Monday, May 10, 2010

Out on A Limb: Bridget Jones's Diary

I've always put off reading Bridget Jones's Diary because I thought it wasn't "my type" of book.  But Deb of Book Magic recently convinced me that I should give it a shot and since I have been in a bit of a reading rut and I needed to try something new, I grabbed this one last time I was at the library.  Helen Fielding's first Bridget Jones book turned out to be a welcome break from my reading about the past and I'm looking forward to finding out more about Bridget's future.

If you haven't read this one yet, it's a modern day Londoner's diary about trying to lose weight, avoid the pressures of an overbearing mother and find a good man.  She succeeds in one of these!  She's a bit sloppy, a terrible cook and a bad dresser.  But she's also witty, honest and a loyal friend.

I didn't entirely love Bridget but I certainly see the appeal of this book for many and I am just a bit curious about where she goes from this point in her life.  If I have to read chick lit, it's going to be about Bridget Jones!

I have decided to count this for Challenge Seven of the Take Another Chance Challenge --
Challenge 7: Break A Prejudice
We all have reading prejudices--authors we don't like, genres we don't like, or even publishers we don't like. For this challenge, think of a reading prejudice you have and then find a book that is an example of this type of book. Read the book and then write about the reading prejudice you had BEFORE you read the book and how reading the book either changed your prejudice or reinforced it.
I was rather unwilling to pick up anything that was chick lit but I now feel like there is probably a subset of the genre that fits with my reading tastes.

Book reviews written 1 (v.g.),
K


Support our site and buy Bridget Jones's Diary on Amazon or find it at your local library. We borrowed our copy from the library.

12 comments:

  1. I put aside my prejudice and gave it a go too. It is obviously light reading but quite palatable if you accept that.

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  2. It's one of those books where the movie is definitely better! I've read a couple of 'chick-lit' (hate that term!) books, but I just can't see the appeal, they are the literary equivalent of watching a TV soap.

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  3. I'm not a fan of "chick lit" as a rule either, but I enjoy this one well enough - I think partly because I have Colin Firth in mind when I'm reading it! :P

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  4. This is definitely a book I have yet to pick up due to the same reasons you had. In fact, I've never even seen the movie! Maybe I'll add it to my future reading list.

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  5. I quite loved this book when I read it last year, mainly because I identified a lot with Bridget on some things. Plus the humor in the book was pretty appealing! I'm glad you gave this a try!

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  6. Not my kind of book, but I absolutely loved it. Ate it up.

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  7. This is a pretty good choice to break your prejudice with ... it wasn't as bad as you expected!!!

    I like it well enough but didn't FALL IN LOVE with it.

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  8. As chick lit goes, I think this really is one of the best (not that I read much chick lit). Bridget is a good, well-rounded character and the book is fun without making fun. I did not, however, like the second book at all. I could understand some of Bridget's paranoia and insecurity in the first book, but it got ridiculous in the second. It's like she grew down instead of growing up.

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  9. I read this and kinda liked it. It's not really my thing either, but it was pretty good.

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  10. I am light years away from BJ in terms of personality, lifestyle, etc. but I thought this book was simply wonderful, and laughed and even cried at times. The follow on didn't work for me, and I ended up skimming it, though the BJ interview with Colin Firth is one of the funniest things I've ever read.

    Here's to toppling our literary prejudices!

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  11. Jux - Exactly. It was a nice break to some more serious reading that I've been doing lately.

    Tracy - I actually haven't seen the film but I think I will try it soon.

    Jenny - Yeah, I pretty much have Colin Firth in mind all of the time. ;)

    Claudia - I haven't seen the movie either and now I'm wondering how it compares. I'm not a huge Renee Zellweger fan though -- which is why I haven't watched it yet.

    aths - I think it was hard for me to relate to the book because I was never really in the dating scene. But I enjoyed it anyway!

    Rose City - I wouldn't have guessed that you were a fan of this one but I love it!

    Jenners - That's how I felt too -- liked but didn't love it.

    Teresa - True ... I think that her plight was taken seriously in the book even while being light-hearted. But now I'm not sure about the second one!

    Paige - Totally.

    Jane - It's almost always worth trying something new, isn't it?

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  12. I just picked up a book in this exact genre for this exact challenge!! I've actually read this book (years ago!) and just thought it was okay.

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