"130 lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds overnight? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier (repulsive, horrifying notion)); alcohol units 2 (excellent) cigarettes 21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow); number of correct lottery numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)?" This laugh-out-loud chronicle charts a year in the life of Bridget Jones, a single girl on a permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement--in which she resolves to: visit the gym three times a week not merely to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult, and not fall for any of the following: misogynists, megalomaniacs, adulterers, workaholics, chauvinists or perverts. And learn to program the VCR.Caught between her Singleton friends, who are all convinced they will end up dying alone and found three weeks later half-eaten by an Alsatian, and the Smug Marrieds, whose dinner parties offer ever-new opportunities for humiliation, Bridget struggles to keep her life on an even keel (or at least afloat). Through it all, she will have her readers helpless with laughter and shouting, "BRIDGET JONES IS ME!" Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

A huge success in England, this marvelously funny debut novel had its genesis in a column Fielding writes for a London newspaper. It's the purported diary, complete with daily entries of calories consumed, cigarettes smoked, "alcohol units" imbibed and other unsuitable obsessions, of a year in the life of a bright London 30-something who deplores male "fuckwittage" while pining for a steady boyfriend. As dogged at making resolutions for self-improvement as she is irrepressibly irreverent, Bridget also would like to have someone to show the folks back home and their friends, who make "tick-tock" noises at her to evoke the motion of the biological clock. Bridget is knowing, obviously attractive but never too convinced of the fact, and prone ever to fear the worst. In the case of her mother, who becomes involved with a shady Portuguese real estate operator and is about to be arrested for fraud, she's probably quite right. In the case of her boss, Daniel, who sends sexy e-mail messages but really plans to marry someone else, she's a tad blind. And in the case of glamorous lawyer Mark Darcy, whom her parents want her to marry, she turns out to be way off the mark. ("It struck me as pretty ridiculous to be called Mr. Darcy and to stand on your own looking snooty at a party. It's like being called Heathcliff and insisting on spending the entire evening in the garden, shouting `Cathy!' and banging your head against a tree.") It's hard to say how the English frame of reference will travel. But, since Bridget reads Susan Faludi and thinks of Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon as role models, it just might. In any case, it's hard to imagine a funnier book appearing anywhere this year. Major ad/promo; first serial to Vogue; BOMC and QPB main selections; simultaneous Random House audio; author tour. (July) FYI: A movie is in the works from Working Title, the team that produced Four Weddings and a Funeral. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

In the course of one year, Bridget Jones will consume 11,090,265 calories, smoke 5,277 cigarettes, and write a series of delightfully funny diary entries. This will be no ordinary year in the life of this single, on-the-cusp-of-30 Londoner. She's going to keep at least one New Year's resolution, have dates with two boyfriends, create legendary cooking disasters, and be seen on national TV going up a firehouse poleÄinstead of the planned dramatic slide down. If that isn't enough, her mom is getting a new career as the host of the TV program Suddenly Single and will disappear with a Portuguese gigolo. Supported by friends and confused by family, Bridget emerges, if not triumphant, at least hopeful about life and love. Already a best seller in Britain and winner of the Publishing News Book of the Year Award, this book should be equally popular in the United States. Recommended for all fiction collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/98.]ÄJan Blodgett, Davidson Coll., NC From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

British journalist Fielding emerges here as the hottest new voice for the hip single woman. Wry diarist Bridget Jones details a year in her life and her endless search for "inner poise." Brimming with a deliciously irreverent sense of humor and a keen sense of women's deepest insecurities, this is a solid read. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

New Year's Resolutions	p. 9
January: An Exceptionally Bad Start	p. 15
February: Valentine's Day Massacre	p. 55
March: Severe Birthday-Related Thirties Panic	p. 91
April: Inner Poise	p. 121
May: Mother-to-Be	p. 155
June: Hah! Boyfriend	p. 189
July: Huh	p. 217
August: Disintegration	p. 241
September: Up the Fireman's Pole	p. 275
October: Date with Darcy	p. 301
November: A Criminal in the Family	p. 333
December: Oh, Christ	p. 377
January-December: A Summary	p. 409

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.