of the unbelievable absurdity of the breakup, but more because the characters are just that much more over-the-top. The book has moved from the sublime to the rediculous, as it were. That's not to say I don't recommend the book for anyone that liked the first one. It is fun, a quick read, and will have you chuckling if not laughing out loud. Both sexes will enjoy it - if Bridget is a carricature of the modern professional woman, the men are certainly the male equivalents (if less developed). So have a seat by the pool (or heat lamp, if it's winter) and turn off your brain for a few hours.
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