Oof. I'm not quite sure what the author was going for with this one. My best guess is that people in his Harvard bubble kept telling him that his stories were so great that he should write a book. I'm sure they were genuine in their appreciation - many of these stories would probably be funny, meaningful, nostalgic, or otherwise at least mildly diverting for someone who was part of that world.

For the rest of us, though, these stories evoke the feeling of having gone out for a nice dinner and being seated next to a table of trust-fund college kids who are loudly trying to impress one another with their imagined wit and worldliness while oblivious to their rudeness to the staff and their fellow diners.

There are small sparks of...something...that suggest some time and perspective might result in better material from this writer in the future. Often the best part of a story is the rare moment of noticing people beyond his immediate circle (the Russian mobster celebrating a birthday, the drunken socialites at the Thanksgiving vacation, etc.). But the core stories are uneven in tone and characterizations. It is particularly surprising that the author's own narration adds so little to the audiobook - it's as if he realizes the cringiness of some of these anecdotes now that he's hearing them out loud for the first time.

If you're a Harvard insider, this may be enjoyable. If not, give it a miss.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

"A Comedy of Nobodies" by Baron Ryan is a humorous novel that delves into the lives of everyday people, portraying their misadventures with wit and satire. The story follows a group of characters who, despite their seemingly mundane existence, find themselves in a series of comically absurd situations. Ryan's writing style combines sharp dialogue with clever observations about societal norms, creating a narrative that's both entertaining and reflective. The book is noted for its lighthearted yet insightful take on human nature and the quirks of daily life. It offers readers a chance to laugh at the ordinary while subtly engaging with deeper themes of identity and self-perception.

Baron Ryan is both the author and narrator of this 5.25 hour long collection of short stories. The writer’s style reminded me a bit of Nick Hornby’s About a Boy.

The main character Charlie is a college student at Harvard wandering through life, from one amusing or cringy scene to the next. As a reader you root for him and feel everything will work out for this hapless fellow- at least he’s got a good story to tell at the end of the day.

The author has a laid back delivery which fits the book’s vibe. This book can easily be listened to at 1.5x speed.

#netgalley ARC Audiobook

First, the title and the cover are great. I was excited to listen to this based just on those alone. However, I thought it'd be enjoyable without having followed Baron's online presence before requesting, but it just wasn't a good fit for me. I have been enjoying Baron's video content but that style of content just didn't work well for me in book form. I don't doubt that there is an audience that would love it though.

A Comedy of Nobodies
by Baron Ryan

✨ My thoughts:
It’s a quick listen you can easily get through. I wanted to love it and I really didn’t. I didn’t hate it though! I think it’s one you have to be in the right mind set for and clearly I wasn’t. I received a complimentary physical copy and couldn’t get into it and that’s when I requested the audiobook in hopes to have a better experience but unfortunately it fell flat. I think there’s a specific audience that will love this because I do think there’s a lot to love. I hope this book gets all the love it deserves!

Happy reading 📖

This should have been called “Seinfeld: The Ivy League Years.”

Very, very funny. At times I felt inundated with Harvard culture but mostly laughed out loud. It’s power and charm are in the storytelling. Definitely worth the read.

Baron Ryan — You have got yourself a new fan.

Narrated by Baron Ryan
Audiobook rating : 5 stars
Book rating : 4 stars

This was such a good read. Sole purpose of me requesting this book was I was craving some humour and it's so hard to find a book which is funny and yet pleasant in a literary way. Came across a comedy of nobodies, cover was nice , it said Seinfeld meets fleabag. Oh man that's my favourite show. How could I avoid not ordering it??

I'm not disappointed. In my personal opinion, whenever author reads their own book it is always better for the obvious reasons. But author should have some Narration skills too. Baron Ryan obviously does.

This book was a whole package, witty with some philosophical thoughts planted here and there and an easy going prose. A perfectly contemporary setting which one could relate to. The characters which felt very real. I wouldn't say that any characters hold my attention including Charlie but even then I was totally invested.

Thank you very much Blackstone publishing audiobooks, Netgalley and Baron Ryan for a perfectly pleasant audiobook in exchange of an honest review.

This book was such an unexpected hit for me! Yes, it's a collection of stories, but they're all tied together with the same narrator and friends, so it feels more like a novel that doesn't have one plot to it (which is always fine with me as I'm not a super plot-driven person).

