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Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography

by Neil Patrick Harris , David Javerbaum , Antony Hare (Illustrator)

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 15,248 ratings · 2,237 reviews

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- ...more

Hardcover , 291 pages

Published October 14th 2014 by Crown Archetype

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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

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Nov 09, 2014 Patrick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-would-blurb

I expected this book to be witty. I expected it to be clever and fun. And it was. It was all of those things in spades.

But I didn't expect it to be sweet and sad and honest and touching. I mean, it's framed as a choose-your-own-adventure. You don't expect those to be heartfelt, emotional stories....

Perhaps I should start by saying that I came to know Neil Patrick Harris in a different way than people. Most of you probably know him from his two big TV shows: Doogie Howser or How I Met Your Mothe ...more

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Oct 28, 2014 J. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: awesome , better-than-i-thought-it-would-be , humor , non-fiction , would-recommend

Kids, did I ever tell you about the time I read your Uncle Neil's wonderfully weird autobiography? No, not the The Bro Code .

Pa pa pa pa, pa pa pa pa...
pa pa, da da da da, da da da da da...

It was the autumn of 2014 and your Aunt Robin was on a top secret mission for S.H.I.E.L.D. (She was Taran Killin' * it, by the way.) Anyway, Neil had just released a book that was unlike any other celebrity autobiography before. You see kids, most people use their books to either brag about themselves or garner ...more

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Nov 04, 2014 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs , read-in-2014 , non-fiction

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

How can I describe my feelings about my experience with Choose Your Own Autobiography ???? Well, this pretty much sums it up:

Buckle up friends ‘cause this might be a long one . . . Where do I even begin???? I guess I should take my inspiration from NPH and sit down at the computer in order to journal my feelings:

Let me start by saying you kind of have to be a NPH Fangirl to really appreciate this book. Although funny, Neil’s story foc ...more

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Mar 30, 2015 Diane Librarian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks , memoirs , hollywood , humorous

Hi, my name is Diane and I am a recovering theater addict.

(Group: Hi, Diane.)

I've long been a fan of Neil Patrick Harris. The guy can sing, dance, act funny or serious, and he makes hosting award shows look easy. He's a quintuple threat.

Reading NPH's memoir, it felt like I grew up with him. As a kid, he loved the musical "Annie" and memorized the choreography. I also loved Annie and used to drive my mom nuts singing "It's a hard knock life."

NPH was blown away by the show "Les Misérables," callin ...more

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Sep 17, 2014 Alex marked it as to-read

Someday we will be over our rediscovered love for Neil Patrick Harris

Someday we will no longer think every single thing he does is awesome and magical

Someday we will watch someone doing a shitty job at hosting the Oscars or making a healthcare website or pitching for the Red Sox and not think "They should have gotten Neil Patrick Harris, he would have been awesome at whatever this is"

Not today though my friends

Not today

Update: Neil Patrick Harris releases trailer for book, continues to be entert ...more

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Jun 01, 2014 Ash Wednesday marked it as to-read

A CHOOSE YOUR OWN NPH AUTOBIOGRAPHY???

Note to self for October:
Step 1: buy this book
Step 2: buy a pregnancy test kit just in case it can get you pregnant
Step 3: renew driver's license

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Jul 28, 2015 Magdalena rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2014 , biography , non-fiction , blogging-for-books

Have I read the whole book? I don't think so! Why not you ask me? Well it's because in this book you will have to pick your own way to get to the end/endings. Which means that I have read the book, jumping around, precisely like the old adventure books my brother had when I was younger. You haven't read an adventure book where you have to pick you own way? Then I feel sorry for you, they are great, I wish I had one of them right now (well if I had one I would probably just cheat to get to the en ...more

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Jun 15, 2015 Jillian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography , nonfiction , abandoned

I am torn about this book. I have procrastinated rating this book and writing this review because I am really very sad about reaching the conclusion I have come to.

Usually if I abandon a book, it automatically gets one star because if I can't finish a book, well, that kind of says it all. With this book, I can't do that. My dislike and inability to finish this book were not due to the content or writing style, it was due to the format.

