Every once in a while, I get this strong urge to read something that is the absolute opposite of everything I think is worthy and tolerable. It's the same impulse that drives me to want to watch The Glam Fairy once in a while, even though I don't wear makeup, don't own a single skirt or dress, and only comb my hair out of utility rather than style. I have less than zero interest in fashion, glamour, celebrity, or wealth, which is to say that I place far more importance on the quality of the internal person rather than the external. Of course, I know that not everyone who loves fashion or cares about "personal style" is shallow -- god, no. There is a big difference between smart, creative, feelings-intuitive people who love fashion as an extension of art and, y'know...A2.There is also a big difference between insightful books about women, geared towards women, and this.These characters and their concerns are so foreign to me that reading this truly feels like anthropology. Who cares if your wedding dress is white or off white? Who cares that your wedding has to be in your parents backyard so you don't go friggin broke, or that they "only" gave you $5000 to spend on the occasion in the first place? Who cares if you were proposed to in the concession stand line of a movie theater? Do we really need to read your to do list printed over and over ten bazillion times? I mean, I know that the book is really just wedding planning porn with a side of "OMG everyone is not giving me the love and congratulations I want" characterization (lovely), but it is so boring. The main character lives in New York (of course), and her fiance is this generic hot guy (of course), and it's just the most uninteresting thing I have read in recent memory that I couldn't even make it through 290 pages of large font and diary format, at least 30 pages of which are the aforementioned "to do" list reprints.Why is it this hilarious cultural meme to think that women (and only the women, of course) are expected to become raging masses of consumption and selfishness over their weddings?
Told in diary form by Amy and spread out over the course of a year, "Diary of A Mad Bride" is an occasionally amusing novel about the events leading up to the marriage of Amy Thomas and Stephen Stewart. As the book opens, Amy's friend Mandy is in a dither about getting married and Amy swears that she'll never get married. Of course, she quickly changes her mind when Stephen proposes but she then swears that she won't be as uptight about her wedding as Mandy was. Naturally that too changes, as Amy encounters all kinds of calamities leading up and including her wedding day. This is a light and at times funny novel. Anyone who's been married, is about to be married, or been a bridesmaid will recognize some of the problems Amy goes through while planning her wedding. Amy's mood swings are particularly funny and there's a lot of reality in her attempts to juggle planning the wedding and working full time. But she too often seems almost disconnected from her own wedding. Although she makes incredibly long lists of things to do for the wedding, she never makes much progress on them. Far too many scenes seem to be written just for the humor - it can't be that difficult to find the perfect wedding gown in all of New York City and I find it hard to believe that Amy would agree to wear her mother's wedding gown sight unseen. And, I realize the book was written this way for the humor, but the wedding felt rushed, especially due to the lack of money Amy and Stephen had. Other scenes that potentially could be mined for humor like trying to figure out place settings, a headache for any bride are left untouched. And what bride would not be involved in picking out the Maid of Honor and Bridesmaid dresses? Or just go to the hairdresser the day of the wedding and let the hairdresser do what they want? In the end, "Diary of A Mad Bride" seems to have been written in much the same rush as Amy and Stephen's wedding was planned. It's an okay read, but with a little more preparation it could have been great reading.
Do You like book Diary Of A Mad Bride (2002)?
This was definitely chick lit at its fluffiest. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy reading it, but it isn't a book I'll likely read again. Keep in mind that I've never had a full-fledged wedding, so I don't have first-hand knowledge of the subject. I have, however, seen the show Bridezillas and I've been involved in the weddings of a few close friends, none of whom have been anywhere near that insane, thank goodness! When Amy goes from making fun of the Mandys of the world, her way of mocking her best friend, who is nearing her own wedding as the book begins, to being engaged herself, all bets are off and hilarity ensues. I think what I liked the most were the footnotes, which were little asides that Amy made to herself, since this was written in somewhat of a diary form. It wasn't formal - there was no "dear diary", but there were dates, rather than chapters. Because the groom's father has moved in with a much younger woman and the bride's sister's marriage is falling apart, getting the entire family together for the rehearsal dinner proves to be a rather daunting task, as well as an interesting look at the stages of marriage and how families relate.
—Carole
This book has got to be one of my most favorite humorous books ever. I can't remember when or how I even got this book but this one is truly a keeper. Anytime I need a pick-me-up, I just pick up this book and my day doesn't seem so bad anymore.What really made me enjoy the book is Amy's narrative. The book is written diary-style, spanning almost a year, from Amy's boyfriend proposing to the day they get married. Her interactions, the dialogue is so funny and witty; it's a real gem. The characters here are really distinctive and while I won't go as far as to say that they are all fully-fleshed out, I definitely enjoyed reading about them as much as I had fun reading about Amy. Amy's neurotic, OCD, and as much as she hates her best friend, Mandy for being a bride-zilla, she's becoming exactly like that and it's actually not bad to see her acting that way. I think this book is one where readers can just kick back and have it as a relaxing read.
—Melissa
This book was interesting and scary all at the same time. I am planning a wedding myself and at the beginning of the book I kept saying 'I've said that', 'I've done that'. This was definitely good to read early in the planning process. I know there will be certain thingsi will try to avoid.Amy is an interesting character. She goes from anti-wedding chick to "the bride". I feel for her and her struggle between her job, her wedding and her fiancé. It was nice to see however, that even if a lot went wrong, everything turned out in the end and she realized that even though it was 'the biggest day of her life', she ends up realizing it's only one day out of the rest of their lives.
—Laurel