The description is right that it's a Seinfeld meets Fleabag type of book. In fact, I'm having a hard time putting into words why I enjoyed it so much since I really have nothing in common with the main character Charlie who I think can be described as a really smart slacker. He goes to Harvard and is constantly on a search for the right girl. I might be a little biased, but since I'm from the area, I loved all the familiar landmarks (I even met my husband and got engaged at one of the spots they frequent- Grafton Street!).

I guess you could say I enjoyed it so much because Charlie and his friends entertained and intrigued me. There were several moments in the book that just hit me as truths and that felt deeper than they should be in a book of this type. I should note that I had never heard of Baron Ryan before reading this, but I just discovered his Instagram account and I'm pretty sure he IS Charlie.

Happiness for me is having a collection of short stories that i look forward to listening to each morning while I’m getting ready and A Comedy of Nobodies has been my latest and I’m here to report I really enjoyed it.

With all the comparisons to Seinfeld I knew this one would hit the mark for me. As I listened I questioned… wait did this happen on an episode?! I thought it was funny and clever! Much like catching up with an old friend over coffee. Really looking forward to what Baron writes next!

Thank you Blackstone Publishing

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.Andthebookshelf/

Charlie and his group of friends is trying to survive undergrad and find a place to belong. This series of short stories is like a collection of snapshots into their lives. The book, and it's stories, ask some really interesting questions...

What happened if you die when God is away at lunch?

How far are you willing to go for quiche?

What's more American than American Pie?

A book about nothing and something all in one, there were parts that worked for me and parts that didn't hit the mark. Worth the read, but expect to ask yourself what exactly you're reading a few times. I did appreciate that the author narrated the audiobook because it means it hit exactly how he envisioned it and it helped me feel connected to Charlie and his motley crew.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing for the gifted ALC.

Sally Rooney meets comedy.

This recounts a fall semester of Charlie and his social circle - four typical, existential, anxious university students who just want to feel understood.

”I want to die, but I'm so unlucky that if I were reincarnated, I'd probably just come back as myself."

Some stories were semi-relatable, but towards the end, I felt so frustrated at all the friends, especially when it starts getting into a religious pyramid scheme.

Charlie’s fears about never finding love, never being capable of being loved or finding the right one is definitely something that I sympathise with.

However, Charlie is supposed to be twenty years old. I’m 20, and struggled to relate to most of his other actions and thoughts. This made me look up the reviews and now I’m questioning whether I’m the odd, strange 20-year-old who doesn’t think in this way and doesn’t do what he does.

Charlie is witty and nerdy, yet always passed over by each new girl in the story who don’t go for the “nice guy” troupe.
This is a collection of stories all about the same characters so I wasn’t expecting amazing character work. However, I was definitely expecting… more. I had to look up Charlie’s name…

Admittedly, I had no idea who Baron Ryan was when I listened to this and it was only looking up reviews that I found out he is an internet sensation.

I think this will definitely work better for others, but unfortunately I am just left feeling confused and questioning my own normalcy.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for providing me an arc in exchange for a review.

Thank you Netgalley for the audio version of this book for review.
The title is what initially drew me to this audiobook. I love comedy, so Yes, please! When I started listening, I immediately thought I liked the narrator's voice, which sounded familiar. I googled the author and it turns out I had watched several of his videos on IG a few months ago. I enjoyed his postings and found them interesting and humorous. This audiobook is equally humorous, heartwarming, and interesting.

This audiobook is great when you want something funny and interesting to listen to, great for a long car ride or listening to at work if you can laugh out loud because you will. Some stories, there are 9 audio tracks, I liked more than others, but they are all entertaining. The stories take place when the narrator/author is in college, and each story involves his core group of friends. I really hope this group exists, Nora, especially Nora, she's a hoot! Along with Charlie (our narrator), Ted and Mike.
1- How to Fall in love in 36 questions
2- Getting There- Nora is not to be messed with!
3-The story behind the story
4-Jumping out a window (a favorite!)- sorry Charlie I would probably turn you in for the $100 Insomnia Cookie gift card!
5-The Vent
6- The Last American Pie- Charlie you just had to ask!
7- What's up God- (definitely the best story!)- I must find a recipe for rosemary quiche!
8- Looking for Love in a loveless world
9- Walking Home

I would guess that maybe these stories are based on real events, but who knows? These stories remind me of Jerry Seinfeld and the crew. This young group could definitely be the new generation of Seinfeld, it's that type of humor. NO ROSEMARY QUICHE FOR YOU!

