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  • Paddle Your Own Canoe

  • One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living
  • By: Nick Offerman
  • Narrated by: Nick Offerman
  • Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,161 ratings)
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Paddle Your Own Canoe cover art

Paddle Your Own Canoe

By: Nick Offerman
Narrated by: Nick Offerman
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Summary

Parks and Recreation actor Nick Offerman shares his humorous fulminations on life, manliness, meat, and much more in his first book.

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 handcraft (and paddle) their own canoes.

©2013 Nick Offerman (P)2013 Penguin

Critic reviews

“[Offerman] not only explores his Paul Bunyan-like image with tongue-in-cheek lessons on manliness, complete with illustrations and advice, but also offers poignant memories of his childhood growing up in Illinois and hilarious anecdotes from his career.” (Entertainment Weekly

“Offerman touches on everything from his days as a break-dancing, football-playing farm boy in Minooka (about 50 miles southwest of the Loop) to his freewheeling, hedonistic 20s in Chicago to the inevitable Hollywood struggles that followed. But he doesn’t gloss over embarrassing moments, including his two trips to jail during college at the University of Illinois - one for shoplifting Ronnie Milsap cassettes from Kmart as a joke; the other, he says, a convoluted case of mistaken identity. Between anecdotes, he delivers impassioned pleas and rants…” (Chicago magazine)   

“Thought-provoking, profane, and frequently hilarious…getting to know Offerman through his stumbling courtship with Megan Mullally and Kabuki theater training is well worth the price of admission.” (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Paddle Your Own Canoe

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great use of a spoke shave

Very good.

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12 people found this helpful

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He is better than his father .

Listen to the book. You will find out what that means, why it's true, and why this is possibly the best autobiography on audible. And his awesome voice doesn't hurt either .

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4 people found this helpful

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Nick Offerman isn't Ron Swanson

Would you consider the audio edition of Paddle Your Own Canoe to be better than the print version?

I do not own the printed book, but it appears there is an abundance of visual matierial included within.

What did you like best about this story?

Autobiographies read by the author, have those little flourishes that they experienced at the time. Hearing Nick giggle as he repeated events from his past, if it's good enough for the author to laugh at it's fine in my book.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The whole section on belief, in relation to others. The fact people will always confuse a character for an actor and having differing opinions is an almost constant

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

NOT RON SWANSON, the story of woodworker turned actor.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed Nick Offerman's acting.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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great listen

I loved Nick's voice and the way he narrated his life. The giggles when describing something fun were awesome too. I found this a very relaxing read, great especially if you're walking outdoors, or doing any sort of activity outside. The only downside I found with the book is that before listening to it I was considering starting woodworking as a hobby, now I am aching to, and yet I can't, for another few months.

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1 person found this helpful

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Brilliant book for overall "how to live your life"

I liked Nick before, and now I love and want to read more books from him. I especially like how he recorded the book himself and it is a completely separate experience from reading "just the book". Highly recommended, not just for a casual listen!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

If you like P&R this is similarly funny

great audio book the narration was fantastic coming from nick. I would highly reccomend it

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The most amazing and joyous listen

As a massive Ron Swanson fan, I really thought that this audiobook would be completely different, but I'm so glad it surprised me! I truly enjoyed listening to his point of views and side with him on most, he is also a very funny dude but as you go on realise very intelligent. Thoroughly recommend this book!!

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Great insight into Nicks mind

Really enjoyed this, will need to now pick up his newer ones. Definitely gave me a chuckle or two as I went along.

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  • .
  • 22-01-24

I love Nick Offerman and everything he does...

This book was brilliant with so many touching parts that really made me think about my own life and it made me feel so good listening to it.

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mandatory listening

Something everyone, especially young men, should listen to. Highly enjoyable. Nick Offerman is an icon, a mentor and someone well worthy of admiration.

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