Title: Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography
Author: Neil Patrick Harris
Narrator: Neil Patrick Harris
ISBN: 9780385367950
Audiobook Length: 7 hours, 15 minutes
Genre: Nonfiction; Memoir
Origins: Mine. All mine.
Release Date: 14 October 2014
Bottom Line: It only confirms my NPH crush.
Synopsis:
“You’ve already made a great choice by picking up the audio edition of Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography. This hilarious book has been adapted especially for the audiobook edition so you’ll hear all of the same fun and humor from the printed version but you don’t have to make any decisions or jump around—just kick back, relax and listen. Plus, it features exclusive bonus audio of young Neil delivering an adorable speech! That’s audio you won’t hear in any version of this book other than the audiobook!”
Thoughts: There is no one who could narrate this autobiography other than NPH. He has the perfect blend of humor and humility that makes each scene come to life. Moreover, he is a born showman, and one hears this in every moment of the audiobook. In fact, it would be fun to hear him narrate even more audiobooks because his performance is that awesome.
Even though the choose-your-own adventure format of Neil Patrick Harris’ book makes it a format that leans heavily towards the print version, NPH has done a tremendous job translating it into the audiobook format. Not only does he include some additional audio of one of his childhood speeches, his delivery adds a whole new level of charm and humor to the experience. It also makes those moments of real drama in his life – his first job, the birth of his children, his public coming out – so much more heartfelt. To read these things oneself is one thing; to hear him express his own frustrations, gratitude, and love is extraordinary.
NPH does not mince words when it comes to certain stories. He is open and quite frank about his sexual journey and his path to marriage and fatherhood. In fact, he is open and frank on just about everything. He drops f-bombs when the narrative calls for it and uses more child-friendly language when it does not. It is a bit like listening to Robin Williams perform, as he bounces from subject to subject with enthusiasm and a vibrancy that would exhaust most people.
Listening to Choose Your Own Autobiography, one instinctively understands that there is no artifice to NPH. He shares his worries and fears with abandon. If he sounds a bit like Barney Stinson at times, it leads one to believe that Barney was not quite such a departure from the real NPH after all. Their humor is the same, as is their ability to turn things into a double entendre with no effort. In addition, there is a joie de vivre to NPH that has always made it so much fun to watch him on stage and screen, and this same zest for life makes the audiobook an absolute blast.
