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225th out of 1,224 books
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3,045 voters
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination
At the close of the last millennium, Helen Fielding debuted the irrepressible (and blockbuster-bestselling) Bridget Jones. Now, Fielding gives us a sensational new heroine for a new era...Move over 007, a stunning, sexy-and decidedly female-new player has entered the world of international espionage. Her name is Olivia Joules (that’s "J.O.U.L.E.S. the unit of kinetic energ...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
April 26th 2005
by Penguin Books
(first published November 7th 2003)
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5 likes · like · see review
view all 6 comments
Damn. I never had so much fun without moving an inch. Bloody brilliant.
Helen Fielding is finally back with a brand new heroine - Olivia Joules. Olivia is instantly likeable: down-to-earth, smart, self-made, and armed and ready to go with her own set of insecurities.
As the title suggests, Olivia's seeming downfall is her overactive imagination. She is berated by her boss and friends equally for it, especially because, as a journalist, she's been known to botch up more than a few stories along the...more
Helen Fielding is finally back with a brand new heroine - Olivia Joules. Olivia is instantly likeable: down-to-earth, smart, self-made, and armed and ready to go with her own set of insecurities.
As the title suggests, Olivia's seeming downfall is her overactive imagination. She is berated by her boss and friends equally for it, especially because, as a journalist, she's been known to botch up more than a few stories along the...more
Try very hard not to compare to Bridget Jones because that one was just in a world by itself (I love laughing until I cry and it's one of VERY FEW that were successfully told on screen - Renee Zellwegger is perfect for that part!).
Okay, back to OJATOA (that title's too long to write!).
* Title: Too long but it's sort of part of the humor
* Hilariously NOT NOT NOT believable at all
* The main character stereotypes people in the most ridiculous ways - you want to just slap her on the head - I suspe...more
Okay, back to OJATOA (that title's too long to write!).
* Title: Too long but it's sort of part of the humor
* Hilariously NOT NOT NOT believable at all
* The main character stereotypes people in the most ridiculous ways - you want to just slap her on the head - I suspe...more
What I liked about this book is that it was a surprise. I don't understand why some readers berated this book for not being Bridget Jones' Diary. It was written by the same author who obviously wanted to write about something else for a change. I also enjoyed it because I've always had a secret desire for espionage.
I was expecting another chick-lit story, but was pleased to find myself reading a light-hearted comedic chick-lit spy thriller. It became hard to put down to prepare meals for my fami...more
I was expecting another chick-lit story, but was pleased to find myself reading a light-hearted comedic chick-lit spy thriller. It became hard to put down to prepare meals for my fami...more
I actually want to give this book three and a half stars. I picked it up because I really enjoyed the two Bridget Jones books (there some of the only books I've read that actually made me laugh out loud), and this is by the same author. Similar to the Bridget books, it's funny in an absurd kind of way, and I *did* enjoy the fact that this female lead was a bit less idiotic and hopeless (though lovable!) than Bridget. And yet this book just didn't have the same insight and sharp humor I expected...more
1 like · like · see review
May 28, 2013
Helen Moyes
added it
Light thriller, with great twists.
Olivia Joules either has an overactive imagination, or she is in danger.
The journalist turns female Bond/ grown up Nancy Drew, enjoying travel, survival skills, thrills & trying to work out who (if anyone) can be trusted.
And yet I could relate to the character from the 6 reasons she likes hotels, packing strategies,being accident prone, reflections on life to her 14 rules of living:
1.Never panic. Stop, breath, think
2.No one is thinking about you. They're thi...more
Olivia Joules either has an overactive imagination, or she is in danger.
The journalist turns female Bond/ grown up Nancy Drew, enjoying travel, survival skills, thrills & trying to work out who (if anyone) can be trusted.
And yet I could relate to the character from the 6 reasons she likes hotels, packing strategies,being accident prone, reflections on life to her 14 rules of living:
1.Never panic. Stop, breath, think
2.No one is thinking about you. They're thi...more
Ok, I'm pretty sure I've read the literary canon of Helen Fielding, and I can definitely say this was my least favorite. I think I didn't know enough about the book going in. After reading the book jacket blurbs, flaps, and covers, here were my expectations:
-a Bridget Jones book about a character that happened to have a different name
-something that would make me laugh out loud
-a light, fun read, with no al qaeda mentions what so ever.
*Spoiler Alert*
Had I read the description of the book on Good...more
-a Bridget Jones book about a character that happened to have a different name
-something that would make me laugh out loud
-a light, fun read, with no al qaeda mentions what so ever.
