Steven Scaffardi on why he believes you should give lad lit a chance
First off, I will openly admit that I am no chick lit expert – I’m certainly no Steven Watson who decided to read nothing but chick lit for a whole year. If anything, I’m the guy who sits with his wife watching a romcom and screams at the TV: ‘A man wouldn’t say that!’
But in recent years I have unexpectedly stumbled into the chick lit world, and to be honest, you guys have been very welcoming. If I was to hazard a guess, I’d say that 70% of the people who read my debut novel Sex, Love and Dating Disasters: The Drought are a) women and b) fans of chick lit.
I found myself inadvertently writing for an audience I never thought in a million years would be interested in the rambles of a 30-something man nostalgically reminiscing about all of the ridiculous things I did when I was single and dating in my 20s.
So with that in mind, here are my top 5 reasons why chick lit fans will love lad lit:
1. Is that what men really think?
I’m afraid so ladies, and deep down, I think you always knew it. Let’s face it, as the old saying goes, you can’t live with us and you can’t live without us. We’re immature and ludicrously hopeless when it comes to romance. Lad lit will give you an insight into the male mind, and it’s not always pretty. But that’s not to say that it won’t make you smile and that leads me nicely on to…
2. Laugh-out-loud funny
Juliet Madison singled out the importance of humour in a good chick lit book in her article 5 Things I Love About Chick Lit and if there is one thing I can guarantee with lad lit, it’s that you will get plenty of laughs. But don’t take my word for it. Chick Lit Plus reviewed The Drought and said: “Steven Scaffardi’s first novel is absolutely hilarious and will leave every reader, male or female, laughing out loud.”
3. You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince
Chick lit is renowned for its Happy Ever After endings. It makes you feel warm inside and fills you with hope and promise. It’s the calling card of a well-written romantic comedy. But if life really does imitate art then you need that other side of the coin, and that is where lad lit comes in. Don’t get me wrong, lad lit has its fair share of happy endings but it’s just a little bit different to chick lit. Lad lit is that awful first date you went on years ago but still laugh about to this very day with your girlfriends over a glass of wine. If book genres were diets then lad lit with be the ‘before’ picture and chick lit would be the ‘after’ image.
4. If lad lit was a movie, you’d probably watch it
Think of some of the funniest films you’ve ever seen. Superbad, American Pie, The Hangover. You are basically watching lad lit on the big screen.
5. It covers the same themes as chick lit
Lad lit is best known as the male equivalent of chick lit, primarily written by men exploring relationships, emotions and day-to-day life experiences from the perspective of a male protagonist. Often told with humour, charm and wit, lad lit will tackle themes that we can all relate to, just like it’s older and more successful sibling chick lit. So please, help your little brother out and give lad lit a chance.
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