What do you think?
Rate this book
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination
interesting
Paperback
First published November 1, 2003
141 people are currently reading
4680 people want to read
About the author
Helen Fielding
90 books5,135 followersHelen Fielding was born in Yorkshire. She worked for many years in London as a newspaper and TV journalist, travelling as wildly and as often as possibly to Africa, India and Central America. She is the author of four novels: Cause Celeb, Bridget Jones’ s Diary, Bridget Jones:The Edge of Reason and Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination, and co-wrote the screenplays for the movie of Bridget Jones’s Diary and the sequel based on The Edge of Reason. She now works full-time as a novelist and screenwriter and lives in London and Los Angeles.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 933 reviews
March 10, 2009
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 way.
So this time, when a story about a possible major terrorist bent on the Western world's destruction waltzes in and invites her to his exclusive dinner party, she has to force herself not to get carried away.
Olivia's adventures in the name of journalism take her all over the world, armed with nothing but her wits, her quick thinking, her Survival Tin, and her Rules for Living.
The book starts dragging at some point, but when it finally gets out of that rut, it takes off again. I think that in this type of book - all about adventure and mystery - things have to happen fast, almost one of top of another, or it begins to drag. It becomes a bit unbelievable at certain points, but you can't fault it because it just goes with the storyline - and you need to have big imagination to keep up.
You might even learn a thing or two:
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 good or as bad 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, but 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.
14. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
Added during her adventures:
15. Don't regret anything. Remember there wasn't anything else that could have happened, given who you were and the state of the world at that moment. The only thing you can change is the present, so learn from the past.
16. If you start regretting something and thinking, "I should have done..." always add, "but then I might have been run over by a lorry or blown up by a Japanese-manned torpedo."
Advice for Life:
"I don't feel good," she said.
"Bloody good thing too," he said. "Never feel good. The corruption of the good by the belief in their own infallible goodness is the most bloody dangerous pitfall in the human spectrum. Once you have conquered all your sins, pride is the one which will conquer you. A man starts off deciding he is a good man because he makes good decisions. Next thing, he's convinved that whatever decision he makes must be good beacuse he's a good man. Most of the wars in the world are caused by people who think they have God on their side. Always stick with people who know they are flawed and ridiculous."
Highly recommended for a fun time.
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 way.
So this time, when a story about a possible major terrorist bent on the Western world's destruction waltzes in and invites her to his exclusive dinner party, she has to force herself not to get carried away.
Olivia's adventures in the name of journalism take her all over the world, armed with nothing but her wits, her quick thinking, her Survival Tin, and her Rules for Living.
The book starts dragging at some point, but when it finally gets out of that rut, it takes off again. I think that in this type of book - all about adventure and mystery - things have to happen fast, almost one of top of another, or it begins to drag. It becomes a bit unbelievable at certain points, but you can't fault it because it just goes with the storyline - and you need to have big imagination to keep up.
You might even learn a thing or two:
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 good or as bad 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, but 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.
14. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
Added during her adventures:
15. Don't regret anything. Remember there wasn't anything else that could have happened, given who you were and the state of the world at that moment. The only thing you can change is the present, so learn from the past.
16. If you start regretting something and thinking, "I should have done..." always add, "but then I might have been run over by a lorry or blown up by a Japanese-manned torpedo."
Advice for Life:
"I don't feel good," she said.
"Bloody good thing too," he said. "Never feel good. The corruption of the good by the belief in their own infallible goodness is the most bloody dangerous pitfall in the human spectrum. Once you have conquered all your sins, pride is the one which will conquer you. A man starts off deciding he is a good man because he makes good decisions. Next thing, he's convinved that whatever decision he makes must be good beacuse he's a good man. Most of the wars in the world are caused by people who think they have God on their side. Always stick with people who know they are flawed and ridiculous."
Highly recommended for a fun time.
September 7, 2020
In my opinion, approximately the first two thirds of the book lacked a solid plot and to complete this one you need to be incredibly patient because it starts falling together towards the end only. It's like a scrambled puzzle since the start and then very slowly, agonizingly slowly, we reach the part where it starts making sense.
Also the thoughts of the main character Olivia are quite far fetched at times, like too far fetched. It's one thing to be over imaginative but another to be delusional. At times only though.
I liked the ending little too much.
PS: It's just because I have a thing for special agents and CIA, FBI, detectives.
Though if you are on a mindless reading spree, go for it.
Also the thoughts of the main character Olivia are quite far fetched at times, like too far fetched. It's one thing to be over imaginative but another to be delusional. At times only though.
I liked the ending little too much.
PS: It's just because I have a thing for special agents and CIA, FBI, detectives.
Though if you are on a mindless reading spree, go for it.
May 19, 2012
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 close-cropped blond and the hairy bellboy, I listed them, noting on which page they appeared and reappeared. Like Olivia Joules I googled my suspicions. Takfiri are in fact followers of Takfir wal Hijira. Popayan is a colonial city in Colombia, not one of the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras, yet Helen Fielding captured the ambiance of those islands as I know it. (I lived in La Ceiba for seven years.)
On second reading I paused to consider the subtext on frivolity, arrogance and despite and appreciated that Ms. Fielding didn't explain the technicalities of scuba diving. In the end I resolved to respect pert ladies with overactive imaginations and listen to their stories. They're not as farfetched as they seem.