While I very much enjoyed the idea of the nostalgic nature of I am torn about this book. I have procrastinated rating this book and writing this review because I am really very sad about reaching the conclusion I have come to.

Usually if I abandon a book, it automatically gets one star because if I can't finish a book, well, that kind of says it all. With this book, I can't do that. My dislike and inability to finish this book were not due to the content or writing style, it was due to the format.

While I very much enjoyed the idea of the nostalgic nature of the Choose Your Own Adventure format (which falls right into happy memories from my childhood--I am basically NPH's target audience!), I absolutely hated it where this book was concerned. I felt like it was too easy to miss the gems hidden within or to really understand the progression of his life and works and learnings. It was too hard for me to choose my own adventure and not get lost; a choose-your-own-adventure book doesn't work too well with reality, which was very hard to find and follow amongst the overreaching adventure scenarios. At one point, I tried to just read it straight through, skipping the obviously made-up parts so I could at least finish it and have some idea of his life. I made it to about page 120, and then I gave up.

More importantly, however, now that I've had time to think on it, what bothered me more was that I felt this format took an amazing life filled with wisdom, love, and discoveries... and turned it into one big joke. I get it, NPH is a comedian, a showman, so something like that is expected. But I enjoyed the laughs that were weaved into his stories and writing so much because they added to it, whereas the ultimate "joke" of the format untangled all that. It reads like Neil Patrick Harris wanted to write an autobiography, but was frightened of how vulnerable it would make him, so he hid behind two layers of comedy, one of which works really well and the other of which doesn't work at all. It almost made it painful to read in a way, uncomfortable, like that through his avoidance to tell the story in a linear fashion and despite the overall positivity the words bring, I was witnessing some inner-turmoil that I shouldn't be seeing and that still hasn't been resolved. I am probably reading way too much into it, but I also can't change the fact that that is how I felt reading this. I think this book is more emotional than people realize.

Lastly, I felt like a book like this would be virtually impossible to enjoy on a Kindle, particularly where using it in the intended way comes into play, so I shelled out $25 or whatever for the hardcover, which I deeply regret.

So, one star for the fact that I couldn't finish it due to the format + five stars for the writing and non-made-up content = a 3-star book. ...more

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Dec 04, 2014 Nick Pageant rated it 4 of 5 stars

Since it's a choose your own book, I guess I'll be reading it a few more times. So far it's totally charming and delightful. Just what you'd expect from NPH.

description

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Jun 11, 2015 TL rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites , listening-to-audiobook

4.5 stars:)

I don't remember who recced this to me... I remember seeing this pop up on my feed alot at one point and getting curious so I added it to my amazon wishlist and forgot about it for awhile. Then I got Alan Cumming's beautiful memoir in the mail and remembered this one.

I went to buy it and noticed that there was an audiobook as well. Curious to see how the book's format would translate I got that instead of the hardcover.

Confession: I knew about Neil before but not very much. I was ex 4.5 stars:)

I don't remember who recced this to me... I remember seeing this pop up on my feed alot at one point and getting curious so I added it to my amazon wishlist and forgot about it for awhile. Then I got Alan Cumming's beautiful memoir in the mail and remembered this one.

I went to buy it and noticed that there was an audiobook as well. Curious to see how the book's format would translate I got that instead of the hardcover.

Confession: I knew about Neil before but not very much. I was excited but a little apprehensive as well, sometimes autobiography/biography and me don't get along.

Right from the start, Neil put a smile on my face and had me laughing along with some of the stories.

At times touching/sweet/hilarious, he pulls you in and doesn't let go. It's like you are sitting there with him, curled up with your favorite drink.

The section where David came in and talked along with Neil was one of my favorites, I could just imagine them having so much fun and big smiles on their faces. I wanted to hug the stuffing out of them:).

I would highly recommend, it's inspired me to look up more of Neil's work (heck knows when I'll get to it haha but I shall!).

