Paddle Your Own Canoe

One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living

By: Nick Offerman

Narrated by: Nick Offerman

Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's 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)

Outstanding

Great book. Nothing more to say. Buy the thing already. Listen. Then enjoy it. Have a nice day.

Loved it!

Nick Offerman hits a home run. I'm looking forward to more audio books from Nick. Loved his humor, advice and voice.

Life lessons, humor and scotch!

It’s great! Offerman brings it. He has a really good grasp on life and a great outlook on it.

Offerman Proves He Is More Than Just Ron Swanson

What made the experience of listening to Paddle Your Own Canoe the most enjoyable?

Nick Offerman's reading of his own story was full of amusing giggles, minor notes, and self-conscious dry humor, making listening to his book even more enjoyable than reading it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nick Offerman's love for his wife, the famous and talented Megan Mullally, is evident in the writing and tone of the reading. Like Offerman's parents, Mullally's effect on Offerman's life story is felt before she is formally introduced into the narrative.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It is hard not to giggle at Offerman's breaks (unintentional laughter). Although sometimes he gets preachy on matters in which he admits to not being an expert where the humor and humility that usually make his subtle remarks more profound falters.

Great story teller!

Felt like listening to stories from a childhood friend. Warm-hearted, funny, sincere and date I say, charming.

Artist to Artist words of advice

This book has some of my new, favorite quotes on being an artist! I love when people that get paid regularly & are at the top of their craft wax poetic about the actual, physical WORK involved in honing any and all creative skills. So much of what one can read about art is about attitude or vision. That causes too many folks to just get way too comfortable with the idea that "Art" is somehow, a state-of-mind that one just claims when they get good & ready. Nick Offerman wants you to not only paddle your own canoe, but also make the damn paddle. I'm a fan!

Motivational

A great read to refresh the mindset that hard work and a fun outlook on life are essential to staying sane. Listening to the sweet baritone on Nick's voice while building a dinning room table is truly a religious experience.

Levity, Eloquence and Bacon

Absolutely loved this audiobook for its inspirational and cautionary tales and takes on life! Mr. Offerman reads with wit and writes with passion. If you're a fan of this man, listening to (or reading) this book should be what you're doing right now. Seriously, you could be listening to this while eating that breakfast pastry.

If you like Nick Offerman you will like this.

Simple. See subject heading. If you like Offerman you will like this book. I love him as Ron Swanson, and he’s nearly as epic in real life.

A treasure

The book itself is fantastic. I own it but my copy is missing all but a page of chapter 4 for some reason, so this is the easiest way for me to get that portion, of course hearing nick offerman read it makes it 10 times better.