Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris
Publisher/Year: Crown Archetype | October 14, 2014
Pages: 304
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: Auto-Biography (with a splattering of Fiction)
Format: Hardback
Source: ARC via Blogging for Books (Thanks!)
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. That did not sway my opinion in the least.
Shannan’s Summary
If you’ve ever wanted to know everything about Neil Patrick Harris, this is the right book. Part truth, part fiction, part random quirkiness, you get to piece together NPH’s life as it exists to date. I would try to give more of a summer, but the one from the books is so perfect, I won’t even try to top it.
Summary (From Goodreads)
Tired of memoirs that only tell you what really happened?
Sick of deeply personal accounts written in the first person? Seeking an exciting, interactive read that puts the “u” back in “aUtobiography”? Then look no further than Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography! In this revolutionary, Joycean experiment in light celebrity narrative, actor/personality/carbon-based life-form Neil Patrick Harris lets you, the reader, live his life. You will be born in New Mexico. You will get your big break at an acting camp. You will get into a bizarre confrontation outside a nightclub with actor Scott Caan. Even better, at each critical juncture of your life you will choose how to proceed. You will decide whether to try out for Doogie Howser, M.D. You will decide whether to spend years struggling with your sexuality. You will decide what kind of caviar you want to eat on board Elton John’s yacht.
Choose correctly and you’ll find fame, fortune, and true love. Choose incorrectly and you’ll find misery, heartbreak, and a guest stint on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. All this, plus magic tricks, cocktail recipes, embarrassing pictures from your time as a child actor, and even a closing song. Yes, if you buy one book this year, congratulations on being above the American average, but make that book Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography!
First Off…
Honestly the title was intriguing enough, even if it wasn’t Neil Patrick Harris (NPH.) But I love his quirky side (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog anyone?) and figured this would fall in that zone, so I signed up for my review copy.
Thoughts:
I love NPH and his sense of humor, so I knew I would love this book. While I was waiting for the book, I wondered how much like a choose-your-own adventure it could really be, it’s an autobiography after all. It’s exactly like the choose-your-own adventure books. Written to make you feel like you are NPH, every couple of pages there is a choice of what part of his life you want to experience next and sometimes it even leads down a road that may have existed if he hadn’t lived this life. And yes, the fictional pieces are over the top ridiculousness.
On the Biography side of things, I really haven’t known much of NPH except some of his TV and Movie roles. In the grand scene of Hollywood, I think NPH lives a pretty private life, which I appreciate. This book opens up about his family life, how he made his big breaks and fell in love with acting. It also talks about his broadway acting, which I only knew he did not, how extensively he has performed on live stages. He of course talks about Doogie and How I Met Your Mother, but I totally geeked out when I found out he loved Dr. Horrible as much as everyone loved watching. There are picture in the middle with mostly true subtitles and the ending I wound up at (which may be an all roads lead moment) is the story of his 40th birthday, which is pretty epic. If you ever want to be labeled most amazing party thrower ever, have a party like this one.
Feels:
I wouldn’t say feels were high with this book, but I did laugh a lot and by the end I felt like I was friends with NPH.
10 Second Summary:
- Yes, it’s really choose-your-own: You really do get to pick what comes next, and even possibly cause NPH to loose the star lit future he’s gone on for something much less glitzy.
- Neil Patrick Harris had and has a crazy life: I greatly appreciate people who try to be the best at what they love and can do it without crazy publicity stunts or going crazy in general. NPH is just talented and willing to work for his dreams.
- Read if you want to laugh: This book, while true (mostly) is written with asides and partly truths and blatant lies that will have you laughing through it all.
Glad I have this in Hardback, because that’s how much I liked it.
(As a side note, I wouldn’t recommend trying to read this as an ebook, the choose-your-own style doesn’t seem like it would be very friendly with the ebook format. The book cover also has a magic trick!)