Rating: 
Summary: Must avoid urge to describe as v.g. ...oops
Review: Everyone has been going on about the film in my office recently, saying how funny it was and how close to the book it was portrayed. Well, being a cheapskate (and not wanting to visit the cinema alone) I bought the book from Amazon ... and settled down to read it. Wow, what a blinder, I've never read a book in 3 days, but at 300 pages it was very light and quick but extremely funny. I know a few of the basics about being a 30 something and being a 'singleton/smug married' and a lot of the scenarios are very true. 'Based on Helen Fielding's diary in the Independent newspaper (something I didn't know), this is a novel about a year in the life of a single girl on an optimistic but doomed quest for self-improvement and Inner Poise.' Yeah, right! They've published my diary - the swines! I never even let my mother read my diary, now everyone knows what I get up to! Seriously, if you've not picked up this book, borrow it, steal it or if you really have to - buy the ... thing, but you really need to read it (and that goes for the guys to!). The story is about Bridget, her friends Shazzer, Jude, Tom, Magda, her relationship with and between her mother and father (the storyline around these two is ingenious) and her quest to find a man and enjoy him.... for a while anyway. Despair, self-doubt, obsession and the use of really bad/good self help books are the way to go for Bridget, something of course I've never felt or used ;+). This book goes from strength to strength, it keeps urging you to turn the pages, and even if it is just to see how many cigarettes she's smoked the next day! But the thing is, if I tell you all the bits that made me laugh out loud, it'll ruin the book, so I'm not going to! But wait for the time when she cooks the 'blue soup', hilarious! In my mind I had Kate Winslet playing Bridget, Joanna Lumley playing the mother, and Hugh Grant playing Mr Darcy not Colin Firth. But as I've not seen it yet I'll not compare. Apparently, this is a reworking of 'Pride and Prejudice', not having read that book yet I can't confirm or deny, but if it's anything like this little belter it's next on my list. I'm reading the sequel at the mo, it's longer, has more swear words and the beginning is ab fab! One criticism is that she doesn't describe finding any grey hairs, now EVERYONE knows that you get paranoid about those - maybe she doesn't have them, All in all, even though it's a quick read, I loved it, I went straight into Waterstones to buy the sequel 'The Edge of Reason', and as soon as I've got enough courage to visit the cinema on my own, I'll be there!
Rating: 
Summary: A fun fluff read.
Review: This is good for a rainy afternoon...you will finish it in just a couple of hours though. Better than the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and Original Read!
Review: I aw the movie first and loved it and wanted to read the book. The book was just as funny and original as the movie, although slightly different.
Some of the scenes were a little different or longer in the book and I liked that. Other things were explained more in the novel which I was glad. Reading the trials and tribulations of a singleton thirty-something with boss problems and men problems and a little mix of mom and dad problems was a refreshing read from the usual fare of 'chick lit' I have been running across.
Alot of authors are trying to recreate the magic of Bridget Jones, but they fall short of the witty and most oftentimes hysterical turns of Ms Jones's life.
Bridget is unhappy with her weight, her job, her boss, her lovelife and her bad habits(drinking too much wine and smoking). Determined to do something about it after New Year's disasterous turkey curry buffet with her mom and dad and their friends, she sets herself up for a year of hysterical twists and turns that lead her into the next Christmas wondering what went wrong.
Written in diary format, we see everything from her point of view and how she thinks and operates. The secondary characters of Shazzer and Jude, Sharon, Daniel, Mark Darcy and Vile Richard(also in the movie) make many appearances in the book and add humor and many hours of laughter.
Well worth the read!!!
