Four-star book review on BCF Book Reviews!

I was delighted to see that The Drought had been given such a fantastic book review on the Book Club Forum this week. You can check out the review here on the official site or read the full review below...



The Drought by Steven Scaffardi
WARNING – This book will make you cry… with laughter!
I’m a big fan of lad-lit (I read a hell of a lot more of it than I do chick-lit, and I’m a chick!), and Scaffardi has packed everything you could possibly want into this voyage of self- and sexual discovery. Dan is a tragically comic character – let’s face it, we all know a guy who isn’t so successful with the ladies and tries just a little too hard with hilarious outcomes – and his mates are just as daft. All are present and correct – the smooth cheater who thinks he can bag any woman he fancies (and usually does), the big bruiser who is a bit soft in the head, but his heart is in the right place (and he’s there to pick up the leftovers from the others – all those not-so-pretty friends who are left over when the smoothie has had his pick), and the brains of the outfit who isn’t always quite as sharp as he’d like to think, but usually comes good.

And then there are the women. You know the types – all those scary first dates that ever went wrong and made you the joke of the week with your buddies, all the bunny boilers in the making and clinging vines and whining jealous types, march in and out of poor Dan’s love life without him getting even a sniff of a chance of getting them into bed.

The plot follows a tried and tested path, and you always know where Dan is going to end up come the end of the book, but the journey to get to that point is so funny you don’t care that you know what’s going to happen because you genuinely want it to happen that way.

This has a broad appeal and would be the perfect gift for the lad in your life, or even the chick with a knowing sense of humour who will recognise her man-mates on the pages, and there are sex gags and innuendos galore which will have you giggling from start to finish, while you cheer Dan and his mates along the way.

Reviewed by Kell Smurthwaite

Lad Lit Book Reviews: My Legendary Girlfriend by Mike Gayle

I never would have found Mike Gayle had it not been for my flatmate insisting I read one of his books. I have to admit I wasn't too sure at first. The blurb read a bit too much like chick lit novel for my liking. I'm a man, and I like manly things dammit! Luckily I got past my silly male ego and embraced my metrosexuality, and a good few years later and I'm one of Mike Gayle's biggest fans.

My Legendary Girlfriend was Gayle's first novel, having spent time as a journalist and features writer. This book was a huge success as Gayle followed in the footsteps of fellow lad lit author Nick Hornby to write a book about relationships from a male perspective with very high praise indeed.

English teacher Will Kelly is single and pretty miserable to be honest! Set over one weekend, Will spends most of his time pining over his ex-girlfriend, Aggi, who cheated on him with his best pal. Then Kate enters Will's life in a series of phone calls which start to make Will feel like he has found someone to help him get over his ex.

Dubbed a male version of Bridget Jones Diary, Mike Gayle's first book gets a big thumbs up. I think whether we like to admit these things as men or not, we've all been there when we have pined over a girl a wee to much. We can't help ourselves, we know it's wrong and our friends are probably avoiding us because of it, but we've already gone too far.

That's Will in a nutshell. The guy we've all been and don't ever want to think about it. Like me, you'll probably want to grab Will at times, give him a slap, and tell him to snap out of it!

But Gayle writes in a way that makes you want to keep reading to see what happens, regardless of whether you like Will or not. Not that I disliked Will - as I said, we've all been there, and you end up rooting for Will.

This book will always hold a special place for me as this was my first real introduction to lad lit, and in a way, this was probably one of the biggest influences on me to pursue the idea of writing The Drought.

All in all, I would say that My Legendary Girlfriend is a great read, and once you've read this one you'll be searching for other books by Mike Gayle and trust me - you won't be disappointed!

The dream to be the Next Big Thing comes to an end... for now!

Diary of a stand-up comedian Entry #52
After such a fantastic response from the judges in my first round heat in the Next Big Thing talent competition, I was met with a somewhat subdued reaction from the crowd at Confex at the London Excel arena today.

The fact I had not performed in three months wasn't actually the issue though. It was more to do with the fact that I was in completely alien environment! I am used to performing in pubs and bars, but this was totally different! Despite the professional stage and being able to say I performed at the 'London Excel', I was in fact having to perform a rather risqué comedy routine in the middle of a trade show exhibition at around midday!

My anecdotes of failed encounters with the opposite sex and that dwarf story did not go down too well with business people who were there to look at how different products and services might improve their business! Still, it was a pretty cool experience and because I decided before the end of the year that I was going to take a break from the comedy scene, I wasn't too bothered when the audience gave me a pretty average score.

The talent agency Sternberg Clarke said it best on their blog when they wrote: Stand-Up Comedian Steven Scaffardi had been a crowd favourite in the first heat at Jewel for Event Magazine's Christmas Party but struggled to overcome the challenges of performing at a trade show; a lesson for any performer there - be ready to adapt to your surroundings.

I guess I won't hold my breath waiting for a call from the Plumbers Trade Show Live event to give me a call then about performing!