So I read it again. With foreknowledge of important characters like the close-cropped blond and the hairy bellboy, I listed them, noting on which page they appeared and reappeared. Like Olivia Joules I googled my suspicions. Takfiri are in fact followers of Takfir wal Hijira. Popayan is a colonial city in Colombia, not one of the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras, yet Helen Fielding captured the ambiance of those islands as I know it. (I lived in La Ceiba for seven years.)
On second reading I paused to consider the subtext on frivolity, arrogance and despite and appreciated that Ms. Fielding didn't explain the technicalities of scuba diving. In the end I resolved to respect pert ladies with overactive imaginations and listen to their stories. They're not as farfetched as they seem.
September 2, 2015
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 family, do laundry, you know the mundane everyday tasks that prevent us from reading. I just wanted to find out "who dunnit". I'm proud to say that I only peeked at the last page for a second because toward the end of the book the story was so suspenseful.
I finished this book at 2:30 AM today (don't comment - I know I'm crazy) and I liked it a lot. It was a spy thriller with a humorous and light-hearted story line with some romance, travel tips, scuba diving scenarios, spy equipment, etc. I loved the quirkiness of the heroine of the book, Olivia aka Rachel, who is a journalist with a sad story. She carries a survival kit wherever she goes as well as a hat pin (as her mother instructed) to protect herself. She's covering a story in Miami when a terrorist attack occurs and she finds herself in the middle of it. She suspects her recent aquaintance Pierre, a rich playboy who's bringing it on strong, of being involved in the attack and sets out to prove his connection to the tragedy. Her quest to get to the bottom of things takes her on an adventure with some serious perils and romantic entanglements that keep the story interesting and fast-paced.
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 family, do laundry, you know the mundane everyday tasks that prevent us from reading. I just wanted to find out "who dunnit". I'm proud to say that I only peeked at the last page for a second because toward the end of the book the story was so suspenseful.
I finished this book at 2:30 AM today (don't comment - I know I'm crazy) and I liked it a lot. It was a spy thriller with a humorous and light-hearted story line with some romance, travel tips, scuba diving scenarios, spy equipment, etc. I loved the quirkiness of the heroine of the book, Olivia aka Rachel, who is a journalist with a sad story. She carries a survival kit wherever she goes as well as a hat pin (as her mother instructed) to protect herself. She's covering a story in Miami when a terrorist attack occurs and she finds herself in the middle of it. She suspects her recent aquaintance Pierre, a rich playboy who's bringing it on strong, of being involved in the attack and sets out to prove his connection to the tragedy. Her quest to get to the bottom of things takes her on an adventure with some serious perils and romantic entanglements that keep the story interesting and fast-paced.
December 23, 2007
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 suspec this was the author's intention so when you keep that in mind, it's pretty funny to see how stupid our main character can be and how her stupidity gets her into the most interesting situations. Okay, perhaps stupid is harsh - she most certainly does have an overactive imagination though.
Overall, it's funny and cliche and goofy - a very very very easy read.
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 suspec this was the author's intention so when you keep that in mind, it's pretty funny to see how stupid our main character can be and how her stupidity gets her into the most interesting situations. Okay, perhaps stupid is harsh - she most certainly does have an overactive imagination though.
Overall, it's funny and cliche and goofy - a very very very easy read.
April 14, 2007
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.
May 18, 2016
Just remembered I wrote this review back in 2007:
I was interested to see how a writer of such iconic books [Bridget Jones] would do outside her established area of success. Fielding obviously set out to make this book quite different: besides the occasionally omniscient third-person narration, Olivia is extremely unlike Bridget: focused on her career rather than finding love, and socially confident as well as secure in her looks. She's competent, skilled, and globally-minded. Instead of a romantic comedy, this is an occasionally comedic espionage thriller, starring Olivia the journalist as she uses her female intuition and social skills to investigate an al-Qaeda terrorism plot in a post-9/11 world of glitterati and hippie divers.
(as bizarre as that summary is, it gets bizarre-er. spoilers but you don't want to read this book anyway, don't worry.)
PROBLEMS:
1. The narration is terrible. Fielding really doesn't seem to grasp the inner mechanics of third-person narration — there's no build to it, no deeper insights, and the pacing is awful. In a diary, short and sometimes incoherent descriptions were germane to the format. Here they just make no sense. Sample painful description, from when our heroine is being held hostage underwater by an enemy and occasionally given air from a scuba tank to breathe: "It was crazy, but good." What?? She uses these dead words and outright telling all over the place, but her prose isn't minimalistic enough to justify it as a style choice. And then, and then, and then, and the tone doesn't change whether she's at a party or seconds from death. Relatedly, her description of action/suspense sequences are stilted and confusing. She doesn't give enough visual cues to explain wtf is going on, or make sense of her settings, and meanwhile Olivia's emotions are inaccessible and when we do know them, often seem inappropriate given the situation. Usually we're just told these thoughts, but occasionally we read her actual thoughts, which is always headdesk-worthy because when this happens, it's inconsistent: first she thought in the present tense, and suddenly she's thinking in the past. WHY?!
