Choose your own autobiography pdf download
Kids, did I ever tell you about the time I read your Uncle Neil's wonderfully weird autobiography? No, not the The Bro Code. 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 garn Kids, did I ever tell you about the time I read your Uncle Neil's wonderfully weird autobiography? You see kids, most people use their books to either brag about themselves or garner sympathy for "overcoming a personal tragedy"; Neil just wanted to make you laugh.
Also, he wanted you to be a bit jealous of his husband's game. Stage Besides doing Rent and being told off by Patti LuPone view spoiler [ hide spoiler ] , Harris is best known for reviving John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch , which is worth a watch just for the most epic song lyrics I've ever heard: And then storm clouds gathered above Into great balls of fire And then fire shot down From the sky in bolts Like shining blades Of a knife.
There is a part of me that thinks NPH doth protest too much. That perpetually youthful appearance? And that, kids, is what I thought of his book. May 29, Kelly and the Book Boar rated it really liked it Shelves: read-in , arcs , non-fiction.
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. Luckily for me I am a superfan and spent the better part of the summer attempting to score a free copy of Choose Your Own Autobiography.
Guess what??? A lot. Neil Patrick Harris is so open about. Not only does he tell you about his entire career from his start as Doogie Howser, M. I obviously knew what he was going to grow into Mommy likey!!!! Neil Patrick Harris has done it and talks about it all. Not only does NPH discuss his professional life, but he talks about everything else as well. From his sexuality to family to drug usage easy there, killer, he was never a Lindsay Blowhan - he merely dabbled , he talks about every aspect of his life.
He even throws in some card tricks and a couple of food and cocktail recipes for good measure. And he speaks of his parents, his partner David, and his children with such complete adoration that it almost made rain fall out of my face. So, how did my adventure end? Cover to cover.
And now??? ARC provided by Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review View all 33 comments. May 29, Diane rated it really liked it Shelves: audiobooks , memoirs , humorous , hollywood. 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. He acted in a bunch of community theater productions in his hometown. So did I. Neil said a pivotal event of his life was starring in a touring production of "Rent. You instantly embrace the beautiful worldview of the show. I also have the soundtrack memorized.
Neil is a fan of Joss Whedon and starred in one of the most wonderful things ever to be on the web, "Dr. Horrible soundtrack. In short, this NPH memoir was perfect for me and helped me break out of a reading slump.
I listened to this on audio, and as expected, Neil is an excellent narrator. If you haven't seen a printed copy, he did this fun gimmick where he borrowed the style of the Choose Your Own Adventure books which I also loved as a kid and it gives you a chance to make choices about what section to read next.
In audio, Neil basically read the book in sequence, and he adapted the choices at the end of each chapter by saying something like, if you want to host the Emmys, wait a little bit. If you want to star in a network TV show, keep reading! Neil is a very funny guy. I frequently laughed out loud while listening to his stories.
I am such a theater dork that I loved hearing the behind-the-scenes stuff about the different Broadway shows he's been in, or even his process for hosting an award show. Frequently I paused my reading to go watch videos online of whatever story he just told. The book is also poignant, especially when Neil writes about becoming a father, or his feelings about being an openly gay man in Hollywood. For you it all goes back to the fundamental rule of creative endeavor, and life is if nothing else a creative endeavor: Show, don't tell.
Personal confidence, ease, conducting yourself publicly with grace and humility — these are the qualities you consider most effective. Directly showing family and neighbors and co-workers that you're proud of the way you live accomplishes something on a core level that intense advocacy sometimes can't. View all 9 comments. Maybe I should give the word to one of the author's close friends, Mr.
They are this weird politically correct things, that almost dehumanise their subjects. The truly refreshing thing about this autobiography was how clearly NPH's personality shone through. Honestly, it almost felt like it smacked me in the face.
And I loved it. Fun : Again, not a word I would usually associate with autobiographies. But this was so humorous and innovative in the writing and the telling that I could not help but to fall in love with it.
Honesty : Even thought the tone of this book was largely comedic, it was also very honest and candid. I really felt like I got to peek behind the curtains into the inner sanctum of NPH. Follow me for more book goodness: Facebook Twitter Instagram View all 6 comments. May 22, Alex marked it as to-read. How does he do this? Shouldn't he have plummeted into smug shtickiness like three years ago? View all 3 comments. Shelves: lol-or-lmao , lgbtqia , memoir-biography. Remember those choose-your-own-ending books?
This is written in that style. It is a very different concept for an autobiography and I could have done without that for the very simple reason that those books always make me anxious!
I worry that I'll miss something if I do the "choose-your-own" thing -- I won't get to read every single page and miss something important. I also worry that if I read it cover to cover like a regular book, I'll miss something! One solution to that would be to keep re-reading until I've exhausted all the possible options And so, I read this cover to cover, one time.
