Overview:
Growing a perfect moustache, grilling red meat, wooing a woman—who better to deliver this tutelage than the always charming, always manly Nick Offerman, best known as Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson? Combining his trademark comic voice and very real expertise in woodworking—he runs his own woodshop—Paddle Your Own Canoe features tales from Offerman’s childhood in small-town Minooka, Illinois—“I grew up literally in the middle of a cornfield”—to his theater days in Chicago, beginnings as a carpenter/actor and the hilarious and magnificent seduction of his now-wife Megan Mullally. It also offers hard-bitten battle strategies in the arenas of manliness, love, style, religion, woodworking, and outdoor recreation, among many other savory entrees.
A mix of amusing anecdotes, opinionated lessons and rants, sprinkled with offbeat gaiety, Paddle Your Own Canoe will not only tickle readers pink but may also rouse them to put down their smart phones, study a few sycamore leaves, and maybe even hand craft (and paddle) their own canoes.
A mix of amusing anecdotes, opinionated lessons and rants, sprinkled with offbeat gaiety, Paddle Your Own Canoe will not only tickle readers pink but may also rouse them to put down their smart phones, study a few sycamore leaves, and maybe even hand craft (and paddle) their own canoes.
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Review:
This book had a lot of ups and downs for me. I greatly enjoyed Offerman's insight into family life- both growing up in a big Midwestern farming family and his married life in California. He makes some excellent points about what fuels happiness and fulfillment. That being said, overall the book seems a little disjointed- particularly in the first half. Time, place, and situations were disorganized. Later chapters found a rhythm.
Quite a bit of time was spent rallying against religion. It felt like any given topic somehow came back to religion. Once Offerman let this go, the book flowed much more smoothly. I don't consider myself an overly religious person; however I found it quite bothersome to continue to read all the religious negativity. It seems counterproductive to Offerman's ultimate message, and certainly contradicted his "personal" take on religion and religious practices. In fact, at one point I had considering abandoning the book, in an effort to preserve my enjoyment of Offerman's acting work. Thankfully the remainder of the book remained focused on Offerman's life and pursuits of happiness.
Quite a bit of time was spent rallying against religion. It felt like any given topic somehow came back to religion. Once Offerman let this go, the book flowed much more smoothly. I don't consider myself an overly religious person; however I found it quite bothersome to continue to read all the religious negativity. It seems counterproductive to Offerman's ultimate message, and certainly contradicted his "personal" take on religion and religious practices. In fact, at one point I had considering abandoning the book, in an effort to preserve my enjoyment of Offerman's acting work. Thankfully the remainder of the book remained focused on Offerman's life and pursuits of happiness.
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