2. This book is pretty racist. Well, it's hard to quantify how racist the main plot is: Olivia meets a "dark" man who she immediately pegs for an Arab and a terrorist. Fielding hangs a lantern on it by having Olivia questions herself as being possibly racist, and her suspect claims that he was posing as not-an-Arab to escape that kind of stereotyping, but ... he really is a terrorist. Obviously this is ooky, particularly the "dark" descriptor that pops up several times, but given that it is a post-9/11 spy thriller, it seems somewhat of the Bond tradition where of course the enemy is going to be a dirty commie, or what have you. It makes for unsettling reading, however, and never gets better. Meanwhile, that's not the only kind of racism going on here: in a two-page sequence set in the Mexico City airport, Fielding packs in so many ridiculous stereotypes about Mexicans and Central Americans that in retrospect I'm not even sure why I kept reading. Mexican men wear cowboy boots! Mexicans are laid-back to the point where their airplanes regularly get lost because LOL QUE PASA? Mexicans don't care if there are problems, because Mexicans solve all problems with tequila! Similar hijinks ensue in Egypt and the Sudan, but I happened to pick up on this in particular because I have many ties to Mexican culture and have actually spent a lot of time in the real Mexico City airport, which is how I know for certain that this writing isn't just offensive, it's also...
3. BADLY RESEARCHED & IMPLAUSIBLE AS FUCK. There are so many incidental factual errors I caught in this book that I can only imagine how intensely wrong the last third of the book, which is a wildly unbelievable crash course with the MI6 and al-Qaeda, must be. Besides making MEX sound like a podunk bus stop (hint: it's the airport for the second largest city in the world, fuck no it doesn't have cowhide chairs), she even mentions Homeland Security's terror alert levels and yet allows Olivia to fly out of Miami the same day as a terrorist attack there, and continue to globe-trot via planes, and two different passports, despite a series of terrorist attacks that would, in the real world, ground air traffic for who knows how long. Apparently neither MI6 nor the CIA have any investment in remaining covert, as MI6 goes around informing all of Olivia's friends and employers that she's with them, and a CIA agent (who wields a lot of power within the agency, is a computer genius, and an undercover master of disguise) identifies himself as CIA onstage at the fucking Oscars in order to make an announcement anyone could have made. Adrien Brody's name is now Adrian, twice. And insult of insults: "In southern California alone we have major shipping ports in the Bay Area, Ventura, Los Angeles, and San Diego."
OH NO YOU DI-IN'T.
By the way, Olivia Joules has crazy hunches a lot, and they are (almost) ALWAYS RIGHT. Her overactive imagination is actually a keen intuition that, paired with social skills, is the reason why there should be moar female spies!! Oh the gloriously girly unorthodoxy!
4. Gender and sex fail. The premise, mentioned just above, is problematic, although I can see what I think Fielding intended: Olivia's instincts were written off as imagination because she was dismissed as a silly girl, when really it is her feminine intuition that gives her strength. So, okay, she's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer of spies. And she is rewarded, of course, with a hot spy boyfriend (the aforementioned important CIA wunderkind). I approved briefly, because who loves hot spysex and bossy men with guns? Oooh, me, me! Excellent, until he turns out to be such a condescending douchebag, who addresses her exclusively as "baby" once the hot spy bickering is out of the way, that I was ready to believe he was a double-crossing al-Qaeda agent, just because I hated him and couldn't believe that this jerk was supposed to be the happy ending.
I was interested to see how a writer of such iconic books [Bridget Jones] would do outside her established area of success. Fielding obviously set out to make this book quite different: besides the occasionally omniscient third-person narration, Olivia is extremely unlike Bridget: focused on her career rather than finding love, and socially confident as well as secure in her looks. She's competent, skilled, and globally-minded. Instead of a romantic comedy, this is an occasionally comedic espionage thriller, starring Olivia the journalist as she uses her female intuition and social skills to investigate an al-Qaeda terrorism plot in a post-9/11 world of glitterati and hippie divers.
(as bizarre as that summary is, it gets bizarre-er. spoilers but you don't want to read this book anyway, don't worry.)
PROBLEMS:
1. The narration is terrible. Fielding really doesn't seem to grasp the inner mechanics of third-person narration — there's no build to it, no deeper insights, and the pacing is awful. In a diary, short and sometimes incoherent descriptions were germane to the format. Here they just make no sense. Sample painful description, from when our heroine is being held hostage underwater by an enemy and occasionally given air from a scuba tank to breathe: "It was crazy, but good." What?? She uses these dead words and outright telling all over the place, but her prose isn't minimalistic enough to justify it as a style choice. And then, and then, and then, and the tone doesn't change whether she's at a party or seconds from death. Relatedly, her description of action/suspense sequences are stilted and confusing. She doesn't give enough visual cues to explain wtf is going on, or make sense of her settings, and meanwhile Olivia's emotions are inaccessible and when we do know them, often seem inappropriate given the situation. Usually we're just told these thoughts, but occasionally we read her actual thoughts, which is always headdesk-worthy because when this happens, it's inconsistent: first she thought in the present tense, and suddenly she's thinking in the past. WHY?!