*Spoiler Alert*
Had I read the description of the book on Good...more
Last week I was having real reading trouble. Nothing on my TBR pile (either in paper books or e-books) inspired me, I was tired and run-down with a cold, I had next to no concentration, and what energy and concentration I did have I was using for work. I tried to read my current paperback, I tried a few things on my kindle, nothing was working. I needed something light and easy, and, well, I don’t usually go for light and easy, so there wasn’t anything of that type around.
However on Wednesday I...more
However on Wednesday I...more
1 like · like · see review
I read this novel twice in as many weeks, the first time zipping along sniffing the eccentric aromas of lovely silliness laced with adverbs about a pert blonde British freelance journalist with the essential ingredient for a M16 spy, an overactive imagination. Skimming along, oblivious of details, not looking for clues, I enjoyed what I presumed delightful nonsense although with the haunting suspicion of missing something.
So I read it again. With foreknowledge of important characters like the cl...more
So I read it again. With foreknowledge of important characters like the cl...more
Okay, disclaimer first: I effing LOVED Bridget Jones' Diary. And I loved the sequel even more (which is weird for me!). So, I was going in with crazy-high hopes for this one.
It's not that it disappointed... Because Fielding definitely still has the same fun, goofy, slightly awkward voice here that I loved so much in the Bridget series. And I do like that this one had a high-stakes plot, and excitement and action.
I think it's just that... the high-stakes plot and the lighthearted goofy-fun voice...more
It's not that it disappointed... Because Fielding definitely still has the same fun, goofy, slightly awkward voice here that I loved so much in the Bridget series. And I do like that this one had a high-stakes plot, and excitement and action.
I think it's just that... the high-stakes plot and the lighthearted goofy-fun voice...more
Rules for Living by Olivia Joules
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, "Does it rea...more
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, "Does it rea...more
‘Olivia Joules and the Over-Active Imagination’ is a stand-alone novel from ‘Bridget Jones’ author Helen Fielding.
I have read and enjoyed both Bridget Jones books and Helen Fielding’s previous novel, ‘Cause Celeb’. However, I was a little reticent about reading this as I thought that after her success with Bridget Jones, Fielding would continue in the same vein but would find it hard to recreate another character as individual and captivating as Bridget. I was pleasantly surprised; this turned o...more
I have read and enjoyed both Bridget Jones books and Helen Fielding’s previous novel, ‘Cause Celeb’. However, I was a little reticent about reading this as I thought that after her success with Bridget Jones, Fielding would continue in the same vein but would find it hard to recreate another character as individual and captivating as Bridget. I was pleasantly surprised; this turned o...more
Ma perché ogni protagonista della Fielding si ritrova cocaina nella valigia..?
(I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I got sunshiiine in a bag, I'm useless but not for looong the future is coming ooon is coming oooon is coming oooon..)
Scusate, è che ogni volta che si nomina la polvere bianca mi vengono in mente i Gorillaz.
Comunque mi sembra chiaro che Bridget Jones è la regina indiscussa delle chick-lit, non c'è storia - Sophie Kinsella? Ma chi è, pff - e Olivia Joules in confronto è una cacchetta.
S...more
(I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I got sunshiiine in a bag, I'm useless but not for looong the future is coming ooon is coming oooon is coming oooon..)
Scusate, è che ogni volta che si nomina la polvere bianca mi vengono in mente i Gorillaz.
Comunque mi sembra chiaro che Bridget Jones è la regina indiscussa delle chick-lit, non c'è storia - Sophie Kinsella? Ma chi è, pff - e Olivia Joules in confronto è una cacchetta.
S...more
Rules for Living by Olivia Joules
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or as good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, "Does it...more
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or as good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, "Does it...more
Olivia Joules and the overactive imagination is the second Helen Fielding book that I read after Bridget Jones' Diary and I must say I am sorely disappointed.
Olivia Joules is a Bitish beauty journalist who has high aspirations of becoming a foreign correspondent. She travels to Miami on an assignment where she meets the mysterious Pierre Feramo who she suspects of being Osama Bin Laden. A bit too far fetched but moving on, a mutual attraction develops between the two with Olivia trying hard to...more
Olivia Joules is a Bitish beauty journalist who has high aspirations of becoming a foreign correspondent. She travels to Miami on an assignment where she meets the mysterious Pierre Feramo who she suspects of being Osama Bin Laden. A bit too far fetched but moving on, a mutual attraction develops between the two with Olivia trying hard to...more
Olivia Joules is a feature writer for the Sunday Times, and longs for legitimacy and the coverage of a really big story. She's sent, instead, to Miami to cover the release of a perfume. There, she witnesses the sinking of a cruise ship described as a floating luxury apartment complex. Her overactive imagination serves her well in leading her straight into trouble.
