Review: Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living by Nick Offerman

the lowdown
Nick Offerman is the latest celebrity to jump into the authoring world, although he puts his own spin on it. Nearly equal parts life story and advice, Offerman takes you through his early days in the small farming town of Minooka, Illinois, through his true introduction to theater at the University of Illinois in Champaign Urbana, to his tenure in the Chicago theater community. Finally, his story takes you to Hollywood, as most do, and to Parks and Rec. 

I was really looking forward to this book, already knowing how hilarious Offerman is, and already being madly in love with his wife, Will & Grace's Megan Mullally (although she is so much more than just that). I was shocked at how deep into the theater scene Offerman was, and how seriously he takes his craft. It was also interesting to read about the climb to fame from someone who still worked in show business even before they hit it big (Offerman used his carpentry skills in set design to make ends meet). I wasn't completely blown away by this one, but it was an enjoyable read, to be sure.

the good

• Offerman knows how to tell a tale. I was really interested in learning all about the different chapters in his life, and how he came to be who he is. Stupidly, it was kind of interesting for me to read about life on a farm. I grew up soundly in the suburbs, so it wasn't like anything I knew. 
• He is also an extraordinarily humble and grateful man, in telling his stories, which I appreciated. While certainly due to a lot of hard work and determination, Offerman isn't shy about giving some of the credit of his successes to pure luck, one of the most important ingredients in Hollywood success. 

the bad

• Despite being someone who frequently feels like they need guidance into how to be a person, particularly one that doesn't suck, I wasn't that impressed with the "manifesto" aspects of the book. It's not that they angered me or anything, although they did anger a lot of people who feel that he was disrespecting Christianity, they just didn't particularly interest me. In attempting to put a humorous spin on things, he dispels his advice in a brash way that annoyed me at times and bored me at other times. I found myself skimming the sections of each chapter with his advice for living.
• Although Offerman definitely has a way with words, he can also be a bit dry and occasionally pretentious. I get it, I'm often made fun of for my choices in vocabulary when a simpler word would have sufficed, but Offerman's use of language didn't really gel with me sometimes. I think that in trying to prove himself as more than a laughable goof, he went overboard. 

the quote
"and one of our vocabulary words was nonconformist. I just dug that word. I heard the explanation, the definition, and I felt like I had just learned about a new hero in a kick-ass Marvel comic book."

skip it/borrow it/buy it
While I enjoyed reading this book, I don't really see myself returning to it again in the future, so this is a great book to grab from the library or a friend; borrow it.

overall score:7/10

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️