Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living

My first thoughts as I began reading Nick's book (I call him Nick. He's my TV boyfriend, deal.) was SOULMATE!!!! I mean, here's a man who both is and is not Ron freakin' Swanson, making him the best of both worlds, in my opinion. And he has manly facial hair which... okay, I don't really like moustaches, but it is manly. Also, he's originally from Chicago. Yes he is, he's from Minooka IL, which as you should know is Chicago by default because it's north of Kankakee. Technically Chicago is bounded by Kankakee in the south, Lake Geneva in the north, and the Mississippi in the west. And there's a bigass lake to the east which is ours too. This is not my fault, I didn't make the rules. Then I calmed down and admitted that Nick might not be my soulmate because he seems to have found one in Megan Mullally, a perfectly hilarious woman to whom I willingly relinquish any soulmate claims on Nick. Instead, I believe him to be a kindred spirit. He's smart, he's funny, and he doesn't give a damn what people think of him. I like his politics, I like his attitudes, and I like his style. If that's not a kindred spirit, I don't know what is. I've seen reviewers complain that this book is anti-religion, and I'm here to tell you it's not, not at all. Offerman (I just put my reviewer cap on over my fangirl cap, so now I'm being all review-y.) says upfront that religion is a good thing when you keep it in your church, your family, your heart. When you try to put it into your government, when you try to use it to define your society, that's his line in the sand. (Mine too.) That doesn't make him anti-religion, that makes him anti-authoritarian and anti-jerk, which in my book is a good thing. I've seen reviewers complain that this book is profane. I resist the word in this context because of its Puritan-level prissiness. Offerman's language is bawdy in the best sense of the word; a big, Falstaffian lot of cussin' and good, honest sexual innuendo, neither of which will kill, maim, or otherwise do jack to another human being. Or to put it into perspective, he's not shooting people, is he? So calm the hell down. What he is doing in this wonderful, hilarious book, is telling the story of his life, crediting his family, particularly his parents, his friends, and his wife with making him as good a man as he is able to be, which seems pretty darn good to me. From his origins in Minooka, to his college years in Champaign-Urbana, to theater in Chicago, and then to film and television in Los Angeles, Offerman gives us not only his own story, but an insight into how a working actor becomes a working actor. In his case it involves high production values, and a good bit of weed. One of my favorite stories is how he developed a running joke about proposing to Mullally, first by accident, then as a series of practical jokes, and finally for real. Their romance warmed the heart of an old cynic like myself, and made me laugh. I don't really know if you'll love this book the way I do. I hope so. I hope you will love it and leave a message saying, "We must be kindred spirits." Because there's nothing better in the world.

Here the situation. If you like Ron Swanson. Don't get this book. This is not "Parks and Rec: The novel". This is an autobiography. I think 90% of the complaints are from people who expected this book to be an extension of Ron Swanson character - talking about eating lots of meat and complaining about Tammy 2. Instead, they got a book about an actors rather ideal life in middle America, his entry into the theater world and his struggle to finding acting jobs in LA. The books is however, HILARIOUS. Nick talks about his life in a very open and honest manner, going over both mistakes and victories. He is middle of the line political person, but also has strong views and yes, a pretty libertarian stance. He pulls no punches making fun of folks who are dependant on technology - since ALOT of folks are depenant, I'm sure many of the complaints here are from folks who were likely irked by his constant ribbing of folks who can't line with Instagram, a GPS and would die with two hours if left alone in the wilderness. If your an open-minded person (which most people are not) then this is a VERY helpful book. He has alot of earthy advice on everything from drug use, to dating, to sex, to eating right, work ethic, etc. NICK OFFERMAN IS NOT RON SWANSON. Nor does he claim to be. Ron Swanson is an over-the-top version of Nick Offerman, written by writers who knew Nick. Nick Offerman does enjoy fishing, immensely. He doesn't not perfer hunting, tho understands many do. Nick Offerman eat's salad and veggies, but won't turn away a nice steak. Nick Offerman likes to hit the bong and watch Twin Peaks, as opposed to Ron Swanson who would mostly be found carving 1/110th 18th Century Spanish Gallon from a fallen tree near his cabin with nothing but a pen knife. He does not even mention Ron Swanson until the very last chapter. If you are a hardcore, totalitarian conservative, Nick will probably say something to irk you. If you are a hardcore, bleeding liberal Nick will probably say something to irk you. He's not doing it on purpose - he's just in the middle of the political spectrum and is making his views clear, usually with some humor attached. IF you are Ron Swanson/Parks and Rec fan you need to do this: Before you buy this book, then scream to high heaven and post a nasty review of it because it doesn't have things like "Ron Swanson's chart of needs" - think for a second. Look up Nick Offerman. Yes. N-I-C-K O-F-F-E-R-M-AN. Watch an interview with him on Conan O'Brien or something on Youtube. Realize that this is a person's autobiography and not a joke book. Then once you do that, then you can ease into the tranquil warmth of what is Nick Offerman's sage-like advice and story telling.

Highly recommended! Very good quality as I couldn't source a new copy of book. Arrived quickly and good price.

I was expecting this to be a lot more light-hearted, off the cuff - and although I definitely read it in Ron Swanson's voice, with cocked eyebrows emphasising my need to understand, it's very honest and sensible. I'm 26% through, so kindle tells me, as I don't get a lot of time to read, but having Nick on my phone whenever I get a spare moment is proving very inspiring. It's just a shame I couldn't add a few stars to my score - it definitely exceeds expectations thus far.

Nick Offerman's story was an interesting one. I would have never guessed that the hilarious man who played Ron Swanson was a classically trained dramatic actor who even performed Kabuki theatre. The book covers a lot of information about his personal life, his acting life and how he turned his woodworking hobby into a successful business. There was a part where he talked about how after many failed auditions he decided to just start being himself (rather than what he thought directors wanted to see) that I found really inspiring. I really enjoyed this book and found it really funny.

schönes Geschenk !

Offert à un ami qui a été aux anges de recevoir ce merveilleux livre. Bien évidemment, le livre de Leslie Knope est aussi à prendre comme complément.