He's had such an interesting life and like Alan and also John Barrowman, is a very lovely person.

Happy reading!

P.S. The audiobook handles the 'choose your own autobiography' version very well. It just goes through each track with sayings like "keep listening", "hold on it's coming" among others.

Excuse any typos for now, doing this via phone ...more

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Dec 06, 2014 Sesana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction , memoir

There are two ways to read this (one of a kind?) choose-your-own-adventure style biography, and I did both. You can either do the choose-your-own adventure team, either playing around with the format (there are several authentically horrible deaths) or just reading the parts you're interested in. Want to concentrate on NPH's magic? Sure! The musicals? Done! You can also read the book straight through, which is actually somewhat less confusing than it sounds. You'll go through his life in somewha ...more

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Dec 08, 2014 Figgy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-or-netgalley , one-hundred-percent-rock-reviews , review-copy , reviewed

Actual Rating 3.5

I grew up watching Doogie Howser, M.D. reruns, and have spent the last nine years waiting for more episodes of How I Met Your Mother to watch, often over and over again, but I knew little about Neil Patrick Harris’ personal life. I knew about David and Harper and Gideon, but not how NPH had come out, how he had met his husband, or about how he knew he was born to entertain from a very early age. Nor did I realise that he’s a magician, and Barney Stinson’s adventures in magic mus ...more

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May 22, 2014 Shreya marked it as to-read

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Sep 09, 2015 Matthew rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2014 , adults , adventure , autobiography , favorites , humor , molly-and-tommy , biography , nonfiction , m-m , own

Ted: Hey Kids! Do you remember that time when Uncle Neil wrote his Choose Your Own Autobiography?

Kids: No not really... Oh great here we go again!

Ted: This story is going to leave you speechless and make you love Uncle Neil even more that you thought you possibly imagine!

(Cue the theme song)

pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa pa ta da ta da ta da ta da da da

Ted: The year was 2014, and by now I already fell in love with your mother, Aunt Robin was married to Uncle Neil, and life could not get any better ...more

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Matthew Elyse wrote: "love it love it love it!!!!!!!!!

and...."If Stephen Sondheim compliments you ....you can go die and go to heaven"!!! SOOOO TRUE!!!!!"

Than ...more
Oct 02, 2015 11:45AM

Elyse Our daughter played 'Little Red'. Into the Woods is a fabulous musical!

And YOU - my new friend are a breath of fresh air - sparkling theatrical- terri ...more
Oct 03, 2015 02:49AM

Oct 20, 2014 Ashley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cannonball-read-vi

Three Stars (two for the book and one for the premise)

As we made our way to the gate before a two-hour flight home last night, we spotted this book. I knew it had come out recently, and realized that the format (ostensibly a ‘choose your own adventure’-style autobiography) would probably lend itself better to a physical book. I picked it up and read it continuously, from waiting in line to board the plane until we caught a shuttle to our car back home. I read it on the elliptical this morning, a Three Stars (two for the book and one for the premise)

As we made our way to the gate before a two-hour flight home last night, we spotted this book. I knew it had come out recently, and realized that the format (ostensibly a ‘choose your own adventure’-style autobiography) would probably lend itself better to a physical book. I picked it up and read it continuously, from waiting in line to board the plane until we caught a shuttle to our car back home. I read it on the elliptical this morning, and finished up the last ten of the nearly 300 pages after dinner tonight.

Now, despite his start as Doogie Houser, M.D., I mostly associate Mr. Harris with Barney Stinson, his character on my favorite sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. As my husband can attest, I will re-watch the shit out of that show on Netflix Streaming, and when I’m felling sad I’ll seek out the blooper reels online for a guaranteed laugh. I had high hopes for this book, but I’m a bit disappointed. It’s not the best comedic memoir I’ve read, nor is it even one of my favorites. (And if you check out my CBR5 reviews, you’ll know that I read a LOT of comedic memoirs, so I do have a frame of reference).