I did like Olivia, and I did enjoy the narrative of this story, but I also found it lacking in ways that detracted from my enjoyment....more
I did like Olivia, and I did enjoy the narrative of this story, but I also found it lacking in ways that detracted from my enjoyment....more
As a big fan of the Bridget Jones Diary books, I was eager to plunge into "Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination." It looked like a fun romp.
Olivia has reinvented herself from the orphaned girl Rachel Pixley, and now that she has created this new persona, she is trying hard to make the switch in her career from style features to hard-core journalism. Once she has accomplished this task, she is determined to find adventure in all the exciting places of the world.
When Olivia takes off on a...more
Olivia has reinvented herself from the orphaned girl Rachel Pixley, and now that she has created this new persona, she is trying hard to make the switch in her career from style features to hard-core journalism. Once she has accomplished this task, she is determined to find adventure in all the exciting places of the world.
When Olivia takes off on a...more
This book is about Olivia, a daring journalist who gets involved with Al-Qaeda and the MI6 while making her own inquiries on a mysterious man named Pierre Feramo. Of course the story lather up between parties, airports and scuba-diving.
This book is well written, the plot goes steady, the character are well portrayed.
There's a bit of fun, of unpredictability, of goofiness. There is also romance, suspense, action but all in a very lighthearted tone.
What i like the most about this author is that...more
This book is well written, the plot goes steady, the character are well portrayed.
There's a bit of fun, of unpredictability, of goofiness. There is also romance, suspense, action but all in a very lighthearted tone.
What i like the most about this author is that...more
Ah, gifts from family memebers who assume because you read every time they look at you, that you will like the books they do. Note: This has never worked for me.
Olivia Joules is the almost-standard British journalist, like a skinnier, more imaginitive Jemima J. She has possibly the most overactive imagination ever, and imagines herself a bit like Emma Peel or James Bond. She sees conspiracies and drama everywhere. She never goes anywhere without her Rules For Life which she repeats over and ove...more
Olivia Joules is the almost-standard British journalist, like a skinnier, more imaginitive Jemima J. She has possibly the most overactive imagination ever, and imagines herself a bit like Emma Peel or James Bond. She sees conspiracies and drama everywhere. She never goes anywhere without her Rules For Life which she repeats over and ove...more
I read this book because Helen Fielding is great and I really loved the Bridget Jones books, so imagine my surprise when I saw a book written by her with a new heroine. I was skeptical at first, but after I finished it Olivia Joules (and her overactive imagination!) really won me over.
Olivia Joules is such a darling - I've never read a more likable heroine. She's a journalist with an overactive imagination, which sometimes can be a hindrance to her work but in the events that follow an assignmen...more
Olivia Joules is such a darling - I've never read a more likable heroine. She's a journalist with an overactive imagination, which sometimes can be a hindrance to her work but in the events that follow an assignmen...more
I was drawn to this book since I loved Bridget Jones, adore South Beach, and have been accused of having an overactive imgination, but I was sorely disappointed. I found it over-the-top and silly. It completely lacked the absurdity-meets-reality of the Bridget Jones books.
It made me wonder if Fielding is one of those authors who should stick to writing only what they know.
It made me wonder if Fielding is one of those authors who should stick to writing only what they know.
Mar 09, 2011
Janny
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
english-reading,
read-2011
The cover: Enter Olivia Joules, fearless, dazzling, independent beauty-journalist turned master-spy - a new heroine for the twenty-first century. In Miami for a face-cream launch, she spots Pierre Ferramo across a room. Dangerously charismatic and undeniably gorgeous, with impeccable taste, unimaginable wealth and exotic international homes, he seems almost too good to be true. But what if Ferramo is actually a major terrorist bent on destruction, hiding behind an smokescreen of fine wines, yach...more
This was Helen Fielding's follow-up to her successful Bridget Jones series. To be honest, Fielding seems to be most successful when she is borrowing Jane Austen's plot (i.e. Pride and Prejudice in Bridget Jones). In this novel her plot is convoluted and her new heroine is silly. Olivia Joules is Bridget Jones, only thinner, prettier and richer. In a average girl like Bridget, self-destructive good intentions are cute and sympathetic. However, Olivia Joules comes off as just plain air-headed and...more
Bridget Jones meets James Bond — result: Olivia Joules (that’s “J.O.U.L.E.S. the unit of kinetic energy”), another character of Helen Fielding’s fantastic mind. In the mood for an easy read and hilarious story? Pick up this book and you’ll have a great couple of days.
After these positive lines I feel the need to say that this is really not a Bridget follow up. For me this book is not as good as the first Bridget Jones book. The characters are a little more flat and two-dimensiona...more
After these positive lines I feel the need to say that this is really not a Bridget follow up. For me this book is not as good as the first Bridget Jones book. The characters are a little more flat and two-dimensiona...more
Well. I'm not sure quite how I feel about this book. It was shallow. It was mildly fun. It was predictable. It was unrealistic. It definitely wasn't a book I couldn't put down, as some other reviewers said. It was just "meh".