Rating:
Summary: Tick Tock Tick Tock
Review: If you lived the life of Bridget Jones, you would either go completely insane or definitely need a psychologist and weekly visits. Fortunately Bridget has a supportive group of friends who make sure she is still alive. Unfortunately everyone is asking her about her single life and wondering why she hasn't found her soul mate or had kids, etc. For some reason, I think Bridget would be proud of me for one time looking a relative in the eyes and asking them why they were always asking me about my sex life. Of course, they were only asking me when I was going to have kids. But after the 1 millionth time, I'd had it. So, I completely understand this part of Bridget's life. She calls married couples "smug marrieds." She has names for everyone. It is all very unique, although at times would probably shock even her mother. Bridget has a great sense of humor, which is why we love her. She seems to survive by smoking, drinking and occasionally having superb moments of absolute bliss. The contrast is at times alarming. I think the drinking is a bit obsessive and personally would not condone it. In a way it is funny to think of her stumbling about going to a party with a hangover and on the other hand, it is sad. If you think her life could not possibly get worse, wait until you listen to "The Edge of Reason" which has way more "lol" moments. She actually ends up in a foreign prison. Here it is her mother who seems to be having all the "fun?" Anyway, Bridget is a true romantic and has "wild fling with boss" only to discover he is not exactly all she thought. She soon learns to draw on her "inner bitch." She seems to have the desire to be a "sex kitten" and yet her truly romantic heart desires to find the lover of her dreams and settle down. The part where she lets the bathtub overflow was rather funny because one day I myself was living in a condo and saw water dripping down through a light and realized a similar fate. What a mess! Of course, she continues to strive for inner poise in all moments. If you have seen the movie, it is easier to imagine all the characters and it fills in the details the movie glosses over. The "blue soup" has to be one of the funniest moments. I love that I saw the movie first to fully appreciate this cooking disaster. The first half of this story is much better than the last half, which tends to drag on a bit with more details about her mother than herself. I enjoy reading diaries backwards. As in, reading the book from the next year first. In a way, it provides a different insight. You then realize why a person acted the way they did. I think "Edge of Reason" is funnier, because Bridget gets herself into the most awful predicaments and it allows her to really grow as a person and find deep revealing truths about life. Basic Plot Bridget loves Men
Men avoid Bridget for unknown reason
Bridget realizes men are human too and can't read minds
Men fall for Bridget because she turns into cute little flirt
Bridget learns happy-life lessons and moves on into blissful new year
Rating:
Summary: You think your life's bad?
Review: Poor Bridget, just can't seem to get any aspect of life right. Yet we as readers can't help but love her, mainly I think, because no matter how bad your life is, reading this book will make you feel better. You'll be laughing out loud at the predicaments Bridget manages to get herself into as well as the lunacy of some of the colorful characters in her life. Fielding's story is so effective because it's, unfortunately, universal. Most of us women can relate to Bridget's neurotic thought patterns, but what's great about this book is that, just when you think you know which way the downward spiral of her life is going, the story manages to surprise the reader with its tale. Read this book- you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be uplifted!
Rating:
Summary: Believe what you hear about this one
Review: Everyone is raving about Bridget Jones' Diary and with good reason! It's funny, entertaining and puts a great spin on the ups and downs of the single life. If you're one of the few people that has yet to be charmed by Bridget Jones, this is a great place to start. You really want to listen to all the hype on this one because it's just as good as they make it sound.
Rating:
Summary: Read it a million times...
Review: A friend loaned this to me, and I was a little cynical about it in the beginning. I'm not one who usually likes books written as diary enteries, so I'd always passed this one over. Now, five readings later, I love it and laugh outloud every time I read it. I love the sequel even more, and I find that the remake of Jane Austen's plots are hidden well enough in the story that you don't know for sure how it will all come out. Love Bridget, love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Calories: Nil; Laughs: Too Many to Count
Review: I never had the slightest interest in reading this book, having snobbily decided it was not worth my time. Had I not suddenly and with no particular reason changed my mind, I would have been the loser. Everybody knows by now that this is the story of a ditzy,30-something young Brit--and that the tale is told in a clever, sometimes side-splitting update of Pride and Prejudice, complete with a haughty but sexy Mister Darcy!! Bridget's outrageously inappropriate mother is the 90s version of Jane Austen's Mrs. Bennett; her horrible sleazoid boss Daniel is a perfect Mister Wickham; and Bridget? Well Bridget stands alone as just about the most enjoyable, funny, and good-hearted character we've seen in a long time. What can I say? This book is such a treat, I intend to buy it for all my heretofore snobby best friends who thought it was beneath their notice. VVG!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A VG (Stress Relief) Read
Review: Helen Fielding has amazing wit and insight into the most basic female concerns in this first Bridget Jones novel. While most of us--for sure--aren't as obsessive, compulsive, clumsy, or "screw-up" prone as Miss Bridget, we can relate to her, if even on the most basic of levels. We modern, young, singleton women can get along without a man JUST FINE, can provide for ourselves, and know that we are much more than just our looks and fat units consumed. We know this. We've been taught this. It's a part of who we are. To see the humor and absurdity, however, in how some females analyze situations to death is a fun poke at our gender. To see how modern women face the challenge of being modern, while fighting back some maybe not-so-modern ideas, (lurking behind a bolted door way back in our psyche--of course) is a topic that I enjoy seeing explored. This is a laugh out loud read, that anyone who's had at least one neurotic moment will enjoy. If you can't stop laughing afterwards, pick up "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" and keep the laughter coming!
Rating:
Summary: wheres the asprin?
Review: this book gave me a headache. The new charicters, the weird names, the whole word formation. But I guess that is normal for a book in diary form. It was funny, and made you feel for bridget. MUCH BETTER THEN THE MOVIE!
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