It was fun and I did enjoy the humourous choices given, in spite of feeling anxious about possibly missing something. Neil Patrick Harris presents as a very likable person, very sweet, kind, and funny. He's never been my favourite actor because I don't like the shows I've seen him in, but I like him more having read this book. He talks about his childhood giving an alternate version in case someone wants to read about awful parents!
There are some cute drawings in the book, as well as a few recipes, card tricks, and letters written by various celebrities to and about Neil. View all 19 comments. I tried to read it in a Choose Your Own Whatever style, and also in a linear way — neither worked for me. Obviously, this kind of writing is not for me.
As for the content, I expected something different. Apart from this, the book was still fun, sweet, and interesting. Jun 01, Ash Wednesday marked it as to-read. 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 View all 15 comments. I am charmed.
I'm a big NPH fan going all the way back to his Doogie Howser days, so I was really excited to listen to this audiobook. Though the format was a little strange for audio choose your own adventure works less well when you are listening linearly , it worked well enough. And I promise you that you will leave this audiobook feeling a kinship with Neil Patrick Harris in one way or another.
I loved all of the intimate details, that we got about his life, from his journey in self-discove I am charmed. I loved all of the intimate details, that we got about his life, from his journey in self-discovery of his sexuality, to hearing about his relationship with the theater, to his love of magic though I'll admit to skimming some of the magic trick clips , to his childhood, and last but not least, his loving relationship with his husband and kids.
I laughed and cried along with NPH, and I felt like I gained a friend during the listening experience. Not surprisingly, NPH is also a great narrator, with a voice that feels familiar and emotional. He did an excellent job narrating this book, and I sort of wish he narrated other audiobooks too, just so I could keep hearing his voice.
An easy, fun listen, and an extremely satisfying audio experience. View 2 comments. Feb 06, Barbara rated it liked it. Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, writer, producer, singer, and magician. The book takes us from Harris's childhood with a loving, supportive family in New Mexico to his current mega-success in show business and his happy home life. Harris developed his love of performing as a child and started his acting career at a young age.
He also developed an early interest in magic, which he studied seriously, and he includes Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, writer, producer, singer, and magician.
He also developed an early interest in magic, which he studied seriously, and he includes some nifty card tricks in the book. Harris seems to have had few 'lows' in his career. Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf in A Series of Unfortunate Events Harris's stories about his career - and his co-stars, directors, and people he worked with - are generally rendered in an upbeat, positive tone the book is not a mean-spirited tell-all.
While detailing his many successes Harris never comes across as arrogant but rather as a talented, hard-working guy who's had some good luck. Harris is also a keen student of the 'behind the scenes' aspects of show business and likes to go backstage, shadow the director, study how shots are set up, etc. One of the most detailed stories in the book is about Harris's starring role in the Broadway production of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Harris also describes how he and the writers prepared musical numbers when he hosted award shows like the Tony Awards and the Oscars - a feat that was very creative and entertaining. As a youngster he had girlfriends, apparently not quite realizing or admitting to himself that he was gay. Afterwards Harris was publicly silent about his sexuality until circumstances forced him to come out - which he did in a graceful, carefully crafted statement.
The book isn't a text on how to succeed in show business but rather a wide though not always deep overview of Harris's life and career. I thought it was well-written and interesting. The 'alternate life stories' fictional are humorous, though some are gritty and end badly. Overall, I liked the book.
Neil Patrick Harris fans will probably enjoy it. View all 7 comments. Oct 23, Carole Carole's Random Life rated it really liked it Shelves: own-physical-copy , reviewed , , non-fiction , blogging-for-books. This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life. This book brings back a lot of fond memories for me. I used to adore reading the choose your own adventure books as a child although I would never choose the right option and always ended up dying of thirst or some other horrible death.
I would eventually give up on my ability to make the right choices and try to figure out what I needed to choose by working backwards in the book. Despite my poor decision making skills, I never gave up on the This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life. Despite my poor decision making skills, I never gave up on these books. Every time I brought home a Scholastic flyer from school, I would end up picking out another one of those books.
I am the same age as Mr. Harris so it makes some sense that he would fondly remember these books as well as I do and I just love the fact that he used this approach in this book. There is just something about Neil Patrick Harris that seems to be almost universally appealing. I am not a biography reader. I probably read a few back in high school and college because I had to but I can't think of a time where I picked one up to read for entertainment as an adult I am not exactly sure what I find so entertaining about Mr.
Sure I have watched and enjoyed some of his work. His portrayal of Barney Stinsen is I just have never considered myself to be a huge fan though.
