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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
This was a fun audiobook. Obviously it had to be altered a bit due to the linear format, but I think they did a rather good job of adapting the book. It was interesting to learn about NPH's life and how he escaped from Doogiedom. And also, I had no idea he loved magic that much. I really liked that he included magic tricks in his book. And I appreciated that the audiobook came with drink recipes. This book is worth reading (or listening to) just for the sheer creativity and deviation from the traditional celebrity memoir.
5 enthusiastic stars!
This book is so fun to read. I love NPH even more now. And his love for David and his kids melts my cold, cold heart.
This book is so fun to read. I love NPH even more now. And his love for David and his kids melts my cold, cold heart.
The only drawback I'm finding to reading 300+ pages assuring me that I was NPH is that it's going to take me a day or two to come to terms with the fact that I am not, in fact, NPH. It's a dramedy.
I loved NPH before I read this book and didn't think I could love him any more than I did already. I was wrong. His life story is told with humor and poignancy. It was everything I wanted and more.
I really enjoyed this book but it was a little hard to read. I kept worrying that my choices would make me miss part of the book. After I was sure that I had read most of it I had to go back to the beginning and go page by page to make sure I didn't miss anything.
I loved this book. I feel like he was sincere and positive which is a change from other biographies I've read. I think Neil's writing is entertaining and who can hate a choose your own adventure book??
2.5 Stars
I've generally liked NPH since my childhood, where I vaguely recall watching some of the exploits of Dougie Howser. (You quickly, although not unexpectedly, learn that being called "Dougie" in public remains the bane of his existence.)
The first 1/3rd of the book feels well-polished and is generally entertaining. He tells of his idyllic childhood and intensely supportive family, the beginnings of his acting career, and his enduring obsession with magic. NPH's dry, quippy, sardonic sense of humor comes through in a clever flurry of wordplay (slide-of-tongue, if you will.) He actually narrates his own audiobook, which may add a lot for some of his bigger fans.
I'm not sure if there's a lack of real vulnerability in this memoir, or if the trouble is more so that NPH has apparently led such an incredibly charmed life. He reports zero childhood trauma, an early rise to stardom, plenty of jet-setting wealth... and nothing particularly bad happening to him--outside of being routinely called his fictional character's name by random members of the public, and having once been kicked in the butt by a teenage girl. The first time he mentions anything causing him serious mortality introspection involved the fairly sudden death of his mother-in-law.
The latter 2/3rds of the book is a listing of his wildly varied work history, and is littered with raunchy sexual encounters--both the actual and the invented. (Definitely R-rated.) Most of this felt really bogged down and added a flippant air reminiscent of his HIMYM character, Barney.
Side Note: This book may be older than I'd realized, as his work on Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events isn't mentioned.
While I appreciated the novelty of the Choose Your Own Adventure fictional diversions sprinkled throughout, I can't say it added anything outside of nostalgia. The non-fiction part of the telling already has you jumping around in a disjointed, often non-chronological manner. I utilized both audiobook and hardback, but the effect remained unhelpful to the pacing, and in this reader's opinion, not quite whimsical enough to be rewarding.
I've generally liked NPH since my childhood, where I vaguely recall watching some of the exploits of Dougie Howser. (You quickly, although not unexpectedly, learn that being called "Dougie" in public remains the bane of his existence.)
The first 1/3rd of the book feels well-polished and is generally entertaining. He tells of his idyllic childhood and intensely supportive family, the beginnings of his acting career, and his enduring obsession with magic. NPH's dry, quippy, sardonic sense of humor comes through in a clever flurry of wordplay (slide-of-tongue, if you will.) He actually narrates his own audiobook, which may add a lot for some of his bigger fans.
I'm not sure if there's a lack of real vulnerability in this memoir, or if the trouble is more so that NPH has apparently led such an incredibly charmed life. He reports zero childhood trauma, an early rise to stardom, plenty of jet-setting wealth... and nothing particularly bad happening to him--outside of being routinely called his fictional character's name by random members of the public, and having once been kicked in the butt by a teenage girl. The first time he mentions anything causing him serious mortality introspection involved the fairly sudden death of his mother-in-law.
The latter 2/3rds of the book is a listing of his wildly varied work history, and is littered with raunchy sexual encounters--both the actual and the invented. (Definitely R-rated.) Most of this felt really bogged down and added a flippant air reminiscent of his HIMYM character, Barney.
Side Note: This book may be older than I'd realized, as his work on Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events isn't mentioned.
While I appreciated the novelty of the Choose Your Own Adventure fictional diversions sprinkled throughout, I can't say it added anything outside of nostalgia. The non-fiction part of the telling already has you jumping around in a disjointed, often non-chronological manner. I utilized both audiobook and hardback, but the effect remained unhelpful to the pacing, and in this reader's opinion, not quite whimsical enough to be rewarding.