The trick he chooses – writing the entire book in the second person, turning the reader (“you”) into “Neil Patrick Harris” – is a fun one. It does allow for some unexpected moments, although I must admit I didn’t actually choose any adventures; I just read the book straight through, and it worked just fine. Mr. Harris is a national treasure, so I feel a bit odd being critical of the book, but aside from the occasional clever bits, I don’t actually feel like I got much out of reading the book. I mean, I enjoyed learning about his early career, and his experiences dating, and the choices he’s made in life, but the second person convention sort of allows Mr. Harris to write his story as a removed observer, preventing any sort of real connection between the author and the reader.

The book is also obviously going to be filled with enough dropped names to sink a ship, and that makes sense. That’s been his crowd since he was sixteen. But there’s something a bit off-putting about a chapter going on and on about gosh golly gee how cool is it to hang out with Elton John in Greece? I don’t think Mr. Harris is insincere, or bragging, there’s just something a little strange about how it’s presented. I also have some issues with the device he uses of having some folks pen letters to him to include in the book, that basically just go on and on about how great he is. I’m assuming they are real letters; they aren’t gushing enough to be satirical, they’re just sort of, I don’t know, really self-indulgent. And obviously any memoir is going to be self-indulgent. I don’t know – I’m having trouble articulating because I really want to like this book, and I really still do like Mr. Harris, and putting one’s life story essentially up for critique is impressive as hell, but at the same time … this book just wasn’t for me. I’d give it two stars, but the originality bumps it up to three for me.
...more

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Jan 20, 2015 Kaethe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography , contemporary , glbtq , humor , magic , memoir , meta , movies , sex-positive , theater , usa

This book beautifully explains what make Harris such a marvelous performer: he is singularly focused on providing the most entertaining performance possible. Here he's made the actor memoir into a delightfully entertaining book. It's not because he's had such a fascinating life, although it's been a pleasant one, full of rewarding work from an early age, and it's not because he spills a lot of secrets. Mostly you walk away from this thinking what a devoted family man he is and how much he enjoys ...more

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Dec 11, 2014 Mishyjo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nick-books

Round 1 done. Since this is a choose-your-own-adventure sort of book, I can't really tell you how much of the book I finished and how much I have left to read. But what I read I liked. It was funny in a witty sort of way. It had a social message without being overly preachy.

Unfortunately, I lost my place a few times. I blame this on the page advance buttons on the Kindle Voyage that I can't seem to get used to. But Nick help me find my way back to where I was supposed to be. Nick who now probabl ...more

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Oct 15, 2014 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

I could not have loved this more if I tried. I listened to the audiobook, knowing that I was losing the choose your own adventure-ness in favor of NPH's narration. I think this was the right choice. The audiobook works around the formatting with relative ease and is still fun.

Neil (because we're totally on a first name basis now) is a wonderful narrator. He's engaging and warm and you feel like you're there with him. He could narrate the dictionary and I would listen to it. David Burtka makes a ...more

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Nov 14, 2014 Petra rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an unconventional biography from an unconventional actor, I love NPH, he is just awesome. So I jumped at the chance to read this book, and I wasn't disappointed.

It was every bit as witty, funny and sweet as I thought it will be.
It was also insightful and heartbreaking at times.

However I had a little trouble with the structure.I know that some people will like the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style, I did too at first, but after a while it was frustrating to me. I mean I jumped from his firs ...more

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Jul 21, 2015 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir , humor , read-in-2015

I absolutely loved this book! I have been a fan of Neil Patrick Harris' for years now, so I was already very excited to read his autobiography. I even gave the audiobook a try, because I had great expectations since he, himself, reads the book. It was wonderful! he is funny, charming and an open book. I was engaged throughout and didn't want it to end! That says it all!

