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Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography

Neil Patrick Harris

Start date: November 1, 2014

Finish date: December 1, 2014

Why we're reading this: Mod Pick- Alyssia
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Nov 11, 2014 Jennifer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: edelweiss

4.5/5 stars

I absolutely love Neil Patrick Harris. And am pretty much obsessed with everything he does musical theatre wise. So I knew I wanted to check out his Choose Your Own Autobiography.

It is slightly confusing as an e-book (trying to figure out how to get to each choice without missing anything). But basically I bookmarked any of the choice pages. Then I went to choice one, then back to the choice page to see choice two, then I continued from there. Also my kindle has a back feature. So aft ...more

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May 25, 2023 Angela Blount rated it it was ok

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 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. ...more

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Feb 20, 2015 Marla rated it really liked it

Shelves: with-reservations, adult, challenged, lgbt, made-me-laugh, romance, non-fiction, magic, buddy, zz-2015

I really like the Choose Your Adventure books. I had forgotten what my problem is with these books: I want to know what happens in all the possible story paths.

For instance, (view spoiler)

Be sure you read about Elton John & his David on p. 244 (in my book).

Likes:
* Harris's fondness for his parents and bro ...more

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Dec 02, 2014 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: type-audiobook, 2015

The audiobook version of this book has some fun extras, and it is NOT an exact reading from the written copy. Obviously, the choose-your-own format doesn't work in audio as it's much harder to skip around and maintain any coherence. It was read by Neil Patrick Harris himself, and the chapter where he meets David is "annotated" by David himself. All in all, I found this memoir to be funny, informative, and heartfelt. The behind-the-scenes look at the sheer magnitude of effort and love that go int ...more

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