2. This book is pretty racist. Well, it's hard to quantify how racist the main plot is: Olivia meets a "dark" man who she immediately pegs for an Arab and a terrorist. Fielding hangs a lantern on it by having Olivia questions herself as being possibly racist, and her suspect claims that he was posing as not-an-Arab to escape that kind of stereotyping, but ... he really is a terrorist. Obviously this is ooky, particularly the "dark" descriptor that pops up several times, but given that it is a post-9/11 spy thriller, it seems somewhat of the Bond tradition where of course the enemy is going to be a dirty commie, or what have you. It makes for unsettling reading, however, and never gets better. Meanwhile, that's not the only kind of racism going on here: in a two-page sequence set in the Mexico City airport, Fielding packs in so many ridiculous stereotypes about Mexicans and Central Americans that in retrospect I'm not even sure why I kept reading. Mexican men wear cowboy boots! Mexicans are laid-back to the point where their airplanes regularly get lost because LOL QUE PASA? Mexicans don't care if there are problems, because Mexicans solve all problems with tequila! Similar hijinks ensue in Egypt and the Sudan, but I happened to pick up on this in particular because I have many ties to Mexican culture and have actually spent a lot of time in the real Mexico City airport, which is how I know for certain that this writing isn't just offensive, it's also...
3. BADLY RESEARCHED & IMPLAUSIBLE AS FUCK. There are so many incidental factual errors I caught in this book that I can only imagine how intensely wrong the last third of the book, which is a wildly unbelievable crash course with the MI6 and al-Qaeda, must be. Besides making MEX sound like a podunk bus stop (hint: it's the airport for the second largest city in the world, fuck no it doesn't have cowhide chairs), she even mentions Homeland Security's terror alert levels and yet allows Olivia to fly out of Miami the same day as a terrorist attack there, and continue to globe-trot via planes, and two different passports, despite a series of terrorist attacks that would, in the real world, ground air traffic for who knows how long. Apparently neither MI6 nor the CIA have any investment in remaining covert, as MI6 goes around informing all of Olivia's friends and employers that she's with them, and a CIA agent (who wields a lot of power within the agency, is a computer genius, and an undercover master of disguise) identifies himself as CIA onstage at the fucking Oscars in order to make an announcement anyone could have made. Adrien Brody's name is now Adrian, twice. And insult of insults: "In southern California alone we have major shipping ports in the Bay Area, Ventura, Los Angeles, and San Diego."
OH NO YOU DI-IN'T.
By the way, Olivia Joules has crazy hunches a lot, and they are (almost) ALWAYS RIGHT. Her overactive imagination is actually a keen intuition that, paired with social skills, is the reason why there should be moar female spies!! Oh the gloriously girly unorthodoxy!
4. Gender and sex fail. The premise, mentioned just above, is problematic, although I can see what I think Fielding intended: Olivia's instincts were written off as imagination because she was dismissed as a silly girl, when really it is her feminine intuition that gives her strength. So, okay, she's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer of spies. And she is rewarded, of course, with a hot spy boyfriend (the aforementioned important CIA wunderkind). I approved briefly, because who loves hot spysex and bossy men with guns? Oooh, me, me! Excellent, until he turns out to be such a condescending douchebag, who addresses her exclusively as "baby" once the hot spy bickering is out of the way, that I was ready to believe he was a double-crossing al-Qaeda agent, just because I hated him and couldn't believe that this jerk was supposed to be the happy ending.
January 9, 2021
So I think I bought this because I remembered enjoying Bridget Jones' Diary , but upon checking my review, I didn't like that book much either.
Ok, here we go. My review of what might possibly be the stupidest book I've ever read. Where do we start?
1. Olivia - If you thought Bridget Jones was an unflattering, misogynistic portrayal of women, Olivia will blow you out of the water. SO MUCH TIME devoted to her being good looking, worrying about her figure etc. But the girl is dumber than a bag of rocks. Oh my god. Did you know that actions have consequences?? Olivia doesn't! Also, somehow, despite being a total idiot and not understanding anything in the world, Olivia is an accomplished journalist who speaks multiple languages...
2. Racism, racism, racism - This book was written in 2003, and has aged badly, but there are things that would have been inappropriate, even back then. . Also, people can speak French and also Arabic?
3. This plot line was SO STUPID I couldn't even believe it got published
Finally, there were just too many things that made 0 sense. For an author that talked about 9/11 so much, apparently Fielding never made it onto at any point, because no way could you bring a RAZOR BLADE and PEPPER SPRAY in your carryon after 2001.
I'm just mad that this book was so bad.
Ok, here we go. My review of what might possibly be the stupidest book I've ever read. Where do we start?
1. Olivia - If you thought Bridget Jones was an unflattering, misogynistic portrayal of women, Olivia will blow you out of the water. SO MUCH TIME devoted to her being good looking, worrying about her figure etc. But the girl is dumber than a bag of rocks. Oh my god. Did you know that actions have consequences?? Olivia doesn't! Also, somehow, despite being a total idiot and not understanding anything in the world, Olivia is an accomplished journalist who speaks multiple languages...
2. Racism, racism, racism - This book was written in 2003, and has aged badly, but there are things that would have been inappropriate, even back then. . Also, people can speak French and also Arabic?