I didn't like Olivia, the main character. After the parents died, she reinvented herself and changed her name to "Olivia Joules". She taught herself Spanish, French, and Arabic and became a journalist dying to cover a deep story but always stuck in the Style section. Someho...more
I didn't like Olivia, the main character. After the parents died, she reinvented herself and changed her name to "Olivia Joules". She taught herself Spanish, French, and Arabic and became a journalist dying to cover a deep story but always stuck in the Style section. Someho...more
I quite liked this book. Like so many, I picked it up from the library (years ago, not too long after it came out) as a teenager, curious to see what else the author of Bridget Jones's Diary had written.
I enjoyed this book enough to hunt it down again years later, but you have to take it at face value. There is absolutely nothing serious about this novel and if you go in expecting something as zeitgeisty as Bridget Jones's Diary, you will probably be disappointing. I think Fielding went into th...more
I enjoyed this book enough to hunt it down again years later, but you have to take it at face value. There is absolutely nothing serious about this novel and if you go in expecting something as zeitgeisty as Bridget Jones's Diary, you will probably be disappointing. I think Fielding went into th...more
This was an audio book for me and I enjoyed it although I did find myself zoning out when the detail of what she was thinking or doing got too repetitious.
With the irrepressible Bridget Jones, bestselling author Helen Fielding created an unforgettable one-of-a-kind female character beloved by millions the world over. Now, Fielding gives us a sensational new heroine for a new era. From the white heat of Miami to the implants of L.A., from the glittering waters of the Caribbean to the scorching d...more
With the irrepressible Bridget Jones, bestselling author Helen Fielding created an unforgettable one-of-a-kind female character beloved by millions the world over. Now, Fielding gives us a sensational new heroine for a new era. From the white heat of Miami to the implants of L.A., from the glittering waters of the Caribbean to the scorching d...more
Cannot begin to say how much I hated this book. I had to finish it, because I always finish books I start, even if I don't like them. But, it was torturous and I actually threw the book across the room when I was done. I was appalled to have paid for it. I couldn't even bring myself to put it in with the other books I ended up donating. I threw it in the garbage where it belonged. Not only was it just bad writing and bad characters, but Bin Laden? Al Qaeda? Really??? I don't care if it is just a...more
Sep 18, 2007
Pamela W
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
No living creature
Shelves:
abandoned
Ok, I was desperate for entertainment on the long commute and picked up the audio book of this from my neighborhood library. Sadly, I would rather endure road rage than listen to this drivel. It was that bad. Really.
1 like · like · see review
I loved Bridget Jones' Diary so I found the author's latest book thoroughly disappointing. I didn't connect with the characters, her adventures were ludicrous and silly and frankly, I wanted to slap her. Bah.
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Helen Fielding (born 19 February 1958 in Morley, West Yorkshire) is an English author, best known as the author of the novel Bridget Jones's Diary (winner of the 1998 British Book of the Year award) and its sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason. In 2003, she was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.
Olivia Joules and The Overactive Imagination, a spoof on the s...more
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“Rules for Living by Olivia Joules
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, "Does it really matter?"
8. The key to success lies in how you pick yourself up from failure.
9. Be honest and kind.
10. Only buy clothes that make you feel like doing a small dance.
11. Trust your instincts, not your overactive imagination.
12. When overwhelmed by disaster, check if it's really a disaster by doing the following: (a) think, "Oh, fuck it," (b) look on the bright side, and if that doesn't work, look on the funny side. If neither of the above works then maybe it is a disaster so turn to items 1 and 4.
13. Don't expect the world to be safe or life to be fair.”
—
196 people liked it
1. Never panic. Stop, breathe, think.
2. No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.
3. Never change haircut or color before an important event.
4. Nothing is either as bad or good as it seems.
5. Do as you would be done by, e.g. thou shalt not kill.
6. It is better to buy one expensive thing that you really like than several cheap ones that you only quite like.
7. Hardly anything matters: if you get upset, ask yourself, "Does it really matter?"
8. The key to success lies in how you pick yourself up from failure.
9. Be honest and kind.
10. Only buy clothes that make you feel like doing a small dance.
11. Trust your instincts, not your overactive imagination.
12. When overwhelmed by disaster, check if it's really a disaster by doing the following: (a) think, "Oh, fuck it," (b) look on the bright side, and if that doesn't work, look on the funny side. If neither of the above works then maybe it is a disaster so turn to items 1 and 4.
13. Don't expect the world to be safe or life to be fair.”
“No one is thinking about you. They're thinking about themselves, just like you.”
—
3 people liked it
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