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Mar 26, 2015 Artiom Karsiuk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I may very well be gay for Neil Patrick Harris. If you're anything like me, you almost want to be gay just to be anything like him.
On many occasions I called quite a few people awesome, cool, fascinating, interesting or any other of the 1,001 adjective my rich vocabulary boasts, BUT I seldom [if ever] call someone a quality person . These words aren't to be thrown around and are reserved for a genuinely good human being that not only lives his life right and to the fullest, but serves as an exam I may very well be gay for Neil Patrick Harris. If you're anything like me, you almost want to be gay just to be anything like him.
On many occasions I called quite a few people awesome, cool, fascinating, interesting or any other of the 1,001 adjective my rich vocabulary boasts, BUT I seldom [if ever] call someone a quality person . These words aren't to be thrown around and are reserved for a genuinely good human being that not only lives his life right and to the fullest, but serves as an example for others. Neil Patrick Harris is a quality person.
You may think that I am exaggerating, because "all he is, is just an actor - and not even an Oscar-winning one. Blah". And fuck you if that's your attitude, you little shit!
OK, ok... un fuck you - I'm just a bit defensive of NPH.
This book is a great reflection of his character. First of all, I never read any of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, so this format that Neil borrowed for his autobiography was very refreshing and fun: you get to read your own gay biography and make your own gay choices in NPH's life. How many biographies let you do that?! None? I thought so. Also, his sense of humor is stand-up comedian level. I mean, sure, he's an Emmy and Tony award winning actor (obviously you have to be gifted to get one of those), but not every actor is blessed with the ability of tying together the perfect combination of words to make you laugh or giggle on every other page. In my less than humble opinion, if he ever chose to explore the comedic avenue of his career, I'm sure that with his talents and work ethic he could put together an incredible stand-up comedy special. *Crossing fingers for the future*
And keep in mind, that he, doctor Doogie Howser, is a former child/teen star. It's nice to have an example of a kid who took that crazy ride as a celebrity very early in his life and didn't end up a trainwreck like... well, let us not name any names here. Lindsay Lohan. Damn! I wanted to stay classy and not point fingers.
Today Neil Patrick Harris is a happily married gay man with two children, an accomplished career in television and Broadway. If he isn't a poster-boy for a successful gay celebrity, I don't know who is. Yet, I will always know him as Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother . If it weren't for that legendary character, I would probably have never learned about NPH. And that is just unacceptable. ...more

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Feb 26, 2015 Philip rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs , non-fiction

A Choose Your Own Adventure Review of a A Choose Your Own (Adventure) Autobiography. You do not need to have read the book to appreciate this review. However, there are some glitches if you try to read this on a mobile device. It's best from a computer. Give it a shot though, why not? Here's to trying something novel. Choose wisely.

Thank you for taking the time to read this review of Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography. Maybe you've just finished, and you're looking to see how oth ...more

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Oct 28, 2014 Kristen Lo rated it 5 of 5 stars

So enjoyable! Ok, I used it as my audiobook for working out-- and the advantage of getting the audiobook is little extras that the paper copy can not provide such as 1)a recording of NPH as a 13 year old giving a speech on optimism, 2) His husband, David, reading his annotations during the chapter on him, 3) some awesome British dude narrating all the celebrities that contributed a story to the autobiography. And, of course, that NPH is the main narrator-- that's huge.

I love his story. So many ...more

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Nov 09, 2014 Lori rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

this is a unique book. Neil Patrick Harris includes the reader in his memoir. it is like "you" the reader get to experience what it is like to be Neil Patrick Harris or other wise known as 'NPH" this is a fun read. I can really see the sense of humor that Neil has. the reader can pick how they want to go through his book. You can start at page one and go right through in numerical order. or there are instructions at the end of select pages to turn to a different page further or go back the other ...more

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Jan 08, 2015 Eric rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommends it for: Fans of NPH

Shelves: memoirs , coffee-table

After reading this, my only question is why aren't all biographies in the choose-your-own-adventures format? It makes so much sense to be able to skip over parts of a public figure's life that don't interest you. Simply genius.

That said, I think I read every word of this one -- which included guest chapters by Sarah Silverman, Penn Jillete, and others; magic tricks; behind the scenes looks at filming Doogie Howser, How I Met Your Mother, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, performing in Rent, a ...more

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Mar 23, 2015 Andrew Hicks rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a kid of 10 or so, I was in love with Choose Your Own Adventure books. They'd start you in Chapter 1 with a second-person narrative, ending the chapter with a decision: If you choose A, go to Page 8, and your adventure will continue. Rather choose B? Go to Page 13, and so on. These stories would splinter off until they all eventually ended.

