Turning Thirty - Mike Gayle

If turning 40 is the new turning 30, is turning 30 now like turning 25? If you were a character in your average lad literature (Lad Lit) book this is the kind of quandary that would give you sleepless nights. The genre seems to be populated with rich young people who have nothing else to do with their lives than worry about themselves. However, having read a straight run of horror, psychological crime thrillers and hard sci-fi I felt that my heart and my brain deserved a little relaxation. So I reached for one of the masters of modern Lad Lit, Mike Gayle. Could Gayle produce something to sooth my fragile nerves and over active imagination? Or would he end up making ...  Read the complete review

I turned 30 recently. It’s not an age I was particularly looking forward to reaching, but it happens to most of us at some point in our lives. 30 is one of those funny ages, where you can still be told “oh, you’re still young” by people who have reached it, but where teenagers and people in their early 20s can make you feel dreadfully old. 30 is also one of those ages you use as a deadline. When you’re young, it seems so far away and so adult that you can safely say “I’ll do this by the time I’m 30”, knowing you have plenty of time. But as that deadline grows nearer, you wonder if your life is what it’s all made out to be. I’d had a copy of Mike ...  Read the complete review

An extremely informative back cover there and it's worth pointing out that - once again - Flame have seen fit to play the deceptive trick of printing praising review quotes on the front cover and only underneath in small print explaining that these quotes refer to a completely different title. We've said it before. We'll say it again. Flame should stop this practice - it does nothing but give the appearance of intending to mislead. That said, we can concentrate on the book. Turning Thirty follows Matt Beckford during the months approaching his thirtieth birthday. Following a split with his girlfriend, Elaine, Matt leaves New York and returns to his ...  Read the complete review

I have just finished reading this book and I thought I would tell you about how much I enjoyed it. Turning Thirty is in the top twenty bestsellers at the moment. With a silver toaster on a bright pink and blue background, the front cover looks both intriguing and appealing. #The Author# First of all I will begin by telling you a bit about the author, Mike Gayle. Mike Gayle used to be an Agony Uncle. He is a freelance journalist and has written two previous novels My Legendary Girlfriend and Mr Commitment. I have not read either of these but they have both got good reviews and were bestsellers. #Why I chose the book# I take my ...  Read the complete review

Last week I turned thirty, The big 30 end of your youth, whatever you call it,and end of an era, well it certainly was for me. One of my best friends thought that with her knowledge that books were a passion of mine that she would buy this book for me (she doesn't turn thirty till January) because I was hitting the big 30. Mike Gayle who wrote this book definately has a way with words it was as if he had crawled inside my mind and read all my neagtive and positive thoughts as to what this milestone would bring me. It is about a man called Matt who is reaching his thirtith birthday and after splitting up with his girlfriend in New York returns ...  Read the complete review