Paddle Your Own Canoe

This is probably the first memoir I've read and, while I found most parts of it hilarious, I realised that I don't read a lot of memoirs because I'm just not very interested in other people's backgrounds, even celebrities that I love.
What kept me interested is that Mr. Offerman has a peculiar but brilliant way with phrasing mundane things and is very candid with a lot of aspects of his past that most would want to keep out of public scrutiny that just makes me respect the man more.
The theme of the book is a sort of guide to life from a very middle America “down home” sort of view, but still forward thinking in a lot of aspects hotly argued in politics today such as sex, marriage, and minority rights. Offerman seems a man made of the best parts of both side of the track, in a matter of speaking. I really enjoyed the “guide” parts but when he goes into his personal life such as his time in the Chicago theatres and then his time working his way through Hollywood, I found the book a bit boring and even skimmed or outright skipped parts. This would of course be fantastic for those interested in working in film or theatre but I'm just really not.
Overall, a fun book to read but reminded me why I avoid the biography section.

While I do love Parks & Rec, I wouldn't say I'm a superfan. I think Nick Offerman is a good actor, and have enjoyed some podcasts he's been on, so I figured I would see if his writing is any good.

Answer: sort of. I'll be real, I don't think he has a particular talent for narrative humor or compelling story-telling. I also don't love when memoirs blur genre lines into self-help, especially when the advice is around eating red meat and working with wood (I am a vegetarian, and no thank you). However, there were some silly little zingers that made the listen enjoyable. I love the love that Offerman has for his friends, family, and partner. Other than that, I didn't find too much compelling here.