3. This plot line was SO STUPID I couldn't even believe it got published
Finally, there were just too many things that made 0 sense. For an author that talked about 9/11 so much, apparently Fielding never made it onto at any point, because no way could you bring a RAZOR BLADE and PEPPER SPRAY in your carryon after 2001.
I'm just mad that this book was so bad.
November 17, 2010
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.
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.
June 9, 2020
Character Olivia Joules is an aspiring features journalist who finds herself caught up in a Al-Queda style terrorist plot including the blowing up of a liner, a (foiled) plot to attack world bridges and (at the end) the booby trapping of the Oscars. Initially she seems to be imagining things – she is convinced that one of the characters is Osama Bin Laden – but in fact he does turn out to be a notorious terrorist.
Harmless fun but very lightweight and clearly written to be filmed – and (despite what author) thinks the character is effectively Bridget Jones – her thinness and glamorous lifestyle notwithstanding – author seems to think that simply changing name/appearance/circumstances of a character but then using exactly the same writing style and characterisations distinguishes Olivia from Bridget.
Harmless fun but very lightweight and clearly written to be filmed – and (despite what author) thinks the character is effectively Bridget Jones – her thinness and glamorous lifestyle notwithstanding – author seems to think that simply changing name/appearance/circumstances of a character but then using exactly the same writing style and characterisations distinguishes Olivia from Bridget.
October 2, 2015
Soooooo I will admit that this started a little slow for me, but thankfully I'm curious and wanted to know the outcome! I don't want to ruin anything but I will say it was worth the read and I loved it!
March 12, 2016
I remember reading a snarky review of this when it first came out, and I see that the average rating here at Goodreads isn’t all that high. Maybe those who dislike it are comparing it unfavourably with Bridget Jones’s Diary, which I know is very popular. I still haven’t read Bridget, and I thought I would start with Olivia and judge it on its own merits, because a friend highly recommended Olivia to me. I liked it. It’s a fun, entertaining read. Olivia is a fun character-—part plucky reporter, part budding spy, part melodramatic schoolgirl. I loved her little survival kit.
A quibble: I thought Scott sounded almost like Austin Powers when he started saying “baby” in almost every sentence; and Scott did not strike me as an Austin Powers type.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the TV shows Alias and Chuck. Fans of Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody might also give it a try (Amelia would approve of Olivia’s clever use of a hatpin).
A quibble: I thought Scott sounded almost like Austin Powers when he started saying “baby” in almost every sentence; and Scott did not strike me as an Austin Powers type.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the TV shows Alias and Chuck. Fans of Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody might also give it a try (Amelia would approve of Olivia’s clever use of a hatpin).
March 12, 2014
Wow - that was AWESOME!
I finally got a book with an interesting female main character who is just enough ditzy and just enough smart to be entertaining.
There's everything in that plot - hot guys, mysterious strangers, fashion, journalism, travel, adventure, just enough romance, just enough of a scare, underwater world, beaches, terrorists. How did Helen Fielding ever manager to mix all of that together and not be cheesy?
I kept guessing and missing how the plot will evolve throughout entire book (isn't it the best?)
Loved it!
I finally got a book with an interesting female main character who is just enough ditzy and just enough smart to be entertaining.
There's everything in that plot - hot guys, mysterious strangers, fashion, journalism, travel, adventure, just enough romance, just enough of a scare, underwater world, beaches, terrorists. How did Helen Fielding ever manager to mix all of that together and not be cheesy?
I kept guessing and missing how the plot will evolve throughout entire book (isn't it the best?)
Loved it!
August 24, 2022
“... A man who never makes a mistake never makes anything.”
Olivia Joules And The Overactive Imagination, Helen Fielding
~~~
I was looking for an easy to digest book to get me out of my slumpish mood and so I picked this book. Did I have high expectations? No. Given I've read The Bridget Jones Diary which I enjoyed but not as much as I had expected from other people's talk of the book.
So did this book have an 'I want to read more' effect? Yes, so much so that I was shocked.
Humurous, highly likeable heroine character with a crazy imagination but with a sense of morality and deepness can do that to you.
I agree that some part of the story at the start was a bit comme si comme ça but I became invested in Joules and her desire to be more than she already was to put the book down. And the fact that
The story was fast to read and enjoyed its short chapters.
I also enjoyed the commentary on life, Hollywood, a bit of terrorism...🤭 Along with the banter that always had me laughing out loud.
What started out as silly imagination turned out to be a high stacks thriller ting that I did expect. Thriller fans don't go in expecting much.
Olivia Joules And The Overactive Imagination, Helen Fielding
~~~
I was looking for an easy to digest book to get me out of my slumpish mood and so I picked this book. Did I have high expectations? No. Given I've read The Bridget Jones Diary which I enjoyed but not as much as I had expected from other people's talk of the book.
So did this book have an 'I want to read more' effect? Yes, so much so that I was shocked.
Humurous, highly likeable heroine character with a crazy imagination but with a sense of morality and deepness can do that to you.
I agree that some part of the story at the start was a bit comme si comme ça but I became invested in Joules and her desire to be more than she already was to put the book down. And the fact that
The story was fast to read and enjoyed its short chapters.
I also enjoyed the commentary on life, Hollywood, a bit of terrorism...🤭 Along with the banter that always had me laughing out loud.