Any choice that was on the "wrong" side of a clear-cut right-or-wrong moral action would end the story almost immediately, and almost always with your d As a kid of 10 or so, I was in love with Choose Your Own Adventure books. They'd start you in Chapter 1 with a second-person narrative, ending the chapter with a decision: If you choose A, go to Page 8, and your adventure will continue. Rather choose B? Go to Page 13, and so on. These stories would splinter off until they all eventually ended.

Any choice that was on the "wrong" side of a clear-cut right-or-wrong moral action would end the story almost immediately, and almost always with your death. I'd usually choose the wrong thing on purpose, thinking it would lead to a more interesting, less conventional story, but I'd hold my place in the book with my finger, because I knew I was going down a quick dead-end. I'd try to hold all my places at all those narrative forks in the road, and I'd end up with nearly every finger stuck in the book, like my name was Edward Singlebookhands or something.

As a young adult of 20 or so, after spending the past four years as an Internet blogger, I had the bright idea that I should write a parody of those Choose Your Own Adventure books. They were certainly ripe for it. But I never had the simple brilliant idea that I should write a CYOA memoir. The person who had that idea was the innately lovable actor Neil Patrick Harris, who is roughly my age and first appeared on my radar as Doogie Howser, M.D.

The CYOA format is only maybe 20% of the book. It's an excuse to collect a bunch of different short chapters of career and personal recollections. Only a few brief detours have those wrong-move fictionalized fake-out endings. Now, when I read celebrity memoirs, I usually jump around anyway - this is the first book I've read that invited and almost demanded such behavior, and I still essentially just read it cover to cover.

This also may be the rosiest celebrity memoir I've read. This dude had a well-adjusted childhood in a two-parent home, he barely had to struggle as an adolescent actor before landing the lead role in an enormously popular sitcom, he was confused about his sexuality but quickly resolved it in a healthy way, when his career stalled he reinvented himself as a Broadway actor, he had zero struggles with addiction, in his thirties he landed a key featured role on another enormously popular sitcom, he had a storybook romance with his spouse, they adopted a couple beautiful kids together, he reinvented himself career-wise again as a go-to awards show host, and finally he wrote a best-selling memoir about all of this. The end.

When I list it all out like that, it seems like maybe the gimmicks are necessary because the subject matter is so white-bread vanilla, but the thing is, Neil Patrick Harris's voice - at least, his voice filtered through co-author David Javerbaum from "The Daily Show" - is clever and self-aware, grateful and irony-rich. As the chapters pile up, you wish Harris would try a little less hard to be David Sedaris-meets-David Brenner, but overall it works.

Really, the only thing I could've done without were the guest authors, who all act like they're writing letters of recommendation or delivering Neil's eulogy. Save it for the funeral, guys, although with Harris's luck, he'll probably live to be 200. ...more

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Jan 03, 2015 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-time-favs , nonfiction

I am usually an equal opportunity book lover, but one of my book nerd pet peeves are self-serving memoirs with serious self-portraits on the cover and the author spewing bull about hardship, strength, wisdom...just in time for them to release a new movie or go on a campaign trail.

Sometimes, it's refreshing to hear about an affable, well-liked person who hasn't gone through hell and back. Someone who is just a genial dude that has led an interesting life...and maybe told in a "Choose Your Own Ad ...more

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Dec 01, 2014 Travelling Sunny rated it 4 of 5 stars

