Name: Neil Patrick Harris
ISBN: 9780385347013

Neil Patrick Harris

In this memoir, Neil Patrick Harris shares intimate and hilarious stories about everything from his early days in LA, life on the How I Met Your Mother set, secrets from backstage at award shows, and family life with David, Harper, and Gideon. He also lets you, the reader, choose which path you want him to follow.--Adapted from publisher description.

Choose Your Own Autobiography

The Emmy Award-winning star of How I Met Your Mother shares his experiences as a child star, Broadway performer and father in an over-the-top, humorous account creatively designed in the style of the popular interactive adventure series.

choose your own autobiography

Kritika Narula

I have always been a fan of Choose-your-own books, because the idea is very liberating- it combines all the goods of an entertaining read, while eliminates all the frustrations of when the protagonist doesn't listen to us. 

But to craft a memoir around this format was to be an arduous task. It was supposed to take so much effort that the author should have drained himself of his energy reserves. But Neil Patrick Harris- the true and sincere performer that he is- outperforms all writers of this format, he outshines, and not just because of who he is, but because of what he does- or rather lets the reader do.

He does the best thing for his readers: gives them the freedom to choose- from the culinary desires to life choices- and never once does he fail to entertain!

I read the book in snippets and parts, which may have been responsible for making me a little lost on the plot front, but this book still goes highly recommended from me.

Cindy McKee

Only this man could get away with a concept like this. NPH's choose your own autobiography is just what I expected. Neil is not the tabloidy gossipy type, (and so many celebs these days put out just those kind of tell alls) I knew his would be different. Funny, sweet, awkward, but 100% terrific. He is, once again, the ultimate host, guiding you cheerfully along his life story. Dazzling you with magic, making you laugh out loud or smile with delight. In other words, being NPH. Just lovely!

Mounir Bashour

Kelsi Proulx

Good book but the audio format didn't work due to the choose your own adventure aspect. I will probably read the print book at some point to see what I think of that.

Caroline Lewicki

I listened to the audiobook and laughed way too hard in my car most days. A fun, light read/listen. Neil Patrick Harris lets you in on so much of his background, it's easy to see how incredibly talented he is.

The book also includes magic tricks that blew my mind and really good recipes. The "Choose Your Own" aspect was hilarious and enjoyable. I would definitely read this again.

laura

Lovely book that was read by the author. I loved it and it made me understand his life so much more.! big love for this book and how open he was. it was so fun to read and learn about his life and career.

It started out great. I loved the slightly manic energy and it lasted for about 200 or so pages. But, at some point, I just hit a wall and got so over it. Something about the repeated jokes and how it went off into random tangents stopped being funny and just seemed tedious. I tried the audiobook but switched to reading because it got a little slow to listen to after a while.

Still, it was a good read. I definitely hadn't thought about the Hollywood work aspect of things (because I'm so far removed from it myself) so I thought it was interesting to get the business side outlined by an actual actor.

I'd definitely recommend it if you like autobiographies with a twist. I've never been a huge fan of them myself, so this was a pleasant surprise.

b.andherbooks

I used to love Choose Your Own Adventure Tales as a kid, but often found myself skipping around instead of fully immersing myself into the story. Second person narrative just really never captures me. Thus, I really enjoyed the premise of Harris's autobiography, but felt at times, especially with the "made up" bits, that I wasn't getting as much meat as I wanted. This audio book version also didn't let me "choose," so that format was a bit lost in translation. 

However, Harris is an excellent narrator, with a pleasant and emotive voice that DID capture my interest. I also liked how he talked candidly, with real names, about other people he has worked with and encountered during his career. The narrative arc regarding Harris's intense interest in discovering the magic behind, well, magic and Broadway and his own life was very cool.

Heather Killeen

This book was hilarious, touching, and inspiring all in one! There's love, magic, hilarious stories, puns, drink recipes, and then an epic story about an amazing birthday scavenger hunt surprise that will make you cry in public while you're listening to it at work. I listened to the audiobook and I loved hearing this in his own voice. I thought the 2nd person POV would get annoying, but I got used to it really quickly. Although this is a choose your own adventure style book, and you can't really do that in audiobook format, I am glad I got to listen to the whole thing in its entirely and didn't have to flip around to make sure I didn't miss anything. The only part that I would have skipped might have been the fake premature death scenes, but overall a really entertaining and great read!

Neil Patrick Harris Choose Your Own Autobiography