Bridget Jones's Diary

USA Today's top 100 books to read while stuck at home social distancing

The iconic #1 bestseller by Helen Fielding; Bridget Jones is now the inspiration for the September 2016 Working Title film release of Bridget Jones's Baby, starring Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, Patrick Dempsey and Emma Thompson.

Bridget Jones's Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton on a permanent doomed quest for self-improvement. Caught between the joys of Singleton fun, and the fear of dying alone and being found three weeks later half eaten by an Alsatian; tortured by Smug Married friends asking, "How's your love life?" with lascivious, yet patronizing leers, Bridget 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. With a blend of flighty charm, existential gloom, and endearing self-deprecation, Bridget Jones's Diary has touched a raw nerve with millions of readers the world round. Read it and laugh-before you cry, "Bridget Jones is me!"

Helen Fielding is the author of Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, and Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries. She was part of the screenwriting team on the associated movies. She has two children and…

This is one of my all time favourite books. I love its style with its humour, self-deprecation and cleverness. I love how this book is relatable and, while funny, it also makes you think about modern day women's issues.

How can you not love Bridget Jones? She's funny, sad, and thoughtful. The whole story is a wonderful love story full of disasters all the way.