OnlineBookClub.org

I just read Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography and I cant remember the last time I had so much fun with a non-fiction book. It brought me back to those times in 5th grade when my friends and I would skip recess to read choose your own adventure novels. The book was written wonderfully. It was snarky, witty, and had such a mix of truth and fiction, I'm not quite sure which was which. And truth be told, I don't care.

When I picked up this book, I was wondering how Neil Patrick Harris would marry the inherent falsehoods that came with a choose your own adventure story and the telling of his story. A true choose your own adventure story leads the reader down paths where they can die, or come to ends that are horrible. When I met those ends in the book, they were obviously not where he was in life. It was wonderful to see that I could die in the book and there really was only one positive outcome.

I do wish, however, that we could have gotten a clearer picture of his childhood and of some other bits of his past. Because of the nature of the book, we got multiple paths for things that muddied the waters of what his true story is. That is okay, I'm sure there are grains of truth in every story, and he is such a wonderful story teller, but part of picking up this book was learning about him and I done feel I learned as much as I wanted to.

To me, this book is a satirical, grown-up version of the choose your own adventure books we all know and love based on a core of truth. It is definitely worth a read, but don't pick it up if you are only looking for an accurate accounting of Mr. Neil Patrick Harris's life, pick it up because it is one of those books worth turning off the TV and reading out loud around the dinner table.

I love reading auto-biographies, especially of people in the entertainment industry. But never before has an auto-biography made me laugh so hard, out loud, while reading to myself. This book is hilariously written by Harris himself, with an inside look into all things NPH -- from his “Doogie” days to his daddy days. Utilizing his love for magic and mystery, NPH writes this book as a "Choose Your Own Adventure" style which was popular in his youth. This interesting twist on an auto-biography makes hopping around the pages more of an adventure than a mere window-peering view of his life as he tells it. If you follow the "Choose Your Own Adventure" style you find more humor in how the book is organized to answer your desirable quest in a given moment. If you simply read straight through, you still have a fun bout of laughter throughout this detailed book, and you also stumble upon a page that can not be reached otherwise, just to keep you on your toes!

Neil Patrick Harris blasts open all closet doors in this tell-all book. The stories he reveals are written in earnest form, not withholding any sexual innuendos or crass language. It is a book for adults, as most NPH entertainment is aimed towards these days. Unlike many celebrity autobiographers, this book discloses much and names many friends and acquaintances. It gives you a true perspective of other people who have been in and out of NPH's life.

Due to the nature of this book jumping around from story to story, it does not give a chronological account of his life. If you are looking for that, this is possibly not the book for you. But it does give interesting and intriguing stories that paint an overall picture of his life, his perspective of life, and even his self-doubts. If you are interested in any of those and enjoy a good laugh, this is the next book you should pick up and read!