This was a quick enjoyable book. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed that it was read by the author. The stories were unique and funny at times. It was almost like listening to a friend reminiscing and tell stories.

A semester in the life of Charlie, a Harvard student in a creative writing class. This is a set of short stories with many of the same characters. Charlie has a way with words but not with women. Making excuses for late assignments, meeting women at mixers, music, avoiding football players, and stretching out his financial aid seems to occupy most of his time.

While the subject matter is basic college life, Charlie’s wry voice keeps it interesting and sharply observed. I look forward to reading more work by Baron Ryan.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for providing a copy of the audiobook for review purposes.

I had to mainly listen to this one as the author narrates his stories himself. (Going back and forth between this and the physical book- I love doing tandem reads this way.) I loved that the author narrated, though, as his humor is so subtle and dry that it might be missed by anyone else. The book is described as Seinfeld meets Fleabag, and I can’t find a better fit in which to compare it. I immensely enjoyed all of the stories, including the one with no plot, and was laughing out loud reading and listening to this. I started following Ryan on Instagram (@americanbaron), and his posts are as equally charming and unique.

I said before I love short stories as a palate cleanser, and this definitely held true again this time. I highly recommend this book if Seinfeld and Fleabag are your cup of tea.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC/audiobook, in which the author narrates stories that could have sprung from his own life as a poor student. Trying a scientific approach to dating, being in an amateur jazz-band, and showing up at church functions with the sole intent of bringing home tuperware containers of food are all some of his adventures. I shared the story with a lady met on the metro and she says it sounds like fun. Oh it is, I said, Oh, it is!

I just finished A Comedy of Nobodies by Baron Ryan and also narrated by Baron Ryan and here are my thoughts.

The cover drew me in first. Baron did an epic job of making you feel like you are right there with Charlie. Charlie knows he isn’t the main character even in his own story and the whole book is about all the mishaps he has in this deadpan tone which was hilarious.

The pacing was great and Charlie got himself into more and more trouble the more he goes along with what other people want to do. It’s all about the things that get him into trouble and how he gets himself out of it, barely.

It’s pretty funny, but not laugh out loud funny, it's the kind of funny where you put your head in your hands and shake it funny. It was highly entertaining but don’t expect the story to go anywhere because it is literally like you met Baron Ryan in a coffee shop and he is telling you his stories of his college days.

It was great. I was very entertained and would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has a darker sense of humor.

4 stars thank you to @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for my ALC

I'm not normally a fan of Millennial or post-Millennial tales of woe. There, I've said it right up front. But something about this one drew me in nevertheless, and at first I thought I was going to really like it. (BTW, brilliant cover - which definitely helped draw me in.) I tend to enjoy when authors narrate their own audiobooks, and Ryan's voice is perfect for his interconnected stories. They have a Seinfeldian feel - if Seinfeld had been intended for a more intellectual audience rather intended to be the ultimate exemplar of pop culture at the time - with wry observations that made me smile. Unfortunately, after listening to the first few stories, the "angst of the privileged student" vibe started to wear on me and I no longer found it dry and witty but a bit monotonous and unrelatable. I'm just not the right audience here...

This is a selection of stories that I found incredibly entertaining with all the observational humor, angst, and coming to terms with life's seeming randomness.

What was really fantastic was to see the words and hear his voice simultaneously. I loved hearing the tones, especially of his friends who cracked me up!

I definitely recommend the audio of this book.

That generational divide here felt fascinating. I loved being able to see how younger folk think! I found myself agreeing more than I expected. So basically, if you are old like me, don't shy away. We can grow and laugh together.

Thanks again to @blackstonepublishing for both audio and physical formats. It was a perfect combo! (Published May 21st, so both are available!)

This collection of short stories, narrated by the author, himself, chronicles the lives of four Harvard millennials throughout one fall semester. Charlie, an ordinary and typical student is just trying to navigate life on campus but manages to find himself involved in the most bizarre adventures. Told with subtle humor and Seinfeld-ish disdain the lighthearted stories actually tackle the bigger life questions. As Charlie and his friends navigate the semester and the absurdity of their situations, they help each other reflect on the more meaningful lessons in life.
This is one of the few audiobooks that I slowed my speed down to a 1.5x to thoroughly enjoy Baron Ryan’s narration. I felt as if we were sitting in a coffee bar while he was regaling us with his stories. This was a quick listen that I thoroughly enjoyed with several laugh out loud moments!