You hate autobiographies. Not that there's anything wrong with them; you just find yourself particularly bored by the format. But then you're scrolling through the new releases and the familiar CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE graphic pops out at you. But, wait! It doesn't say 'adventure' - it says 'autobiography.' "CHOOSE YOUR OWN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?" you read aloud to yourself. "Preposterous. How would that even work?" you say. And then, there is the whole matter of the subject. The subject matter, if you You hate autobiographies. Not that there's anything wrong with them; you just find yourself particularly bored by the format. But then you're scrolling through the new releases and the familiar CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE graphic pops out at you. But, wait! It doesn't say 'adventure' - it says 'autobiography.' "CHOOSE YOUR OWN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?" you read aloud to yourself. "Preposterous. How would that even work?" you say. And then, there is the whole matter of the subject. The subject matter, if you will. Neil Patrick Harris. You don't know much about NPH. You remember Doogie. And that uncomfortable cameo in that movie with Harold and Kumar. You've never even seen a single episode of How I Met Your Mother. So, you are hard-pressed to build up any excite - wait for it - ment!

If you choose to stop reading here, then move along. There's nothing else to see.

If, however, you are thinking "What the heck?", keep reading.

But, you think, "What the heck." You choose to read the book. And you find that it is truly a work of genius. You kid you not. * It was, legitimately, the most fun you've ever had reading an autobiography. You gain a newfound respect for ~~Doogie~~ Neil and wish he was your new best friend. Because, oh your God ,** he's funny, and irreverent, and honest, and he will teach you magic that your 12 year-old will appreciate, and he will take you on an autobiographical ride like you've never experienced before.

*Shameless quote stealing from this book.
**Ditto ...more

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May 08, 2015 Richard rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 0n-my-bookshelf , audiobook , bio , bought-14 , queer

I'd say that the best parts of this book are his stories about show business and celebrity gossip. It's surprising how often he names names considering how "nice" the rest of the book is.

Things that wear thin after a while are the fictional choose-your-own-adventure bits and the fact that all the pointless bits written by other people are read by some guy with a British accent doing a Masterpiece Theater sort of shtick.

It's great the NPH seems to love his life, but for me I guess he came across I'd say that the best parts of this book are his stories about show business and celebrity gossip. It's surprising how often he names names considering how "nice" the rest of the book is.

Things that wear thin after a while are the fictional choose-your-own-adventure bits and the fact that all the pointless bits written by other people are read by some guy with a British accent doing a Masterpiece Theater sort of shtick.

It's great the NPH seems to love his life, but for me I guess he came across as a bit glib and unreflecting. I'm sure there is a tension when you're writing something like this because you still want to keep some private things private, so hard's hard to know if NPH is as glib and happy-go-lucky as he seems or if he's presenting that sort of image on purpose. Either way, it became a little boring for me sometimes.

I've never read a biography before where nothing particularly bad ever happens to anyone. I mean, he's got to be in his early 40s; someone close to him has to have died or experienced something terrible that affected him in some kind of way.

When I think of the celebrity autobiographies I have particularly enjoyed (Katharine Hepburn, Tina Fey, Mia Farrow, Kathy Griffin...) the common thread, aside from excellent writing, is that they all give you a sense of them being very interesting people outside their careers. In these other books, it was moving to hear about how they all met the tragedies that life gave them.

Here, the writing is fine, if unremarkable, and you seldom learn anything that makes you see NPH as anything more than a decent, in-the-moment, "aw-shucks" sort of boy next door.

The book is funny sometimes, but by the end of it, it felt monotonous and overlong. His reading of it is often dynamic, but I found his pacing too slow and ultimately changed the speed in my player to 1.25x. ...more

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Dec 02, 2014 Tracey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

I am not a regular reader of nonfiction but since this was a book club pick, I thought I'd go ahead and give it a shot. I always thought Harris was funny anyway so I was confidant that his book would be too. And I was not disappointed. I loved that it really read like a "Choose your own adventure" novel. Mind you, I did not have time for that so I just read it straight through. There were some hidden pages that were pleasant surprises. Overall, this book was really cute and funny and I'd read an ...more

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About Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, producer, director, magician, comedian and singer. He is best known for playing Barney Stinson in the television comedy series How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014), for which he was nominated for four Emmy Awards. As a child star he played the title character in Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989–1993). He is also known for his role as the title character in Joss Whed ...more

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