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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
This book would be better in print since it is styled after the Choose Your Adventure books.
However, I enjoyed learning about his life, his challenges after Doogie Howser, and finding love. I was amazed at the number of theater productions he performed in, and I am even more impressed at his talent.
However, I enjoyed learning about his life, his challenges after Doogie Howser, and finding love. I was amazed at the number of theater productions he performed in, and I am even more impressed at his talent.
I completely hated the choose-your-own-adventure feature of this book (I know, this instantly makes me a horrible person), but I adore the biography. It definitely highlights the positive while navigating through NPHs personal and professional life. I love the insight.
Great story, creative way to do it. Not fond of the fact I honestly am not sure if I missed a page or section here or there. It'd be nice if they all went together so I could read them all. But overall, it was excellent.
Update: Feb 2017
Listened to the audio - loved it!!!
It was so much fun. I want to read it again and take another path.
Listened to the audio - loved it!!!
It was so much fun. I want to read it again and take another path.
Totally loved it!!! Funny, heartwarming and interesting. The best way to start the year! The best chapter was when he talks about David, his husband. You can feel the love they have for each other, and for their kids :)
Amazing!
Amazing!
I have always been a fan of Choose-your-own books, because the idea is very liberating- it combines all the goods of an entertaining read, while eliminates all the frustrations of when the protagonist doesn't listen to us.
But to craft a memoir around this format was to be an arduous task. It was supposed to take so much effort that the author should have drained himself of his energy reserves. But Neil Patrick Harris- the true and sincere performer that he is- outperforms all writers of this format, he outshines, and not just because of who he is, but because of what he does- or rather lets the reader do.
He does the best thing for his readers: gives them the freedom to choose- from the culinary desires to life choices- and never once does he fail to entertain!
I read the book in snippets and parts, which may have been responsible for making me a little lost on the plot front, but this book still goes highly recommended from me.
But to craft a memoir around this format was to be an arduous task. It was supposed to take so much effort that the author should have drained himself of his energy reserves. But Neil Patrick Harris- the true and sincere performer that he is- outperforms all writers of this format, he outshines, and not just because of who he is, but because of what he does- or rather lets the reader do.
He does the best thing for his readers: gives them the freedom to choose- from the culinary desires to life choices- and never once does he fail to entertain!
I read the book in snippets and parts, which may have been responsible for making me a little lost on the plot front, but this book still goes highly recommended from me.
I'm a big fan on NPH. I watched Doogie Howser faithfully when I was in college and couldn't believe when our little Doogie went on to become not only famous but famous and awesome.
NPH has led a seemingly charmed life. He's got a great family, a cool career, and fun hobbies. He seems, in just about every way, like a person I would love to hang around with. He loves Disney, the Muppets, Broadway and reality TV. If he starts running marathons he might really be the perfect BFF for me.
In any case, as a person who really likes NPH, knows his whole career and is about his same age, this memoir is custom built for me to enjoy. I mean really - how could a bookworm of my particular age resist the Choose Your Own Adventure format? It even has the hilarious bad choice endings that will be very familiar to those who have read a bunch of CYOA books. (The venomous snakes was my favorite!)
It's a super easy read, the format is fun (but will require you to page through the whole book at some point to make sure you didn't miss anything) and for me totally worth reading. If you are looking for some kind of deep story or gossipy tell all you aren't going to find it here. I did find the chapters about him coming to terms with his sexuality quite interesting and there's a particularly funny story involving Scott Caan but other than that it's all quite tame.
NPH has led a seemingly charmed life. He's got a great family, a cool career, and fun hobbies. He seems, in just about every way, like a person I would love to hang around with. He loves Disney, the Muppets, Broadway and reality TV. If he starts running marathons he might really be the perfect BFF for me.
In any case, as a person who really likes NPH, knows his whole career and is about his same age, this memoir is custom built for me to enjoy. I mean really - how could a bookworm of my particular age resist the Choose Your Own Adventure format? It even has the hilarious bad choice endings that will be very familiar to those who have read a bunch of CYOA books. (The venomous snakes was my favorite!)
It's a super easy read, the format is fun (but will require you to page through the whole book at some point to make sure you didn't miss anything) and for me totally worth reading. If you are looking for some kind of deep story or gossipy tell all you aren't going to find it here. I did find the chapters about him coming to terms with his sexuality quite interesting and there's a particularly funny story involving Scott Caan but other than that it's all quite tame.
The choose your adventure style was fun, as were the side commentaries from others. It may have suffered a bit because I read it right on the heels of reading the Jim Henson biography, that's almost an impossible act to have to follow.
NPH is a charming narrator and the Choose Your Own Adventure format is both silly and personal. By writing in second person he sidesteps some of the weight that could come from topics such as "realizing I was gay". In true Choose Your Own Adventure style, some choices will end in outlandish deaths (THE END). Others lead to stories one suspects to be much embellished. Still others are straight forward and honest. The tongue in cheek tone means the last two categories blur together. Did David really create such a convoluted scavenger hunt for NPH? Maybe. Maybe it was a scavenger hunt but not nearly as epic. Or maybe it's all a figment of Neil's imagination. It's entertaining regardless.
I was surprised by how little we learned about Dougie Howser. It's mentioned almost entirely in the past tense, as a point of reference. We don't learn how NPH was cast or hear stories from that period. It's an odd gap for a book which otherwise seems to hit the highlights.
NPH's charm and light tone means that he can get away with saying things which coming from anyone else would be eyebrow raisingly crude. He's so clearly HAPPY, nay, EUPHORIC about his life, and so relentlessly positive that even when he tells a story which may not flatter someone else, he comes out the nice guy.
A note about the format. I read this on the Kindle and was pleasantly surprised about how well that worked. One tip though, if you put the book down, do so BEFORE a fork, not just after. Otherwise, you cannot hit your back arrow.
I was surprised by how little we learned about Dougie Howser. It's mentioned almost entirely in the past tense, as a point of reference. We don't learn how NPH was cast or hear stories from that period. It's an odd gap for a book which otherwise seems to hit the highlights.
NPH's charm and light tone means that he can get away with saying things which coming from anyone else would be eyebrow raisingly crude. He's so clearly HAPPY, nay, EUPHORIC about his life, and so relentlessly positive that even when he tells a story which may not flatter someone else, he comes out the nice guy.
A note about the format. I read this on the Kindle and was pleasantly surprised about how well that worked. One tip though, if you put the book down, do so BEFORE a fork, not just after. Otherwise, you cannot hit your back arrow.
Loved this book! Such an innovative way to tell the story of someone's own life! It was super fun to read. Didn't mind dying however many times
I did. And with a newborn at home it was easy to pick up and put down. I never got through all the iterations but will definitely pick this up again to read some more between other books!
I did. And with a newborn at home it was easy to pick up and put down. I never got through all the iterations but will definitely pick this up again to read some more between other books!