Bridget Jones’s Diaries, Bridget Jones: the edge of reason and Bridget Jones: Mad about the boy by Helen Fielding

Welcome to the forgotten shelf. This is day 5!
Watch the video for today, here or here.

Bridget Jones’s Diary in short
Meet Bridget Jones —a 30-something Singleton who is certain she would have all the answers if she could:
a. lose 7 pounds
b. stop smoking
c. develop Inner Poise
“129 lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in the middle of the night? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier? Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes 21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)…”

“Bridget Jones’ Diary” is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget’s permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement — a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult – and learn to program the VCR.

Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic. Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and — like millions of readers the world round — you’ll find yourself shouting, “Bridget Jones is me!”
I got this information here

Bridget Jones: the edge of reason in short
Lurching from the cappuccino bars of Notting Hill to the blissed-out shores of Thailand, Bridget Jones searches for The Truth in spite of pathetically unevolved men, insane dating theories, and Smug Married advice (“‘I’m just calling to say in the potty! In the potty! Well, do it in Daddy’s hand, then!'”). She experiences a zeitgeist-esque Spiritual Epiphany somewhere between the pages of “How to Find the Love You Want Without Seeking It” (“can self-help books really self help?”), protective custody, and a lightly chilled Chardonnay.
I got this information here.

Bridget Jones: Mad about the boy
Bridget Jones—one of the most beloved characters in modern literature (v.g.)—is back! In Helen Fielding’s wildly funny, hotly anticipated new novel, Bridget faces a few rather pressing questions:
What do you do when your girlfriend’s sixtieth birthday party is the same day as your boyfriend’s thirtieth?
Is it better to die of Botox or die of loneliness because you’re so wrinkly?
Is it wrong to lie about your age when online dating?
Is it morally wrong to have a blow-dry when one of your children has head lice?
Is it normal to be too vain to put on your reading glasses when checking your toy boy for head lice?
Does the Dalai Lama actually tweet or is it his assistant?
Is it normal to get fewer followers the more you tweet?

Is technology now the fifth element? Or is that wood?
If you put lip plumper on your hands do you get plump hands?

Is sleeping with someone after two dates and six weeks of texting the same as getting married after two meetings and six months of letter writing in Jane Austen’s day?

Pondering these and other modern dilemmas, Bridget Jones stumbles through the challenges of loss, single motherhood, tweeting, texting, technology, and rediscovering her sexuality in—Warning! Bad, outdated phrase approaching!—middle age.

In a triumphant return after fourteen years of silence, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is timely, tender, touching, page-turning, witty, wise, outrageous, and bloody hilarious.
I got this information here.

My Thoughts
As I said in the video, the films were better, although I haven’t seen the final film. I thought the book had some interesting bits. But I found the constant talk about Bridget’s weight off-putting. Also, I am not sure how short she was, but if she had an average height for a British woman, then she still was quite small.

It makes the book also feel quite dated, and although the film does mention this too and even though the problem is the same, it feels less overwhelming as it’s not mentioned as much as in the book. Where it is mentioned for each new entry.

I also felt the last book was quite sad. I wanted better for Bridget, which made me also not want to watch the film.

That was the forgotten shelf for today. I’ll see you tomorrow.