Recommended Reading: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris

Book Description:

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-based life-form Neil Patrick Harris lets you, the reader, live his life. You will be born in New Mexico. You will get your big break at an acting camp. You will get into a bizarre confrontation outside a nightclub with actor Scott Caan. Even better, at each critical juncture of your life, you will choose how to proceed. You will decide whether to try out for Doogie Howser, M.D. You will decide whether to spend years struggling with your sexuality. You will decide what kind of caviar you want to eat on board Elton John’s yacht.

Choose correctly and you’ll find fame, fortune, and true love. Choose incorrectly and you’ll find misery, heartbreak, and a hideous death by piranhas. All this, plus magic tricks, cocktail recipes, embarrassing pictures from your time as a child actor, and even a closing song. Yes, if you buy one book this year, congratulations on being above the American average, but make that book Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography!

A creative, interesting book. The "choose your own adventure" gimmick means it can never be too heavy, never too serious, and the short sections keep you interested. There's no way to read in chronological order even if you wanted to, so what you get is a dreamlike jaunt through NPH's memories... It's less a "memoir" or any kind of biography and more just behind-the-scenes peeks at the actor and the productions in which he's performed. As he says several times, he loves to see the secrets behind the curtain! He doesn't act like it's some great work of literature except in jest, which allows the depth it does have to come through -- his love for his husband and kids is palpable, and you can tell he's a born performer. Funny and heartwarming!

Audio Book Review - American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot by Craig Ferguson

The first thing that I need to say is that I went into the book adoring Craig Ferguson, so there, I'm admitting my bias up front.

Now on to the review, this is an audio book that both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to on a recent road trip. Someone had the brilliant idea to let Craig Ferguson read his own memoir and the effect is absolutely perfect, you feel like you are on the journey with him. There were moments when we laughed, he is a terrific comedian, moments when we cheered him on and moments that had me near tears as he talked about his parents and the life that he led while falling deeper into alcoholism. The book is unflinching - it deals with the cliches: sex, drugs (alcohol, as well) and rock' n' roll, as well as the emotional cost of life decisions both good and bad. But, let me remind you, there are tons of moments that will make you laugh out loud (not at him, but with him). My husband and I have had a few discussions about things that this book made us consider in depth. We luckily don't have personal experiences with alcoholism or family members with the disease, but we do feel like it made us better understand some of the obstacles that people who battle with the disease face before they take the steps toward recovery.

In conclusion, I still adore Craig Ferguson (even more, if possible) and I would recommend this book to those who enjoy memoirs, and anyone who likes comedy with heart - this book has it in spades.

Product Description:

In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson delivers a moving and achingly funny memoir of living the American dream as he journeys from the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland, to the comedic promised land of Hollywood. Along the way he stumbles through several attempts to make his mark—as a punk rock musician, a construction worker, a bouncer, and, tragically, a modern dancer.

To numb the pain of failure, Ferguson found comfort in drugs and alcohol, addictions that eventually led to an aborted suicide attempt. (He forgot to do it when someone offered him a glass of sherry.) But his story has a happy ending: success on the hit sitcom The Drew Carey Show, and later as the host of CBS's Late Late Show. By far Ferguson's greatest triumph was his decision to become a U.S. citizen, a milestone he achieved in early 2008.

In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson talks a red, white, and blue streak about everything our Founding Fathers feared.