Chapin City Blues

Rating:

What It’s About:

Follow Katherine Ryan as she navigates us through her life from her high school on-again, off-again boyfriend to being a single mom while building her career as a stand up comic and how life sometimes comes back full circle.

Let’s Talk About It:

I wasn’t certain if this book would be up my alley, but I needed to take a break from the transgirl/femboy fetish erotica that started the year with. What better way than to read a short memoir about finding your way back to the first boy you loved? 

I am unfamiliar with Katherine Ryan’s body of work. And that’s not a slight on women comedians, but a slight against all comedians. However, her style of writing is down to earth and feels conversational. One could almost imagine Katherine sitting across from you at a booth in some cafe, sipping on a latte, while telling you this funny(ish) story about how she met her husband in high school, but wouldn’t marry him until decades later. (Why isn’t this a sitcom, Katherine?!)

Because she is a stand up comedian, there are jokes littered in the book. Not all of them hit their mark for me, pulling me away from the narrative and making me cringe. None of this ruins the overall enjoyment of the story. Her story is familiar, something I imagine a lot of readers can connect with (and not just the women audience because men can experience some of the things written down in these pages. Some, but not all.)

Aside from talking about the ins-and-outs of long term relationships and dating as a single mother, she also dives down on the sexism and misogyny of her profession, listing double standards as she navigates through her life. How to Accidentally Settle Down [With Your High School Boyfriend] is a story of empowerment and how love can actually find you when you’re not actively looking; it’s about settling down without settling for less than you deserve.

This book is free to read through Kindle Unlimited. 

Until next time, keep on huntin’.