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cupcakeable 's review for:
Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography
by David Javerbaum, Neil Patrick Harris
You can read more of my reviews here: http://yeshallbejudged.wordpress.com/
As a kid, the “choose your own adventure” books were my absolute favorite, especially the Goosebumps ones. So when I heard about NPH’s take, I knew I would have to try it out, even if I’m not the ultimate Neil Patrick Harris superfan. And boy, oh boy, it did not disappoint. The first surprise I encountered was how well NPH writes as a whole. He absolutely has a style of prose that is both articulate and pleasant to read, something that is quite honestly unusual coming from actors.
The structure of the book itself is indeed just like a choose your own adventure. It’s all written in second person point of view, meaning you ARE Neil and get to decide where to go next. Here is an example of a typical chapter’s end:
-Woohoo! To be the subject of a profile in Totally Straight Guy magazine ‘cuz you’re so totally straight, turn to page 94.
-To go out on a date with the kind of hot chick a raging heterosexual man like you can get anytime he wants, turn to page 264.
-If all this adrenaline has you ready for a climactic car chase, turn to page 207. (It’s a gay car chase, though.)
Hilarious, right? Did I mention how funny this book is? Just like a normal choose your own adventure, you can end up happy with your family at Disneyland, making sandwiches for a living at a Schlotsky’s Deli, or even dead. He fictionalizes certain events and writes a scene from the perspective of the “Harold and Kumar” version of himself (the universe wherein he is only pretending to be gay to get more chicks). But there are plenty of truths in here too. He recounts first meeting his husband David with margin notes from David himself–and they are pretty much the cutest ever. His interest in magic is prevalent, but the great thing about choosing where you go in the book is that if you get tired of a certain subject, he gives you the option to skip on to a completely different topic. And you really do get to experience his whole career with temporary breaks for letters written by some of his celebrity friends including Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Silverman, and Nathan Fillion. There are funny cartoons and photos. It’s pretty much all you could ever ask for in a celebrity memoir, which begs the question: Is there anything Neil Patrick Harris can’t do?
I’m still in the process of going back through the book to make sure I didn’t miss any fun sections because I honestly don’t want to miss a moment of this refreshing gem of a book. Fully recommend!
As a kid, the “choose your own adventure” books were my absolute favorite, especially the Goosebumps ones. So when I heard about NPH’s take, I knew I would have to try it out, even if I’m not the ultimate Neil Patrick Harris superfan. And boy, oh boy, it did not disappoint. The first surprise I encountered was how well NPH writes as a whole. He absolutely has a style of prose that is both articulate and pleasant to read, something that is quite honestly unusual coming from actors.
The structure of the book itself is indeed just like a choose your own adventure. It’s all written in second person point of view, meaning you ARE Neil and get to decide where to go next. Here is an example of a typical chapter’s end:
-Woohoo! To be the subject of a profile in Totally Straight Guy magazine ‘cuz you’re so totally straight, turn to page 94.
-To go out on a date with the kind of hot chick a raging heterosexual man like you can get anytime he wants, turn to page 264.
-If all this adrenaline has you ready for a climactic car chase, turn to page 207. (It’s a gay car chase, though.)
Hilarious, right? Did I mention how funny this book is? Just like a normal choose your own adventure, you can end up happy with your family at Disneyland, making sandwiches for a living at a Schlotsky’s Deli, or even dead. He fictionalizes certain events and writes a scene from the perspective of the “Harold and Kumar” version of himself (the universe wherein he is only pretending to be gay to get more chicks). But there are plenty of truths in here too. He recounts first meeting his husband David with margin notes from David himself–and they are pretty much the cutest ever. His interest in magic is prevalent, but the great thing about choosing where you go in the book is that if you get tired of a certain subject, he gives you the option to skip on to a completely different topic. And you really do get to experience his whole career with temporary breaks for letters written by some of his celebrity friends including Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Silverman, and Nathan Fillion. There are funny cartoons and photos. It’s pretty much all you could ever ask for in a celebrity memoir, which begs the question: Is there anything Neil Patrick Harris can’t do?
I’m still in the process of going back through the book to make sure I didn’t miss any fun sections because I honestly don’t want to miss a moment of this refreshing gem of a book. Fully recommend!