This was SUCH a FUN book to read. I read it in December - when family/holiday shit and self worth is really taking a beating. So to pick up this book and read about her holiday get togethers and her weight and smoking issues and family issues - and how she can make an ass out of herself in such a grand grand manner....well - it was just what I needed. To be able to sympathise and laugh at the same time? Priceless!

|| 2.0 stars ||

If you’re in the mood for a book about a pathetic and self-absorbed woman who does nothing but moan about how unattractive and fat she is (even though she isn’t), who has no sense of self-worth unrelated to what men think of her, and who is surrounded by other awful and unlikable people, then this is the perfect book for you!

The grammar was also absolutely appalling, and it was sometimes barely readable. I understand that this was done on purpose to create a quirky ‘diary effect’, but knowing that really didn’t make it any less annoying to have to try to decipher what I was even reading.

Also, Daniel is a huge piece of shit and I can’t believe I was supposed to be rooting for a main character who was hopelessly in love with someone like that.
However, it did get better after Mark got fully introduced as a potential love interest, because honestly… Mark is just a better man in any way, shape or form, and, best of all, he seems to be actually interested in Bridget, rather than just using her and treating her like a trashy harlot like Daniel did.

Anyway, I’m guessing some people may find Bridget relatable and that is probably why it has been such a popular book, but luckily I am not one of those people, so there was unfortunately not much left for me to enjoy here.

All in all, I can say I find this to be a very overhyped book with many flaws, but at least I did think the second half was better than the first. It even got a few laughs out of me at that point.

Let's review this book the Bridget way!
Reading goal for 2011: 35 books (not bad)
Books actually read: 38(v.g.)
No. of chick-lits supposed to be read in a year: 1 (fair)
No. of chick-lits actually read: 2 (including Bridget Jones's Diary )
But wait a second! Who can call Bridget Jones's Diary a chick-lit? That would be an insult to such a master-piece! No, Bridget is no wannabe chick-lit heroine and this book is certainly no trashy best-seller! Bridget Jones's Diary is definitely a piece of literature! It is well written, it's funny and it is extremely relate-able. Bridget, like most girls, tends to make mistakes, fall in love with the wrong guy and she gives an all new twist to the story of 'Pride and Prejudice' . In a way, it is a work of plagiarism and yet, it has the quality of being original! It is at once the biggest tribute to Austen and one of the most successful experiments on creating a story which has its own elements of uniqueness and surprise!
And the best thing about this book is, you don't want to believe Bridget is not real! It's like Santa Claus or Hogwarts all over again!
Yes, I know I can't stop gushing over it but trust me, had this book been anything like the usual chick-lits, I most certainly wouldn't have given it a five-star rating! Of course, I approached it gingerly and rather hesitantly at first but once I was done, I felt like banging my head against the wall asking, "Why didn't I read it before when I had the e-book lying with me for the last three years?"
But I guess I had to borrow it from Gayatri and then spend an entire fortnight gushing over it!
Do I recommend it to you? Hell, yeah, I do!

When reading this I automatically thought this was my diary. I too love food and binge eat and drink and sing to women empowering music when drunk. I too had an office relationship that was more between the sheets than a Disney movie. I too curse like it's my first language and have wacky friends. Basically, Helen Fielding gets it and I love it. I recommend reading this when you need a good laugh (especially while binge eating and drinking). Also, see the movie because it's one of my favorites.

Świetnie się bawiłam i wydaje mi się, że jednak szybko sięgnę po kolejne tomy!

Bridget Jones's Diary is a book I thought I never would bother to read. I’ve seen the movies, they were fun when they came out, but they didn’t age well. But then, a reading challenge came along.

I knew going in this would be a different experience than what I’ve become accustomed to these last few years of reading. Our modern books strive to be “better” than before. Both authors and readers alike have grown to have a better understanding of people, mental health, and the importance of inclusivity. All of which I’m eternally grateful for. Because like I believe that surrounding yourself with people that are good for you will lead to a better life. Consuming media that is free of toxic thinking will also improve your overall wellbeing.

That being said:
I’m still a millennial.

n  n

I grew up reading girls’ magazines promoting diets, and shaming celebrities for their cellulite while on the next page shaming them for trying to fix the problems these magazines put on blast. All the “top 10 tips on how to make a guy fall for you” lists, that exclusively featured advice on how to degrade and change yourself to avoid the horrible status of “single”.