What started out as silly imagination turned out to be a high stacks thriller ting that I did expect. Thriller fans don't go in expecting much.
March 3, 2019
Según empecé este libro, su protagonista me recordaba muchísimo a Britget Jones. Según fue avanzando la lectura todo se descontroló un poco demasiado y aunque el personaje es muy simpático, todo es excesivamente fantasioso hasta caer en el ridículo en muchos casos. Ya sé que es una novela de ficción, y de hecho me lo he pasado bien leyéndola, pero creo que la autora tenía que haber puesto un límite anterior a la imaginación de la protagonista y sus actuaciones. No obstante es una lectura superentretenida y si no eres muy crítico con hechos y personajes te divertirás bastante.
September 6, 2010
‘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 out to be very enjoyable and original.
Now I’m not claiming that the character of Olivia Joules is by any means as lovable as Bridget Jones, but you can relate to her to a certain extent. The novel centres around her adventures as a journalist desperate to be taken seriously but, with a reputation of letting her imagination getting the better of her, she is stuck writing articles on face creams. When she spots Osama Bin Laden at a party in Los Angeles she knows that this is her big chance and she won’t rest until she proves herself right. What the reader needs to work out is whether she is in fact just being paranoid or whether there could in fact be some truth behind her claims.
What starts off as a run-of-the-mill article soon leads her into a huge quest encompassing Miami, LA, the Caribbean and Arabia, enlisting the help of the secret services, being invited to the Oscars, and trying out as any spy gadgets as she can get her hands on!
It’s quite interesting to read what is essentially a girlie spy novel. It contains some hilarious moments as well as some very exciting edge-of-your-seat type stuff with plenty of twists and turns. I think that Fielding’s characters are so successful because she writes them with such conviction that you understand them and their actions completely, even though they may do some stupid things and end up in ludicrous situations.
I don’t think that Helen Fielding has let herself down with this novel. It’s more a case that Bridget Jones was such a gem of a character that whatever came after would never quite live up to expectations. As long as you can block Bridget from your mind before you begin to read this you should really enjoy it!
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 out to be very enjoyable and original.
Now I’m not claiming that the character of Olivia Joules is by any means as lovable as Bridget Jones, but you can relate to her to a certain extent. The novel centres around her adventures as a journalist desperate to be taken seriously but, with a reputation of letting her imagination getting the better of her, she is stuck writing articles on face creams. When she spots Osama Bin Laden at a party in Los Angeles she knows that this is her big chance and she won’t rest until she proves herself right. What the reader needs to work out is whether she is in fact just being paranoid or whether there could in fact be some truth behind her claims.
What starts off as a run-of-the-mill article soon leads her into a huge quest encompassing Miami, LA, the Caribbean and Arabia, enlisting the help of the secret services, being invited to the Oscars, and trying out as any spy gadgets as she can get her hands on!
It’s quite interesting to read what is essentially a girlie spy novel. It contains some hilarious moments as well as some very exciting edge-of-your-seat type stuff with plenty of twists and turns. I think that Fielding’s characters are so successful because she writes them with such conviction that you understand them and their actions completely, even though they may do some stupid things and end up in ludicrous situations.
I don’t think that Helen Fielding has let herself down with this novel. It’s more a case that Bridget Jones was such a gem of a character that whatever came after would never quite live up to expectations. As long as you can block Bridget from your mind before you begin to read this you should really enjoy it!
July 7, 2012
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 went to a coffee shop which just so happened to have a bookcrossing shelf. I thought why not have a look? I might find something to fix my slump. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination is what I came back with.
I read Bridget Jones’ Diary when I was about 17 (I think) when it was at the height of it’s popularity (wow that’s like 8 years ago…I’m still 21 dammit!), and at the time I didn’t really get the hype around it. It was ok but nothing special when it came to chick-lit (and I read a fair bit of it at the time). I didn’t really like Bridget, I found her to be a bit of an idiot to be honest. Maybe I would have got it more if I was a 30-something singleton…maybe not…I don’t know.
Anyway I expected Olivia Joules to be a similar fit. Easy to read but a bit of fluff. I had never looked into reading it because I didn’t like Bridget Jones, so why read something I thought would be similar? I was wrong though. Well maybe sometimes Olivia is an idiot, she jumps to conclusions, but when she is it tends to be funny rather than annoying. There was a little bit of love fluff but mainly it was a bit of a mystery/crime/action story, and that made it much more enjoyable. The funny made it not like other action type books, and because of Olivia’s overactive imagination I was always second guessing myself, not sure what was going to be true and what would be imaginary. It was a little far-fetched but I think that worked well with her having an overactive imagination.
It still had the readability of Bridget Jones but plot wise I much preferred it. It was the perfect thing to get me out of my reading slump.
However on Wednesday I went to a coffee shop which just so happened to have a bookcrossing shelf. I thought why not have a look? I might find something to fix my slump. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination is what I came back with.
I read Bridget Jones’ Diary when I was about 17 (I think) when it was at the height of it’s popularity (wow that’s like 8 years ago…I’m still 21 dammit!), and at the time I didn’t really get the hype around it. It was ok but nothing special when it came to chick-lit (and I read a fair bit of it at the time). I didn’t really like Bridget, I found her to be a bit of an idiot to be honest. Maybe I would have got it more if I was a 30-something singleton…maybe not…I don’t know.