If he is on, I'll certainly watch him but I don't go out of my way to be sure to catch him either. I still knew that I had to read this book because there is just something about the way that he tells a story.
One thing that I think is genius about this book is the fact that I will certainly be picking it up quite a few more times. It is a choose your own adventure so you have to read it several times just to make sure that you have read every option available.
This is a book that I recommend reading as intended with all of the jumping around and choices because it just makes it so much fun. I have been through quite a few options so far with a few ending in a less than ideal manner. I don't think that the book would be nearly as appealing if it were to be read cover to cover.
Neil Patrick Harris does have an interesting story to tell. He is a child star that I will always think of as Doogie to some extent. He also talks about his sexuality, his family, and all the things that make him who he is.
Some of the parts in the book are simply silly and I liked those just as much as anything else. The book itself looks wonderful. I just love the cover and the section in the center of the book filled with photos is nice to have. I would recommend this book to others. It is witty, funny, touching, and sometimes thought provoking. Plus it is just a lot of fun! This is the first book by Neil Patrick Harris that I have read but I look forward to see what kind of original spin he might apply to a novel in the future.
I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books for the purpose of providing an honest review. Nov 19, Jillian rated it liked it Shelves: nonfiction , biography-memoir-autobiography , dnf , nostalgia. 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. 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 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 , 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 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.
View all 4 comments. Have I read the whole book? I don't think so! Why not you ask me? 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 your 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 Have I read the whole book? 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 ending. So there is probably parts of the book that I have missed, but that is part of the fun.
The next time I pick up the book, I could very well find a hidden gem, that I missed the last time. Anyway, got sidetracked a bit. This is a great book. I had a lot of fun jumping here and there, reading about NPH life. He's such a great guy. The kind you really, really would love to have as a friend. This is one of the best autobiographies I have read, not only because it is different, but because it's interesting and funny.
I received the book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. View 1 comment. 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. Right from the start, Neil put a smile on my face and had me laughing along with some of the stories. 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! 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 Nov 12, Nick Pageant rated it liked it Shelves: nonfiction.
Since it's a choose your own book, I guess I'll be reading it a few more times. So far it's very charming. Just what you'd expect from NPH.
TSG: So like a homosexual gay? I have absolutely no problem with the gays. Hi missed me? No yes who cares. What do you mean this isn't what you are supposed to do? There are recipes for food and cocktails in it. Will probably not attempt to make the spaghetti bolognese because your bitch can't cook but i will try the cocktails because i'm probably one drink away from alcoholism.
Bro thanks i love you. Anyways, long story short, I love NPH. Oct 15, Figgy rated it really liked it Shelves: reviewed , one-hundred-percent-rock-reviews , review-copy , arc-or-netgalley. Actual Rating 3. 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. The rest of this review can be found here! Dec 10, Christy rated it it was amazing Shelves: humor , non-fiction , favorites , audiobook , memoirs , read-in This would have been really cool to actually read since it's written in a Choose Your Own Adventure format, but I couldn't pass up listening to this narrated by NPH himself.
And it worked, it was great! Basically the idea is that this autobiography is about you - you get to live his life and choose how to proceed with possible alternatives.
It's funny and packed with information I never knew about him. Interesting concept, funny stories - from serious to seriously outlandish. Very entertaining. My only complaint was that it was tough to make sure I read every single page, but I had that same problem with the original Choose Your Own Adventure books I swear that I never made it out of the Cave of Time! Oct 28, Sesana rated it really liked it Shelves: memoir , nonfiction.
There are two ways to read this one of a kind? 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? The musicals? 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 There are two ways to read this one of a kind? You'll go through his life in somewhat chronological order, with the exception of a few odd pages of magic tricks, cocktail recipes, and the aforementioned horrible deaths. If you're already a longtime fan of NPH, you won't be learning much new. So if you have, for example, had a huge crush on him since you were in elementary school and he was Doogie. Just as an example.
But it is still fun to read it all at once, with his thoughts. Which does, indeed, make it a fans-only type of book. But surely you expected that anyways, right?
No, you won't learn much new here. I already knew about his Broadway career, his family, and that Dustin Diamond is an ass.
Sign Up , it unlocks many cool features! It became immediately clear to me that I had made the right career choice. The excitement of being a police officer lived up to all my expectations. I literally. Choose a novel to read online or download on your phone or PC. The book will save as an ePub, Kindle file or plain text in your Dropbox. PDFs are extremely useful files but, sometimes, the need arises to edit or deliver the content in them in a Microsoft Word file format.
Here's a quick look at how this can be done. Autobiography is a personal story where the writer shares his or her personal experience of life. The writer share his or her childhood, profe. Public Pastes. JSON 7 min ago 2.
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