Because the early 00s was a battleground of two opposite ideals: The burgeoning third-wave feminism that came as a result of women joining the workforce an mass. And the old “wife and mother” first sentiment that has been the norm for so long. So we now had all this money to use on ourselves, and we spent them trying to be pretty for a man, and also on books on feminism. Because like… we knew we should care? I think? Oh shoot, a new episode of sex in the city!

n  n

And all this just made this book feel like coming home. Bridget’s obsession with acquiring the “heroin chic” look of the late 90’s, her shame for not having a _real_ career, but at the same time admiring her stay-at-home mom friends. And the book really explores the dichotomy of this era. Her mom is fed up after her husband retires and still won’t help in the house, but still being portrayed as a villain for doing so. All this just speaks to me on a deeper level, this is how I’ve been raised to think, to feel. So even though it’s not something I still want to relate to, I can’t stop myself from doing so.

n  n

I like to think I’ve grown as a person by recognizing why so much of this book is out of date, and problematic. But I don’t think we can ever escape the nostalgia of our childhood and teens. It will feel like a childhood home, even though the family has moved since then. So for that, I believe this book deserves its place in history for capturing a way of thought and living so well.

Bonus points: The Pride and Prejudice homage. Jane Austen will never go out of style.
n  n

2023 edit: Just listened to the entire audiobook while doing a 500-piece puzzle and burning a pumpkin candle. These are my wild Saturday nights these days. No regrets.

Okay - I learned a few things from this book and I didn't think I would. For me, Ive been doing some pretty heavy reading over the past few weeks -- SWIMMING by Hershon, THE AMBER SPYGLASS bu Pullman. I wanted a break from all that was hard. I wanted to simply read and laugh a little and enjoy a lot. I picked BRIDGET JONES' DIARY because I hoped to read and not engage my intellect too much. Durr...

I really, really liked this book, for a number of reasons. Characters that I could relate to -- weighing oneself every single day. Mooning over a guy and obsessing to the point where you get no work done at work, friends who protect and love you and sometimes lie to you.

I thought it probably was a pretty honest assessment of single people in the 1990's. I can't be sure since I haven't been single in over 22 years.

This book made me laugh, kept me turning the pages (on my beautiful new SONY E BOOK and kept me interested in Bridget and her group of friends. So, I'm taking anther step and reading the sequel. Very telling because this is not necessarily my favorite genre.

Oh yes, it also made me interested in reading other books by English authors. None of the above are bad things.


And no - 120-130 pounds is NOT FAT!

I absolutely adore Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary, but while I do oh so much both love and appreciate Bridget as a character (as a fictional diarist), I have NOT ever believed that her weight is in any way morbidly obese (although I guess that she does show a rather limited and unhealthy diet, and a copious and yes even perhaps pretty dubious amount of alcohol consumption).

Now in my opinion, much of the charm of this novel, of what makes Bridget Jones's Diary so readable and approachable, is that many of Bridget's little and not so little peccadilloes are true for so many of us, and that it therefore tends to feel both encouraging and charmingly heartening to know that we are indeed not alone. But I do have to wonder a bit if rereading this book (after almost eighteen years) would change my general attitudes towards Bridget Jones, and actually, I have so far steadfastly refused to reread, as I do have a more than sneaking suspicion that I might now be more than a bit less tolerant (towards both the novel and author Helen Fielding) than I was then, and would rather keep intact the sense of fun, enjoyment and yes, love, that enveloped me on my first and so far only read (for I was also reading this in 1998, right after having finally handed in my PhD dissertation and boy, did I ever need something light and fluffy, and Bridget Jones's Diary most delightfully and totally fit the proverbial bill).

Didn't know what to expect when picked the book up on spec. Ended up laughing out loud so often, my husband allowed me to read bits to him -- and he laughed just as much! (Now, this was a while ago, of course!)

Filmą mačiau prieš kokį milijoną metų ir, jei atvirai, visiškai jo neatsimenu. O ir knyga anksčiau nepakliuvo į mano akiratį. Vienoje fb grupėje dairiausi linksmų knygų rekomendacijų, norėjosi kažko atpalaiduojančio, šmaikštaus. Vienas iš pasiūlymų ir buvo ši knyga. Ji tokia kasdieniška, reali bei tikroviška, kupina šmaikščių dialogų ir humoro. Mane iš karto užkabino. Bridžitos nepamilti neįmanoma. Nors kartais jos elgesys vertė vartyti akis, tačiau man ji pasirodė tokia sava, ir aš ja slapta žavėjausi. Ko tikrai negaliu pasakyti apie jos mamą.

Hated Bridget Jones and her diary. Found her to be an annoying ,whining , self centered female who thinks that not having a boyfriend is the ultimate calamity in life. Went on with it in the hope that at some point I may identify with her but alas....