Anyway I expected Olivia Joules to be a similar fit. Easy to read but a bit of fluff. I had never looked into reading it because I didn’t like Bridget Jones, so why read something I thought would be similar? I was wrong though. Well maybe sometimes Olivia is an idiot, she jumps to conclusions, but when she is it tends to be funny rather than annoying. There was a little bit of love fluff but mainly it was a bit of a mystery/crime/action story, and that made it much more enjoyable. The funny made it not like other action type books, and because of Olivia’s overactive imagination I was always second guessing myself, not sure what was going to be true and what would be imaginary. It was a little far-fetched but I think that worked well with her having an overactive imagination.
It still had the readability of Bridget Jones but plot wise I much preferred it. It was the perfect thing to get me out of my reading slump.
September 24, 2011
It was exactly like an action film with a funny heroine. The ending is the best and I was surprised to see how many details you have to take into consideration in a mission like this. Helen Fielding is either a genius detective, or must have made a lot of research.
December 6, 2014
Ho letto assurdità che non stanno né in cielo né in terra. Chissà cosa si era fatta la Fielding prima di scrivere questo libro...
October 26, 2018
Very occupational. Have enjoyed it so much. Recommend for long flight readings.
October 23, 2022
I very much enjoyed this novel, largely because it's in a genre so rarely found these days: "light mystery thriller adventure romance" is the best way I can classify it. Author Graeme Shimmin has
described it as: "...a hybrid plot, primarily a Mission plot with mystery elements, but also owing a lot to the comedy-romance genre".
Olivia Joules reminds me of a modern-day version of Agatha Christie's books The Man in the Brown Suit, They Came to Baghdad and Destination Unknown: a female heroine, just a "regular" young woman, somehow becomes embroiled in a exciting quest to solve a mystery, that takes her to exotic locations.
In each case the heroines are spirited, resourceful and resilient, and don't rely on men to save the day. But in each case they end up with satisfactory romance. Such books, with female protagonists, are scarce, and I wish there were more.
Olivia Joules comes from the Fielding/Jones world of British media, magazine journalism and celebrity. She pursues a suspicious but attractive man across the globe, increasingly discovering his links to terrorism, and ends up saving the day.
Olivia Joules did verge on the implausible at times. I also recall finding the scuba diving episode rather a drawn-out diversion. It's possibly no more unrealistic than Christie's novels, but perhaps because it's a contemporary novel it's more jarring, as there's more of a sense of realism/familiarity for the modern-day reader which can then get broken.
Olivia Joules isn't nearly as well known as the Bridget Jones series of novels, but for those who enjoy Fielding's writing, it's definitely worth a read.
described it as: "...a hybrid plot, primarily a Mission plot with mystery elements, but also owing a lot to the comedy-romance genre".
Olivia Joules reminds me of a modern-day version of Agatha Christie's books The Man in the Brown Suit, They Came to Baghdad and Destination Unknown: a female heroine, just a "regular" young woman, somehow becomes embroiled in a exciting quest to solve a mystery, that takes her to exotic locations.
In each case the heroines are spirited, resourceful and resilient, and don't rely on men to save the day. But in each case they end up with satisfactory romance. Such books, with female protagonists, are scarce, and I wish there were more.
Olivia Joules comes from the Fielding/Jones world of British media, magazine journalism and celebrity. She pursues a suspicious but attractive man across the globe, increasingly discovering his links to terrorism, and ends up saving the day.
Olivia Joules did verge on the implausible at times. I also recall finding the scuba diving episode rather a drawn-out diversion. It's possibly no more unrealistic than Christie's novels, but perhaps because it's a contemporary novel it's more jarring, as there's more of a sense of realism/familiarity for the modern-day reader which can then get broken.
Olivia Joules isn't nearly as well known as the Bridget Jones series of novels, but for those who enjoy Fielding's writing, it's definitely worth a read.
June 20, 2022
3,75 sterren - Nederlandse hardcover
VAN DE AUTEUR VAN BRIDGET JONES' DIARY
Met haar magistrale schoonheid en verbluffende fantasie maakt journaliste Olivia Joules de mediawereld onveilig. Wanneer ze onderzoek doet voor een artikel over een nieuwe gezichtscrème, komt ze de mysterieuze Pierre Ferramo tegen. Ze wordt overrompeld door zijn charme en verleidingskracht.
Toch voelt ze achterdocht in zich opborrelen en plotseling zijn haar zinnen op scherp gezet. Zou het kunnen dat Ferramo eigenlijk een terrorist is, die het gemunt heeft op de westerse beschaving? In de hoop hierachter te komen, ontpopt Joules zich tot een ware spion, gewapend met een hoedenspeld, lingerie voorzien van afluisterapparatuur en een sterke dosis intuïtie.
Haar spionage-expeditie leidt haar van de Amerikaanse westkust naar Miami en via de Caribische Zee uiteindelijk naar het Midden-Oosten. De avonturen van Joules zijn zenuwslopend, hartverscheurend en onbeschrijflijk geestig.
Geen the dairy of Bridget Jones maar echt hier en daar hilarisch. Het is zo leuk. Het verhaal is hier en daar wat rammelend. Vandaar mijn nog net geen 4 sterren.
VAN DE AUTEUR VAN BRIDGET JONES' DIARY
Met haar magistrale schoonheid en verbluffende fantasie maakt journaliste Olivia Joules de mediawereld onveilig. Wanneer ze onderzoek doet voor een artikel over een nieuwe gezichtscrème, komt ze de mysterieuze Pierre Ferramo tegen. Ze wordt overrompeld door zijn charme en verleidingskracht.
Toch voelt ze achterdocht in zich opborrelen en plotseling zijn haar zinnen op scherp gezet. Zou het kunnen dat Ferramo eigenlijk een terrorist is, die het gemunt heeft op de westerse beschaving? In de hoop hierachter te komen, ontpopt Joules zich tot een ware spion, gewapend met een hoedenspeld, lingerie voorzien van afluisterapparatuur en een sterke dosis intuïtie.
Haar spionage-expeditie leidt haar van de Amerikaanse westkust naar Miami en via de Caribische Zee uiteindelijk naar het Midden-Oosten. De avonturen van Joules zijn zenuwslopend, hartverscheurend en onbeschrijflijk geestig.
Geen the dairy of Bridget Jones maar echt hier en daar hilarisch. Het is zo leuk. Het verhaal is hier en daar wat rammelend. Vandaar mijn nog net geen 4 sterren.
March 16, 2017
События развиваются настолько быстро,что иногда не успеваешь уловить суть. Столько всего замешано, вот тебе и журналиста с бурной фантазией, с постоянной паранойей,что вот вот должна быть где-то сенсация и даже в мелких казалось бы деталях ,будь то "презентация крема, завязан скрытый умысел отравить все человечество. Честно, даже на середине я продолжала думать"ну когда же ты, Оливия, перестанешь искать приключения на свою жо**", но судя по развитиям она нашла!!! Вообщем, кто ищет тот, всегда найдёт. Книга интригует и захватывает, в целом мне понравилось. Просто , если чтец сверяет много фактов и ожидает супер-захватывающий детектив -это не про эту книгу. героиня не обладая никакими шпионскими-физическими навыками побеждает всех плохих парней, напоминает сказку...для легкого интригующего времяпрепровождения пойдёт;)
6th
Events develop so quickly that sometimes you do not have time to catch the essence. So many things are involved, here's a journalist with a stormy fantasy, with constant paranoia that there should be somewhere a sensation , even in small seemingly details, whether it's a presentation of a cream, a hidden intention to poison the entire humanity . In the middle I kept thinking, "Well, when will you, Olivia, cease to seek adventure for your ar **", but judging by the developments she found! In general, whoever searches for something,will always find it. "The book intrigues and captures, as a whole I liked it. It's just that if the reader checks a lot of facts and expects a super-exciting detective story-this is not about this book.) The heroine, without any espionage-physical skills, defeats all bad guys, reminds a fairy tale ... for a light intriguing pastime will go;)
December 27, 2024
Okay, so, obviously not my usual read, but I was given this by MMR just before we were "ripped apart by the cruel forces of fate" (had to part to spend Christmas with our respective families) for "twelve years" (fourteen days). This is her comfort book. It's bizarre and not hugely unproblematic (very 2003), but quite charming in the way it's written. It has gotten me through the worst period pains in the history of period pains - my first period for almost two years, how insane - and has also provided much needed support as I've read it with one hand, balanced on a cup of coffee caught between my knees, while my other hand held my nan's, in Myton Hospice. To be honest, it reminds me of M, and that's probably why I have a soft spot for it.
August 4, 2022
Now I know I’ve rated this two stars but it doesn’t mean it was bad. It was a very interesting book. I think it was a bit muddled together and there were a lot of things happening with little context in between. I liked the ending how it all seemed to fit together but I just felt like I was getting confused a lot while reading it. I still think it’s a good book though otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to read all of jt.
March 21, 2018
this was another find in the cruise ship library, and it was one of the two I liked the most (the other was The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende.) This is definitely chick lit, with a sarcastic bite and a unique look at the world. Fielding's spoof of James Bond worked well for me -- I thought the characters were ultimately believable.
June 22, 2022
To be honest, I can't say that I had high expectations of this book when I started it. I picked it up at a Secondhand store mostly because I needed a new book to read and this one didn't look that terrible (and was one of the only English books in a Swedish store). Because it was from the author of Bridget Jones, I assumed this would be something similar, a romcom book thats just there to make you feel good, a nice read for the summer. And the beginning had me kinda annoyed with Olivia, just with her whole way of thinking. But the way this book unravels is very surprising and I feel like it's in line with the whole idea of the story. Very nice read, light and amusing but not your typical romcom story.
April 16, 2021
I liked it better than Cause Celeb and there were hints of the Bridget Jones type humor, but it still didn’t entertain me quite as much as Bridget Jones. One more book off the bookshelf from the “I’ve had it for years and really must finally read it” section.
February 26, 2020
Overall rather enjoyable, but I do wish I found her less annoying. It’s rather grating when someone who so clearly has an overactive imagination is proven correct.
June 17, 2022
It was entertaining; could've done without the crazy racism and prejudice though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 933 reviews